You probably know that song about ice-cream, and it’s been playing in my head non-stop for the past month. But since I tested 13 ice-cream machines at once during the hottest days of the year, it has taken on a slightly different meaning for me – particularly the screaming part.
Testing the best ice-cream makers for the Filter has deepened my appreciation for frozen desserts. After cracking more than three dozen eggs, zesting 30 lemons and running to the shops for several emergency pints of milk after an unplanned butter disaster, I feel as though I’ve finally mastered the art of making ice-cream at home.
Churn of events
The first challenge was figuring out how many ingredients I needed to test all those machines – a lot, as it turns out. I witnessed great confusion in my food delivery driver’s eyes when he arrived at my door for the second time in a week, carrying bags filled with nothing but eggs, lemons, milk, cream and sugar.
After I got over the embarrassment of my absurd ingredients order, I got to work making batches of Felicity Cloake’s perfect vanilla ice-cream and lemon sorbet recipes in each machine. I also tested a standard recipe consisting of double cream, sugar and milk, a variant of which could often be found in each machine’s accompanying booklet.
I then tasted each batch for flavour and consistency, before leaving them in my freezer for a few days to see how each held up. Caso Design’s compressor IceCreamer came out on top as my favourite overall, while the original Ninja Creami was an easy-to-use, freeze-first winner.
Making delicious ice-cream, then consuming it – what a great life, I thought to myself. Little did I know this would be the start of my descent into several long weeks of milk-fuelled madness during record-breaking July heatwaves.
I accidentally made butter – twice – when a recipe from one machine’s booklet took too long to churn, turning the high-fat mixture into butter before it was able to freeze. And while I love making my own butter, I wouldn’t recommend anyone do this in a soft-serve machine. You’ll spend the next 45 minutes scraping it from every nook, spout and corner, trying not to completely lose the plot.
Then there was the smell. My longsuffering partner burst into my office on one occasion, despairing that the “whole house stinks of milk”. (Don’t feel too sorry for him, though: he got to eat a lot of ice-cream.)
The cold hard truth
Milk-related disasters aside, my time testing ice-cream machines taught me a few things. The first is that some of the best models require a lot of counter space. I did find a couple of excellent compact versions in the form of the Nutribullet Chill and Cuisinart Solo Scoops, but complex models such as the GreenPan Frost are magnificent beasts that command all of your space and attention.
They’re also heavy. I can’t believe I’m not absolutely ripped by now (though my partner reminds me that he’s actually done a lot of the heavy lifting).
But despite it all, I’m still not sick of ice-cream. In fact, I’ve gained a real appreciation for just how good homemade ice-cream can be. That said, I might stick to Ben & Jerry’s for the rest of the summer – or at least until the house stops smelling of milk.
***
This week’s picks
-
How I Shop with Fred Sirieix: ‘It’s nice to buy stuff from people you know’
-
I spent 18 months testing the best video doorbells – here are my favourites
-
Do I really need air conditioning in the UK? Everything to know before you buy
-
‘The bar here is low’: the best (and worst) supermarket brioche burger buns, tasted and rated
***
Editor’s pick
It’s healthy, affordable and kind to the planet. Cycling is one of the best ways to get around, but choosing the right bike can be tricky: do you need a road bike, a mountain bike, a gravel bike – or a hybrid? Cycling expert Paddy Maddison explains it all in his guide to how to buy a bike, including how much to spend, what to look for, and what accessories you might need.
Hannah Booth
Editor, the Filter
***
In case you missed it …
Campfires might be banned because of the risk of wildfires, as human-caused climate breakdown brings hotter, drier conditions and the UK continues to bake, but we’re still in peak camping season. Make the most of it with something comfortable to sit on: outdoor expert Sian Lewis put 15 of the best folding camping chairs to the test (her favourite: Montbell’s Base Camp chair).
If you need advice on camping with kids, Matt Collins and a host of fellow parents offer their hard-won tips (after a brush with a tick this summer, we’re packing the tick remover). And if that’s not enough, Sian recently answered all your camping questions, including her favourite camping spots in the UK.
***
Get involved
What’s the best thing you’ve bought for your garden? Was it a tool that made weeding easier, a bag of bulbs that brightened up a gloomy February, or a gorgeous planter for a balcony? Let us know by emailing us at thefilter@theguardian.com.
