COWSAR 1 Quart Ice Cream Maker Machine with Built-in Compressor, Fully Automatic, No Pre-freezing, 1 Hour Keep-cooling, Easy to Clean

Luckily, it’s fairly simple to operate. Easy to clean. It’s also fairly quiet, and seems to be very sturdy, I wish I could leave it on my counter, as it’s a bit heavy for me to schlep around at my age, but it’s doable. I like not having to put tubs in the freezer, or keep them in there, and to have the ability to make ice cream on demand. Depending upon where you read, this has 1-qt, 0.9-qt, or 0.8-qt capacity and they recommend not filling it past the maximum fill line. There’s a minimum fill line as well. I’d recommend filling it midway between the lines. I went to the maximum fill line with the first half of my buttermilk base and had to add just a bit of half and half as the rest of the base was not quite up to the minimum fill line. It’s easy to do two consecutive batches, or put the unchurned base in the fridge and churning it the next day, and you could vary the second half with mix-ins, different mix-ins, or flavorings. Not a bad thing at all. I was extremely pleased with the smooth and creamy Buttermilk Ice Cream I made. It even surpassed my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. I have wanted a compressor-style ice cream machine for years, but couldn’t justify spending that much money. This Cowsar is reasonably-priced, and I saved more buying it during a flash sale. It’s a good size for me, and the ice cream is superior. I have had ice cream from hand-cranked freezers, electric models that need ice cubes and salt, or have tubs that need to be pre-frozen, and this is the easiest and best ice cream with a lot less cleanup. I highly recommend it. My worst con is that the instructions will leave you confused and make your head spin. Additional Notes: Swap the word “Single” in the instructions for “Only” and it will be clear that “Single Stirring,” and “Single Refrigeration” modes mean that these stir without refrigeration, and refrigerate without stirring. The only mode that stirs and refrigerates is the ice cream mode. It’s a money-saver. I was near an ice cream shop yesterday and wasn’t even tempted. I kind of wished after the fact, that I had checked the prices. I didn’t. I am sure I would have felt faint. I just waited to get home to my homemade coconut ice cream.

We have been using this ice cream maker since the end of May (over 2 months) and really are enjoying it. We have probably made more than 10 batches of ice-cream all of which have come out great. We started with the basic vanilla ice-cream recipe in the instructions. We have increased the volumes a bit to get the most per batch. Have now made vanilla, strawberry, mint chip, mocha latte chip, oreo cookie, vanilla oreo cookie, peppermint, Reese's peanut butter, peach, lemon sorbet, etc. Easy to use, easy to clean. Reliable. No need to pre-freeze an insert. Three comments: 1) could be a bit bigger (makes about a pint per batch), 2) would be nice to have a simpler way to add mix-ins and a 5 minute warning to know when to add (I'm stopping the machine taking off the top and adding), 3) it does take about 45-50 minutes to freeze and churn (but you can make another batch right after). We highly recommend this ice-cream maker!

I really love this machine. I make healthy frozen yogurt with a sugar substitute and have "ice cream" to my heart's content all summer. It's easy to make, and even shuts off automatically, going to a chill feature for up to 3 hours if I forget to check it. The quart canister is just the right size. (One pint for me, one pint for the freezer.) Only hint, the sugar substitute must be dissolved beforehand or you'll have grainy ice cream. Create your own flavors, the sky's the limit. My only complaint is that they sent the wrong manual with it, so I have no instructions or warranty. I asked their customer service for a manual, but they scanned one page pdf. at a time. Maybe someday I'll print each one out and staple them together, but it's a lot of pages. I just wish they'd corrected their mistake an sent me a manual or told me where I could find it online. Other than that, it's a wonderful, self-contained machine that never uses ice and nothing has to be put in the freezer beforehand. I just mix slightly more than a 32-oz. carton of yogurt with some liquid sweetner and organic fruits or whatever healthy ingredients I want, and make it to taste. Clean up is so easy too. Put the leftover ice cream in a container in the freezer. Just wash the quart pail, the plastic paddle and the flat scooper spoon. That's all. It's my birthday present, and I love it!

So I have been doing keto or low carb for awhile now and sometimes you really want ice cream... so you find yourself at the store and the super tiny, hardly any, low carb ice cream options are almost 7 bucks... that's too much I tell ya. Now I can make them at home... and I also know every last ingredient that goes into it. I have had a great time making my own ice cream and good news, you don't have to make a low carb version lol. I don't feel like this is difficult or complicated. I can make a batch fairly quickly and clean up doesn't take me long either. Now I want to share some secrets for making a tasty low carb ice cream, so feel free to move on if it's not your thing. I've been purchasing sugar free coffee syrups. The Splenda versions are on the less expensive side and have been the best flavored. English Toffee and Caramel have both been very good and I don't add any other sweetener to the mix... for the most part. I read on a webpage that using sugar in your egg yolks when tempering helps the process so I'll add some low carb sweetener there. I've found the egg yolks help with the freezing process after taking it out of the machine. I've made several versions and sometimes it seems to just make a block of ice, but those were in the beginning.... the yolks help but it can be pretty solid after spending the night in the freezer. It's super soft thought when taking it out of the machine. I've been mixing heavy whipping cream and half and half, and that's pretty much it. I'm an experimental cook, so I have no measurements to give, but I've found I like to make about a pot full and split it into two separate containers and leave in the refrigerator until it's cool/cold. This allows me to make one batch at a time and make another one another day. There is a maximum and minimum line on the inside of the removable container, so you'll know how much to use. Good luck on your ice cream adventures!

Been using this the past year and it’s perfect for making healthier treats at the end of the night. Makes ice cream quick and the quality is always consistent.

It does a good job when it comes to ice cream and frozen yogurt and is simple to use. My granddaughter had fun making ice cream when she came to visit. You have to make sure that the paddle clicks when you put it in or the paddle won’t turn. It makes about 2 one cup servings and takes about an hour. The recipes in the book are good but all ingredients are by weight so you need a kitchen scale to use those recipes. The paddle is a bit difficult to clean off and some ice cream is easily wasted. I got mine on Amazon Prime Days so it was a good price and I’m very pleased with it.

I bought this knowing that it was a little smaller than a quart which is only smaller by 1/8 of a quart, (not even noticeable)! So far I've only used it once and it worked like a charm! I'm single and I didn't need anything two big but honestly speaking if I had it to do over again, I believe that I would have waited and purchased a 2 quart ice cream maker so that I could save some of my ice cream whenever I decide to make some. However all I have to do is just run it twice! Not a deal breaker as the price more than makes up for it! I thought that I was sacrificing a lot by purchasing the one without the timer but I believe that I would rather have this one! The timer doesn't guarantee that the ice cream is finished, it just gives you a guideline and it's really just another component that can break and it's not needed! If you have a watch or clock you can figure on anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour. I'm really happy with how easy it is to use and how easy it is to clean up! If there's only one or two of you, this is a decent size and a very great deal!

I received my machine today and made my first batch of ice cream an hour after it arrived. At first, it wouldn’t start, but I figured out that when you lock the lid on, the arrow needs to be pointed at the unlocked icon on the machine before turning it to the locked position. The problem is that there’s more than one way to put the top on the machine and turn it to lock it. My arrow was pointing to a different location, and even though it locked in place, it just beeped at me. once I got it pointed the right direction, it started up right away. Seven minutes later, it stopped and beeped 10 times. I took the top assembly off and the ice cream in the center was still like soup, but there was a layer of frozen ice cream all around the sides of the stainless steel basket. I used the spatula to scrape it all off, then restarted the machine. It went about 10 more minutes and stopped again for the same reason. So I cleaned off the ice the second time and restarted it. 10 minutes later, it stopped and beeped, and the ice cream was of a soft serve consistency, so I decided to just eat it that way. Now it’s possible that the reason it froze is because my recipe includes some water. I make my ice cream using keto chow and I add heavy whipping cream and water. Next time, I will try using almond milk instead of water to see if that doesn’t stick to the sides. UPDATE 7/26/23 since my initial review, which was 3 stars, I have made 3 more batches of ice cream. I used almond milk instead of water and the machine performed flawlessly. Most ice cream recipes don’t call for water and it was the water that was freezing to the sides of the bucket, causing the motor to shut down. I am quite pleased with the results.

Kept the machine on the whole night. The milk was slightly cold when I woke up. Not good product.