Joyce Chen 51-0662 Saladacco Spiral Slicer, White Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I had to give this product two stars for the concept and at least one star because it does exactly what the manufacturer says it does, but nothing more plus not everything you make using this product turns out completely awful. Versatile this tool is not! To start your vegetables must be 1-inch in diameter and 3-1/2 inches in length. After you've finished cutting you are left with at least 1-inch of unuseable vegetable, unless you're willing to do the rest of your creative cutting by hand, not only does this limit you but it also creates a great deal of waste. You have only 2 blade choices which are housed in a poorly constructed plastic contraption that easily separates if pressed on in the wrong spot.
You have your choice of either Spaghetti type strands or spiral slices but don't expect anything pretty with your spaghetti strands because your only option is a very fine tooth edged blade which creates very fine strands of mush depending on what you're cutting. However, this product does have one redeeming trait and that's with the use of the flat edged blade it does create fairly nice looking spiral slices. If you're expecting true versatility than you will have to cough up the dough for "The Benriner Cooks Helper", "Benriner Cook Help" or the "Benriner Asian Sprial Slicer" (they're all the same) which gives you (3) Tooth edged blades (fine, medium and Coarse) as well as (1) flat edged blade, the size of your vegetables do still matter for cutting but you don't throw away nearly as much. Shop around for the best price!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Joyce Chen 51-0662 Saladacco Spiral Slicer, White

Make professional garnishes in minutes with the Joyce Chen Spiral Slicer. It quickly creates spiral strands, ribbons, or slices and collects them in a clear plastic catch tray. The spiral slicer's design keeps fingers safely away from the cutting surface, providing confidence and efficiency in food preparation. Made from a durable plastic, the slicer is safe to clean in the dishwasher. It measures 9-1/2 inches tall and comes gift-boxed.

Get 48% OFF

Click here for more information about Joyce Chen 51-0662 Saladacco Spiral Slicer, White

KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I bought this after reading a lot of reviews. My choice was based on a number of factors. I have owned a hand-crank, ice-and-salt ice cream maker in the past - it made great ice cream but was messy; I didn't want yet another appliance that I had to find where to store; and I have owned and liked my KitchenAid stand mixer for a number of years.
This is basically a double-walled, sealed mixing bowl, with the space inside the walls filled with some liquid (presumably like the refreezable ice packs). It comes with plastic paddle. The basic steps are:
1Freeze the bowl (I keep mine in the freezer)
2Make and cool an ice cream custard, or a fruit mix for sorbet
3Assemble the frozen bowl and the plastic paddle on the stand mixer
4 Switch the mixer on lowest speed, add the custard
5Let the mixer stir the mix until it freezes (to a "soft serve" consistency)
6Transfer the ice cream to a bowl with a lid, and freeze until firm
Here are my comments:
First, take a black marker and obliterate all the nutritional information about the recipes in the instruction book. We know that ice cream is full of fat and sugar -- that's why we like it! We don't need reminding.
*Try a dry run to assemble the bowl and paddle. This is designed to fit many models of KitchenAid mixers, and it's not obvious. You don't want to be figuring this out when you are ready to make your first batch.
*Freeze the bowl for longer than the suggested 18 hours
*MAKE HALF QUANTITIES: the two-quart recipes fill the bowl, and I had a couple of overflows as the ice cream expands as it cools.
*Also, filling the bowl means that the ice cream takes longer to freeze. The first time I tried this, it didn't freeze as the bowl had not been frozen long enough to handle the two quarts.
*Get a good recipe to use up the egg whites. I make meringue from the New York Times Cook Book. I guess an omelet would be good too.
*There's mistake in the instruction book. In one place it suggests adding the fruit, nuts etc half way through the freezing process, and in another place it suggests adding these ingredients at the end of the mixing cycle.
* Use enough mix (custard or fruit puree) to at least fill half of the bowl -- this way the paddle will mix the entire batch.
* Remember that freezing enhances the sweet taste -- so do not over sweeten the mix before you freeze, otherwise the ice cream or sorbet will be too sweet.
* If you're making a fruit puree for sorbet, a blender makes a *MUCH* smoother puree than a food processor. I think this makes a difference in the texture of the final sorbet.
* After preparation, you need to cool the custard or puree in the fridge for a few hours. Use a jug that has a decent pouring lip: this will make it much easier to pour into the freezer bowl than if you just use a regular mixing bowl.
* There is very little space between the edge of the bowl and the paddle -- this can mean a mess when you fill the bowl. It **really** needs a pouring spout designed to fit
* Getting the semi-frozen desert out of the bowl can be messy - there is no handle on the bowl and it has smooth, slippery sides.
* Use a container for the final freezing that has a little air space after you fill with the semi-frozen ice cream -- this allows for additional expansion of the desert, and prevents the need to squash the final product into the bowl.
* I've used recipes from The New York Times Cookbook and Fine Cooking magazine -- all delicious, better than store bought, and slightly different than the regular recipes for vanilla, cookies and cream, etc.
* Use the freshest eggs you can find -- not the ones that have been sitting in the fridge door for a month
Update February 2008
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks very much to all the kind comments that folks have left. For those of you who haven't read the comments on this review: it's worthwhile taking a few minutes to do so as some of the commenters have additional suggestions and ideas.
Update December 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A couple of the recent comments have asked whether the inside of the bowl is aluminum or non-stick. It *appears* to be metallic, but with plastics these days, it's anybody's guess. It is light gray so could be aluminum, but I'd wager that it is some sort of alloy. It is definitely NOT the type of non-stick found in Teflon-type frying pans.
BTW - I've had this for nearly four years and am still loving it. Long term durability seems to be good.

Click Here to see more reviews about: KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment

Creating up to 2 quarts of fresh ice cream, frozen yogurt, or sorbet at home only takes about 25 minutes with this unique attachment. The stylish ice-cream-maker attachment quickly converts any KitchenAid stand mixer into an easy-to-use ice-cream maker. After storing the freeze bowl in the freezer for at least 15 hours, it's ready to go. Simply turn on the KitchenAid stand mixer, pour in the batter, and let the dasher and freeze bowl do the work. For quick cleanup, the dasher, drive assembly, and adapter ring are all dishwasher-safe. The freeze bowl should be hand washed with warm water and mild detergent. The ice-cream-maker attachment measures 10-8/9 by 10-2/7 by 10-2/7 inches and carries a one-year hassle-free replacement warranty.

Get 30% OFF

Click here for more information about KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment

Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I purchased this after much debate about whether or not I needed a two quart ice cream maker or just go with the original Cuisinart $49.95 one. I am so glad i bought this one. It is so great. Easy to use, makes alot of ice cream,so sleek looking.
I have a tiny kicthen and everytime I turn around I am buying something that will clutter my counterspace, but I have to say this I don't mind. It is square, not to bulky and the cord fits nicely up inside the machine. It doesn't dangle or anything. It's right next to my KitchenAid.
I have made two recipes out of the manual that comes with the machine. I usually don't like "manual recipes" however, these are fantastic. The Mango Gelato was a huge hit with family and friends. One girl who doesn't like ice cream, liked it. The simple ice creams that dont require making a custard, you just mix all the ingredients together and freeze, I was thinking it would be terrible. It wasn't, so you can make ice cream in 30minutes from start to finish with those recipes.
I do keep the bowl in the freezer like others suggested with the smaller ice cream maker. It has been very useful to have it already frozen when I am ready to make ice cream.
As far as noise, it is not as quiet as I thought, but don't let that scare you. It's not like turning on a blender and leaving it running for 25 minutes. It's not an annoying noise. Not like the old ice cream makers with the ice and stuff. It is fun to watch it churn too. So the noise just fades to the background.
It's very interactive and a great thing to do with kids and company.
I really can't say enough good. One of the best appliance investments I have mad yet.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker

Housed in brushed stainless steel with an embossed logo, this fully automatic small appliance makes frozen yogurt, sorbet, and homemade ice cream in as little as 25 minutes. The frozen-dessert maker features a heavy-duty motor and a double-insulated freezer bowl that holds up to 2 quarts of frozen dessert at a time. Simply add ingredients, turn the machine on, and frozen drinks and desserts are ready in minutes. Its large ingredient spout allows for easily adding favorite mix-ins, and an instruction book and recipes come included. A fun addition to any birthday party or backyard barbecue, the frozen-dessert maker measures approximately 8-1/4 by 8 by 11-1/4 inches and carries a three-year limited warranty. From the Manufacturer
The Cuisinart Pure Indulgence 2 Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker The Cuisinart Pure Indulgence

Get 52% OFF

Click here for more information about Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker