and then it would be quieter! I have the generic Cuisinart model and it is a bit noisy. BUT, I don't have that kind of room right now (or ever) in my freezer!

I don't have the space in my freezer to do that unfortunately, but I usually place my ice cream base in the freezer for an hour or two before putting it in the ice cream maker (especially in the summer), it comes out with a texture a bit harder then soft serve.

Try putting it in the frig part. It would be colder than the counter and just might help a little to get the ice cream more firm.

I have the $300 model and it ain't all that. I get equal, though softer, results with the cheaper freezer bucket model. If this works out I might just sell off the behemoth refrigeration unit!

My favorite time of the year to make ice cream is when it's cold outside especially when it's below freezing. I plug in my ice cream maker on my deck.

Haha great idea for those of us with the kitchenaid attachment. Hold on, Imma go lug my kitchenaid in the freezer real quick :)

@jmorri26, same here... it's difficult enough to get the bowl to fit in the freezer when we wanna make ice cream, let alone put the whole kitchenaid mixer in there! no way... no happening... we have too much precious pho broth and homemade tortellini that can't be compromised by trying to achieve better ice cream!!

But what about the cord? I could probably fit mine in the garage freezer, but there's no way the cord could reach.

Heh. The benefits of the extra freezer keep multiplying.

That is indeed clever! Though I'm not sure, even if I took the shelf out, that the whole machine would fit in my freezer.

I like it soft-serve. The only time this is problematic is if it's just.that.hot

I like to put my bowls for serving in the freezer when I start the ice cream though.

Like many others, I don't have room in my freezer or fridge.
I get the same effect by putting one of those insulated grocery bags around my $50 ice creamer while it works. (I trimmed/sewed the bag down so it fits perfectly around the machine, if you want to try this.)
Super thick ice cream in 20 minutes or less.

I sadly dnt have a ice cream maker :( yet... :)
But reading this thread..... maybe some of you will find using one of the hubby's giant cooler boxes filled with ice helpful... Def easier than emptying out the freezer...

This leaves me wondering about the ability of the cheaper motor to churn thicker ice cream. It wasn't built to churn a thicker consistency. I would bet that after using this technique a few times the motor of the cheaper models would burn out from being overworked.

My solution is simply to make the ice cream the day before we're planning on eating it, or making a new batch of what we're almost out of. (Lime sorbet tonight, for example.) And so we'll have banana ice cream over the coming weekend I'll probably make that Thursday. Planning ahead works for me. (And to keep your sorbet from freezing solid add 2 or 3 tablespoons of vodka before freezing. Works a treat.)

This sounds like a bad idea, you're putting the motor under stress with the difference in temperature change. You're going to stress out your cheaper ice cream maker and then it'll blow out quicker.

I definitely don't have room in my freezer. I did find a trick from cooks illustrated that works though. Freeze 1/2 to 1 cup of your base. Then, right before churning, blend it with the rest of your base. It'll start out colder to begin with.

Why would I want to do this when I can have another obscenely expensive and rather useless single-purpose kitchen gadget?

Hmmm?

*g*

Honestly this sounds like a very bad idea to me. When you remove the ice cream maker from the freezer there's going to be condensation inside the machine, which could damage the electronics and cause rust on the interior metal parts.

I won't be using this tip. I think it's a sure path to a blown out and dead ice cream maker

Even using the pricier models, you only churn until it is soft and store the ice cream in the freezer to firm up. If you over-churn, it will not come out of the machine. Even the manufacturer states this. And if it over-freezes, you can damage the machine. The older machine at my job will squeal horribly if it is over-churned and you have to take the thing apart and scrape out the stiff ice cream. It's not the machine that's the problem.

Just churn, freeze, then enjoy. What's wrong with that?

Dear god, these comments are all so scary I don't want to make ice cream ever again. Sigh.

I'd have to have a chest freezer to do that with my Kitchen Aid, and even then, I'm not so sure it would end up awesome.