Lello 4070 Gelato Junior
by Lello
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List Price: Our Price: $217.83 You Save: $82.17 (27%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $165.95 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Lello 4070 Gelato Junior
Customer Review: Move over Ben and Jerry, my ice cream is just as good
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my unit for years and love it. It still works perfectly and produces great ice cream at half the calories of the premium stuff because I use mostly 2% milk. Mine is an older model that still says Simac on the side, but looks the same. I use Junket mix as my base (the vanilla is available in most grocery stores), add 1 3/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of heavy cream and mix it directly in the removable pail with a stick blender, which takes less than 2 minutes. That's it for the basic vanilla prep. Decrease the milk a little and add chopped, pitted cherries for a wonderful fresh cherry ice cream, then add chocolate bits after the ice cream has thickened and you have--well, you know what--and it's just as good as B&J's, but almost dietetic comparatively.
At first, I tried all sorts of wonderful complicated recipes, but the Junket route is so easy and consistent in results, now that's what I use most of the time. A couple of things to be aware of. . . the ice cream maker works more consistently if you don't move it. There's something about inner freezing fluid needing to be settled for proper results. Moving the machine can disturb that. Also, if you need to add ingredients that won't fit through the chute, stop the machine and take the pail out while you add things and replace it afterward. That keeps the mixture from freezing to the side of the container, which can stop the blade from being able to churn.
Believe me, I have this down to a science and bless the day this ice cream maker came into my life. When tempted by zillion calorie ice cream concoctions on the grocery shelf, I just remind myself that I can make my own at home, and pass them by. Highly recommended for ice cream aficionados.
Customer Review: Adventures in Ice Cream Making
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the things I love to do when I create a multi-course meal is to have a sherbet or sorbet just before the main course. It's even more fun if you can surprise your dinner guests with a flavor more imaginative than those you'll find in the local grocery store. I've tried some of the "by-hand" recipes where you alternate between beating and freezing, beating and freezing, but I could never achieve the smoothness I was looking for. So, my search for an ice cream machine began.
My first decision was to pass over those that require you to freeze a large bowl overnight: too much trouble, not enough freezer space to spare, and all the reviews I read talk about having to re-freeze the end product before you can serve it. A unit with its own compressor was going to be the way to go for me.
Eventually, I settled on the Gelato Junior and I have been very pleased. In the first two weeks, I've made watermelon sorbet, vanilla ice cream, and coffee ice cream. Even the vanilla ice cream is far better than what you can buy. I've found you have to tweak the times given a little bit, but if you run the machine an extra five or ten minutes, the final result can be scooped into dishes and served immediately. The compressor is a little noisy, but not obnoxious. And as others have said, it's quite heavy.
But the end product is *exactly* what I was looking for. Now that I have a good feel for how the machine works, I'm ready to try something more exciting, like Melon-Anisette Ice!
The first machine I received was defective; the compressor couldn't get the ingredients below 75 degrees, but the return was easy and I received a replacement in about a week. This new one works perfectly.
Customer Review: Love this machine!
Summary: 5 Stars
I finally bought the Lello Gelato Junior after careful consideration. It is *very* heavy, which is not a bad thing, but it is something to consider if you're thinking about purchasing this. (I'm considering making a gelato machine cozy and just keeping the thing on my counter permanently.) The instructions in the enclosed booklet are a tad difficult to read, but then again, this isn't a difficult machine to operate. The booklet also contains some good recipes (interestingly, in much more legible type than the instructions). We inaugurated our Lello by making a batch of lemon sorbet using the recipe in the booklet. It was fast, easy and utterly fabulous. The following night we created our own sorbet recipe using frozen strawberries, an orange, and lemon juice--again, fabulous. We love, love, LOVE this this gelato machine. I'm not crazy about the timer on the machine, but I consider this a minor detail for us (your mileage may vary). I find my oven timer easier to use in conjunction with the Lello. Personally, I've had no trouble at all either fitting the can into the machine or the top onto the can. There is some noise, but I don't consider it obtrusive--it's about the same decibel range as our dishwasher. All in all, this is a simple-to-use, solid, well-made ice cream maker that delivers everything it promises. I recommend it heartily to anyone who is considering purchasing such an appliance, especially at Amazon's 50%-off price. (Tonight, cherry sorbet!)Customer Review: Excellent product!
Summary: 5 Stars
I put it in the laundry room so it wouldn't be too loud, then when I finally turned it on the first time, I realized it was quieter than a normal microwave. Wow.
Incredible simple to use, almost elegantly simple. Power switch, timer, and start button. That's it.
I opened up the box, read the instructions in about 2 minutes, washed the bowl and lid, then dumped in some ingredients and was eating frozen ice cream about 30 minutes later. Amazing. I made 4 different kinds of ice cream in the first 2.5 hours of owning the machine. Coffee ice cream (decaf coffee! Cool - you get to control the ingredients) was made by tossing a couple of tablespoons of instant decalf into hot cream, then adding some sugar and pouring it into the bowl. Again, 30 minutes later we had frozen coffee ice cream. I'm not disappointed at all. It makes over a pint, easily. If you're a family without kids, that's all the capacity you'll need unless you're making batches for a party. If you want it frozen hard (rather than the "a bit harder than soft-serve" texture that the machine makes in 30 minutes, you can throw it in the freezer for a bit.
Quite heavy, but you're not really going to moving it around much, are you? I can't imagine what the bigger machine must weigh. I haven't owned this ice cream maker for long, but at this point I highly recommend it!
Customer Review: freezer YES... Amazon NO
Summary: 5 Stars
freezer gets 5 stars, amazon shipping gets NONE. they sent me a repackaged (probably a return, maybe even used already)unit and the repackaging was deploreable. it came apart in shipping and had to be patched and re-taped by UPS. nothing on the box aout the contents, so it ended up on our porch upside down, which is a no-no for any refrigerent product. decided to try it because it was a b.d. present for my wife.
freezer has worked perfectly. instructions are fine. quality of the ice cream depends on the recipe used and quality of ingredients. the freezer just chills the mix and stiffens it. a finished batch is soft, sure, but so is the product at the ice cream factory until package gets to the freezer - how could you get a hardened product into the package otherwise? if we start with everthing at room temp, it takes 38-40 minutes to freeze, but if you prechill the pail a little ahead, then add the mix and chill another ten minutes, freezing takes 25-30 minutes.
cleaning can be an issue if stuff drips in the wrong places. we've made 12-15 batches and have zero complaints, so i don't know why anyone would want to pay for a higher priced machine other than to get a little more capacity. I'M STILL MAD AT AMAZON THOUGH, for sending me what is probably a used unit.