Lello 4090 Gelato Pro Quart Ice Cream Maker
by Lello
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Our Price: $399.99 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Lello 4090 Gelato Pro Quart Ice Cream Maker
Customer Review: You get what you pay for. This is great!
Summary: 5 Stars
For a long time, I've had your run of the mill cuisinart ice cream maker with the bowl you had to put in the freezer overnight. I don't know about other people, but I don't know 24 hours in advance that I want to make ice cream. So I wound up not using it as much as I would have liked. Furthermore, I don't have a large freezer, so keeping it in there on a constant basis was not a good option.
After coming into some extra money, I decided to take the plunge and invest some money into a higher end ice cream maker. My wife thinks I'm excessive with researching before buying, but I believe that the time you put into that will let you make a better decision on what is the best product out there.
My original thought was to get the Musso. It's a nice looking machine (Stainless steel), and it received mostly good reivews. The downside is the machine is very large. I didn't want something that large in my kitchen.
I then came across the Lello Gelato Pro 4090. This machine seemed to be very favorable amongst the poeple who had already purchased it. Another plus for me was the fact that the bucket was removable (that makes for very easy cleaning!)
My machine arrived earlier this week, and came with a nice starter recipe book for ice cream. I decided to go for the most basic recipe so I could get an honest feel for the machine and the ice cream it made. So I went for the age old favorite, Vanilla.
After mixing the ingredients, nothing was more simple than pouring it into the bown and starting the machine (You can refrigerate the ingredints after cooking them to speed up the freezing process, but I had extra time on my hands). To my pleasant suprize the machine was easy to use, and not very loud at all. Granted, it would be hard to have people in the kitchen and not be distracted by the noise the machine generates, but I found once I walked out of the kitchen, it was barely audible. (Very impressed!).
I set the timer for 60 minutes (keep in mind, my ingredients went into the bucket hot), and simply walked away. When I came back I had a soft-serve type ice cream. I let the machine go a little longer,and it had a very nice consistancy.
When I taste tested the ice cream I was very suprised. I'm a firm believer that making food from scratch will always beat store-bought food (I make my own pizza, pasta, bread, cakes, and now ice cream). This plain, no frills vanilla ice cream tasted excellent! I'm now exited to move on to more complex recipies!
Right now I really have no complaints about this machine. I like the look of it, the way it operates, the fact that its not overly loud, and the ice cream it makes. Granted, it's heavy (41 lbs) but what do you expect from a machine than has it's own cooling system built into it.
I highly suggest this machine to anyone that want's a good solid ice cream maker, that is not overly expensive, or large, and does what it's made for, making good ice cream.
Customer Review: Perfect Ice Cream Maker!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first ice cream maker and I could not be happier with it. It is simple to operate, pretty quiet when running (I stick it in the corner of the kitchen and it is not at all intrusive), and makes fantastic ice cream. I have had it for about 6 weeks and have made at least a dozen batches of various frozen treats.
I have tried ice milk, slushies, ice cream, and frozen custard. Everything has come out good (except for the ice milk, but ice milk is just nasty!)
Some hints I have for users of this machine:
1. When making slushies, make sure you use non-diet drinks. I have found that if the liquid you are freezing does not have enough sugar in it, it will turn into an icy mess, frozen solid and not slushy at all. I was afraid that I damaged my dasher because it was so contorted while making one batch. I like using MUG root beer.
2. When making ice cream, don't churn it too long or you will start to make butter! I made a peach ice cream (which was delicious) and churned it too long and it had little tiny bits of butter in it.
3. I also like making making frozen pudding with it by getting the instant pudding and making it with fat free half and half (haven't tried regular milk yet). It is quite tasty and very easy. I have been making it with sugar free pudding and it is okay, but with sugar is better. One word of warning, it will freeze hard as a rock for the next day. One side benefit of that is it makes the BEST chocolate shakes. Next time I will divide the pudding into an ice tray and use the cubes with some milk to make easy shakes.
4. I like the custard recipes the best and make sure you strain your custard before you put it into the machine. I also chill mine in the fridge for a faster churn, and making it the day before makes it that much more convenient. I also use 1 quart of heavy whipping cream when I make it if I want a super rich and creamy product. I like to put it in the freezer for an hour or two to harden it up a bit because homemade ice cream melts in 3 seconds!
I highly recommend this machine. It is the highlight of a dinner party when we have fresh soft serve ice cream for dessert.
Customer Review: Powerful Margaritas
Summary: 5 Stars
Thought this would be the perfect addition to my vacation rental home in Hawaii.
Invited family and friends over for Christmas and being Christmas I did not have all the proper fixings for the recipe but the machine made an excellent ice cream. Once I followed the directions more closely and made a good custard the ice cream was smooooth much smoother and creamier than store bought.
This is the larger 2 quart machine and it makes a large batch nice for a party of 6 or so ice cream eaters.
The machine comes with a craddle to rest the top motor on and the paddle is easy to place on the motor even after removing the motor to check consistancy. Cleaning is a breeze.
The machine is quite as can be expected. The time to make ice cream is about 35 to 40 minutes depending on the type custard and your desired consistancy.
The recipe book is very small and if you are new to cooking or ice cream making read it carefully. The book talks about a basic sugar syrup and only later in the book do they tell you the syrup is equal volumes sugar and water (pretty simple).
The machine does a great job when making nice tropical drinks and the book includes recipes for the drinks. I followed the recommended proportions only substituting Mango for the lime That was one powerful Margarita with a nice slush ice!
From a gadge fanatic: Highly recommend this product!
Bob
Customer Review: Exceptional product...
Summary: 5 Stars
We all read these reviews and half believe them...but...I hope the people serious about a superior product will listen..I purchased the Simac from Italy (not Amazon) it burned out and failed after 4 mo..a 600.00 machine..absolute h--- and back to get a small refund and warranty service- finally just gace up...be careful who you buy from...went without a machine for over 3 mo as I didn't want to get burned again by poor service -had already wasted hundreds- didn't want to spend another 600.00 although the Musso looked tempting I wouldn't be able to remove the bowl...couldn't stand that..and wanted a better than good quality nachine under around 300......soo...got my courage up and ordered the Lello pro..let me tell you..fast delivery great price and the quality of the ice cream is exactly the same as the Simac..the machine is much user friendly- the bowl has a handle that lifts out important for arthritic people and the buttons are easy to use and see..the noise is about med- I keep mine in a utility room so that it is always set up and ready to go- I chill ing first right in the bucket so it is cold too and I get hard serve..not soft smushy serve...hard serve in 30 min..perfect consistency and perfect machine...will be my favorite for years to come!!!! But something I totally learned is buy from Amazon then if there is an issue...they will deal with it for you...very very satisfied!!!Customer Review: One Awesome Machine
Summary: 5 Stars
I have always wanted an ice cream maker that had a built in compressor. For the longest time I thought I would purchase a Musso Lussino but then I saw some reviews for the Lello Pro. At first I was concerned because the Lello was a few hundred dollars less than the Musso; thinking I would be getting an inferior product (equating cost with quality). But I am here to tell you that the Lello is superb in every way! I love, love, love it. It produces fantastic frozen custard and sorbet in under an hour. It probably would take closer to 30 minutes if I was patient enough to completely chill the mix before putting it inside the Lello...but I am impatient. Of course it produces more than frozen custard and sorbet but that is all I have made with it so far. The clean up of this machine and the ease of use is fantastic! You will not be sorry if you purchase this; trust me, I can be quite snooty when it comes to my kitchen appliances! I highly recommend this machine and all my neighbors LOVE the ice cream I make them!