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: ***REVISED REVIEW***
Summary: 3 Stars
After living with the machine for 4 months and learning a basic thing or two I feel it's only fair that I post another review. In my original review I complained about the liquid getting only partially frozen resulting in a very slushy mixture. Others here have said that the machine is not designed to freeze the ice cream solid. Clearly a silly comment. Soft serve consistency would be fine. But lots of people, myself included, wound up with an icy liquid. Well HERE'S THE SECRET: Add salt! Not alot, several pinches for half a bucket. This slows down the freezing process (recall the salt on the streets back east) and allows the liquid to freeze slowly. It comes out totally frozen and a surprisingly smooth, creamy texture. And no, it does NOT need any furthering freezing to make it solid. If I had bothered to read a recipe (something I still have not done) I would have come to this brilliant discovery sooner. Now for the best part: this desert fits into my low carb diet perfectly. I continue to lose weight and eat ice cream several times a week. My favorites: mixing in decaf, artificially sweetened, coffee from Starbucks or artificially sweetened blueberry syrup. Whipping cream is very low in carbs as are the other ingredients. BTW- I don't find the machine very large, heavy or noisy. I love it! [Note: I still don't believe those folks that claim they pour a can of soda in the machine and get a perfect slushy as a result. That was the first thing I tried. The liquid froze solid against the wall of the bucket within minutes making the blade immovable! Curious...]Customer Review: A great piece of equipment
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought the Lello 4070 Junior because I was wanting to make ice cream that you can find in the store; plus it is thicker and less fluffy. The machine comes with a recipe book with some great ideas on how to begin using your Gelato machine right away. The machine is compact, not very noisy and is easy to clean. You don't need to buy any rock salt or keep ice in the freezer, which SAVES a lot of money and space (this makes up for the somewhat larger size). With a spare bucket you can make one batch of ice cream right after the next. I like the fact the machine comes with a smaller bucket because you aren't stuck eating the same ice cream for weeks, plus you can change the flavors more often. I recommend you chill the custard or ice cream mix prior use, otherwise it takes about 1 hour to solidify in the machine. Once the ice cream is finished I usually put it in the freezer over night to harden, which makes it nicer to scoop. I love this machine, and I enjoy being able to control what goes into my ice cream. I have made some pretty disgusting ice cream, but with practice you can find the right recipe that will make everyone invite you over (only if you bring ice cream, well at least that's how I made friends) HA!Customer Review: A great, easy way to experiment with ice cream/gelato.
Summary: 4 Stars
I have been playing around with cheap ice cream makers for years - I always give up after a few batches because it's too much trouble. This machine is so easy that in my first week I made a batch a day (to my kids' delight). The book is helpful, but I wanted really thick creamy gelato like they serve in Rome, so I surfed the web and created my own formula using what seemed important (liquore to keep it from freezing, egg yolk for the custard flavor, corn starch helps it be really smooth, etc). It's a lot of fun and very easy. My only complaint is that the hole for adding ingredients is pretty small -- it's difficult to pour in a stream of thick fudge, for example. But really, it's a great little machine and really fun to play with.Customer Review: A must have kitchen appliance
Summary: 4 Stars
I would have given this product a 5 out of 5, but I do not own or have ever owned a comparable product. This tool does everything it says it does. In 30 minutes time, you have fresh sorbet, gelato, or ice cream of any flavor. With a few dollars worth of natural ingredients and homemade some simple syrup, you now have an easy way to make sorbet and ice cream at home. There is no need to go out and buy it anymore. This machine is worth its weight in Neapolitan ice cream. On that note, this is a heavy appliance and has the feeling and design of solid state quality. I wouldn't be surprised if it last for 25 years like my father's first color Sony Trinitron TV.Customer Review: A step above the rest.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have gone through my share of ice cream makers. I have had the hand crank and electric version of the ice/salt mix and I had the Villaware ice cream maker available here on Amazon, sold it and my old icewater/salt type at a garage sale. None of them compares to the Lello Gelato Junior when it comes to convenience and ease of use. You just dump the ingredients in the little bucket, put the mixer/lid on and go. With other models you have to keep the bucket in the freezer or mess with an icewater/salt combination. Sure it might take some of the fun out of making your ice cream by eliminating the turning of the hand crank, but so does buying store bought ice cream or for that matter store bought butter.
The big plus with this model is that you can even dump in the ice cream mix while it is still warm off the stove (you have to cook a custard ice cream base). Just turn on the compressor a few minutes before you begin and it will start chilling the bucket.
You might be concerned about the noise this machine makes when running, don't be. It is quieter than a microwave running and by far quieter than almost every diswasher on the market. I would say it is louder than my Bosch dishwasher, but my Bosch is the quietest dishwasher you can get. You're not going to notice the noise from the Lello.
A note about their recipie for vanilla ice cream. When it recommends using a vanilla bean, do it. They are very expensive, like $8 a bean, and for good reason. It is the greatest vanilla ice cream you have ever had. The smell of fresh vanilla will forever blow your budget because you won't ever want to use vanilla extract for anything again. Save the rinds of the bean in a small tupperware bowl full of sugar, you can use it for baking or flavored coffee or something.
A few little things to note about this machine:
1. The opening for adding ingredients is small, m&m's are about the largest thing you can reasonably expect to put down the "chute"
2. The timer won't shut off the maker when it expires, just lets you know your ice cream is ready to eat.
3. It weights about 30 pounds or so. If you can't lift that amount easily without straining youself, leave it out on a counter somewhere.\
4. Unless you are the type of person who likes the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, don't even think of using a metal utensil in the aluminum bowl, you will cringe like never before. Can you say chewing on tin foil with fillings in your teeth?
5. Keep excercising regularly, with this thing you are going to have lots of extra calories to burn.