Soft serve ice cream doesn’t have to be something you just enjoy when you are out on the town. There are many different soft serve makers that would make an inexpensive and enjoyable upgrade to your kitchen. There is no trick to making the perfect soft serve cone when you have the right machine. Here are a few that are a good match for a lot of different homes.
Many soft ice cream makers such as the Nostalgia mean the users just has to add ice, salt, and their favorite ice cream mix. Within 20 minutes or less you can enjoy delicious soft serve. This is also a good way to make your own version of milkshakes and frozen treats from your favorite ice cream parlors or restaurants. No more waiting around for seasonal treats to become available. You can just make your own in minutes!
Ice Cream Parlor Treats And Indulgence
For those that want the highest level of convenience and don’t want to rely on ice and salt to make their soft serve, there is the Cuisinart ICE-45 Mix It In Soft Serve 1-1/2-Quart Ice Cream Maker. This maker is fully automated. You just need to add your favorite ice cream recipe mix, flip the switch, and get ready to enjoy something delicious.
The handle you pull for serving makes the ice cream come out smoothly so you can form a perfect cone. The cone holder and storage for 3 different sprinkle on toppings makes it easy to keep it all together. You should read our full review of this machine for even more detail on this ultimate and affordable soft serve machine.
Advantages Of Soft Serve Machines
Convenience In Your Own Home
Not all of us live near a place where we can get soft serve whenever we take a notion. Your own soft serve machine means you don’t have to drive a long way to give your kids and family a great frozen treat. Let’s face it if you live in a rural area it can be a challenge to even get regular ice cream home without it melting so soft serve is just not an option unless you have your own maker or eat it while out in town.
Cost Savings
Even fast food style soft serve can start to add up. If you want a gourmet soft serve treat you can easily spend $5 or more per treat. It doesn’t take many $20 dollar trips to the ice cream parlor to see that having your own soft serve machine is exceptionally cheap in comparison and you can use higher quality ingredients. Soft serve ice cream is lighter and fluffier than other ice cream so you are actually getting less ice cream for your money when you get it at a parlor instead of harder ice cream.
Fun For The Family
Making ice cream is good old fashioned family fun. It is a great way to get kids started on being more involved in the kitchen as well. Ice cream night could become a highly valued family tradition of fun and togetherness. For less than a $100 you can have many fun times.
Control Over Ingredients
Many of us are increasingly concerned with the constant barrage of additives being put into food for preservation and flavor. With so many kids suffering from food allergies, it can be hard to find treats that are not harmful to them. When you make your own soft serve you can create recipes that match dietary needs perfectly so there is no worry about side effects or harmful additives.
Doubles As A Milk Shake Maker
If you are a fan of the decadent types of milkshakes found at a lot of diners and fast food restaurants, then you need to try a homemade milkshake sometime. A soft serve machine can easily mimic your favorite treats.
If you love Dairy Queen M&M Blizzards then try making vanilla soft serve and mix in some of your favorite type of M &M’s. Depending on how hard you let the soft serve get, you may have to let it sit and melt slightly before stirring and enjoying the goodness.
Great Results Every Time
Soft serve machines like the Cuisinart ICE-45 have special dispensing handles that allow you to get that ice cream parlor swirl in your own home. The handle helps ice cream dispense at a reasonable rate so you don’t spill or drip while creating treats.
Ice Cream Parties Are A Breeze
Soft serve makers are easy to use and are reason enough to throw a party. When one thinks about how much it costs to take the kids anywhere fun, it is easy to see how a soft serve machine can allow for fun gatherings without the parents breaking their budget.
Variety
Soft serve has a lot to offer those that crave variety. Although adding fruit into the machines is not a good idea, syrups and other flavorings are all able to be added. This means you can combine more than one flavor to create a unique combination that is all your own.
If you don’t want to add the same flavor to the whole batch, you can add it afterwards in a bowl and mix it all together. Having your own soft serve machine encourages experimentation because you are not spending a lot of money to try different things at a parlor or restaurant.
Finding The Right Machine
It is important to make sure that you read carefully what is required to make a batch of soft serve before investing in a machine. Some machines may only make a quart at a time which for the average family may be fine but this might not work out so well for those that entertain a lot or want a soft serve machine for events.
Ice and salt are not always free so machines that use them can be more expensive to operate than you might realize. Extra ice cream bowls in a freezer can take up space that you might need for other uses.