KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment | Complete review

KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment | Very handy equipment

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KitchenAid KICA0WH...

	KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment KitchenAid KitchenAid, 2004 average customer review:based on 237 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Complete review - Try the Ben and Jerry's recipes

I love this attachment.

I've made sorbets out of fresh fruit that were wonderful. I keep a bottle of simple sugar syrup in the refrigerator and it makes whipping up a sorbet fairly quick and easy. Simple sugar syrup is just 1 part sugar and 1 part water heated to boiling, then cooled down. If you make a good quantity and store it in the fridge you have it ready to use anytime.

Cut up, or mash up, your fruit then puree it. I use a Kitchen Aid Hand Blender to do that KitchenAid KHB100ER Hand Blender, Empire Red. Then I sweeten up the puree'd fruit with the simple syrup. I just do it to taste. I make it a little sweeter than I want the sorbet to be, as it isn't as sweet after freezing.

For something like Raspberries it takes a lot of syrup, and for sweeter fruits, less. I do strain the seeds out of the raspberries, so it isn't as easy as other sorbets, but it is my favorite. I add a squeeze of lemon or lime to tart sorbets like lemon or raspberry (lime in raspberry is great). Use a fresh lemon or lime. Bottled lemon or lime juice will really add an obvious plastic taste to something as clean tasting as sorbet. I've even added a little liquor to the mix. I've read that it keeps the sorbet smoother, but haven't tested it out side by side, to find out the difference. I liked them either way.

I let the mix cool down in the fridge, then freeze it in the Ice Cream bowl. It needs a little finishing in the freezer to get firm scoops, but freezes a little more firm than Ice Cream, and is really ready to serve right out of the Ice Cream Freezer bowl.

I tried some cooked custard ice cream recipes and wasn't happy with them. The first one came out delicious, but it was too much work, got too many bowls and pans dirty during the making (I wash dishes by hand), and took too much time cooking and cooling.

Then I bought the Ben & Jerry's book Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book and tried their base. Wow. That was exactly like the Ben & Jerry's from the store. It was so much easier too. The premium base is just two eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 pint cream and 1 cup milk. It's delicious and very quick. (1 pint half and half, and a 1/2 pint cream is basically the same.)

If you are going to add something chunky at the end, like fruit, nuts, candy,... Get those ready first. Break up your candy or cookies if you need to, and put them and any nuts in the freezer. Cut up any fruit and put it in the refrigerator.

I put the whisk on the mixer. Beat the eggs on high, to light and fluffy, in about 2 or 3 minutes. Slowly add the sugar while it's still whisking. Add the flavorings that you want. Then add the cream and milk. Let it whisk on medium for just a minute or two and you are finished. If you whisk too long, or too fast after the cream is added, the fat starts to clump up and you will end up with sweetened butter. Then I put the mix/base in the fridge right in the mixer bowl and let it cool down. I don't even bother to cover it.

I have a remote thermometer that works in my oven or freezer. I drop the probe in the mix. The cable is made so you can close the oven or fridge on it without damaging it. Then I stick the thermometer on the fridge (it has a magnet). I can see at a glance just how cool it is. It does take longer to cool down than I thought it would. That's where the thermometer comes in handy. It keeps me from trying to freeze it too soon.

The thermometer even has a way to enter the temperature that you want, and it will beep when the mix gets to that temperature. I don't bother with that. I bought a cheap one and setting those features is too complex, so I just use it to read the temperature. This is the most popular one on Amazon that works like mine: Polder Original Cooking Timer and Thermometer. I wish I'd bought that instead of the off brand I bought from the hardware store. Mine won't even go up to candy cooking temperatures. (I think I'll order this one now).

I've put my base/mix in the freezer also, and had it freeze up a little before I got to it. It still came out perfect. The little bit of ice that formed was completely broken up during the freezing process.

I have the freezer room to keep the bowl in there. That's best if you have the space.

They warn you not to put the mix or base in until you have it already running. I don't think that is necessary at all. It's very difficult to get the mix in while it's running anyway, even using something with a pouring spout.

I put the attachment on the mixer. Get the mix out of the fridge or freezer. Give it a few stirs with my spatula. Get the freezer bowl out of the freezer. Drop the dasher in it. Pour my mix in, and put it on the mixer. Then I start it up.

It only takes about 10-15 seconds to get the mix in the bowl and the bowl on the mixer. If any ice forms, it must get broken up completely in the freezing process as I never find a single crystal in the silky smooth ice cream or sorbet I make with it. Be sure to lock the head down. When the mix/base firms up, the dasher can get pushed around a little and it won't engage as well with the attachment. If I lock the head down, I never have that problem.

In about 20-25 minutes when it looks done, put in any chunky stuff like fruit chunks, candy, cookies,... and let it run for another minute or so. If you are going to put your chunks in while it is still running, be sure to keep the head locked down. It is less likely to jam up the dasher if it can't jump around.

Sometimes it is too full to easily get them in, and sometimes the chunks are too big and jam up the dasher. I've mixed my chunks in after I transfer it to my freezer container. It isn't hard at all to get them incorporated and they are less likely to get mushed up or broken up more. Make sure your chunks are very cold, or in the case of candy, nuts, or cookies: frozen is best. That will keep them from warming up the ice cream. Fruit chunks will hold together better if very cold, so they won't get mushed up by the dasher or while you are mixing them in by hand. Candy and cookies are less likely to break up more while mixing them in if they are frozen.

I like coffee and or mocha flavored ice cream. To make coffee ice cream, I add two tablespoons of instant coffee to the eggs after I mix in the sugar. The kind I use doesn't dissolve. It does mix in more during the freezing. If you want it to be mocha, just add 4 teaspoons of cocoa. At the end, before I stop the dasher, I'll add another tablespoon of instant coffee. I let that mix in a little longer - 3 minutes or so. This portion isn't supposed to dissolve. The little flecks of coffee crystals, add a little crunch of intense coffee flavor when you bite them. I love it that way.

When I take the bowl off the mixer. (I don't wait for the clicking sound. I just take it out when it looks firm enough for me.) I pull the dasher out and scrape off the major portion by just scraping each side and pushing the big chunks out of the center. I put the dasher on a plate. It is hard to get the dasher cleaned off. That's my main complaint. But, darn it all, that just means, I have to lick all the extra ice cream or sorbet off the dasher.

I scoop the ice cream or sorbet out of the freezer bowl and into my container with the spatula. I can lift the bowl and do it that way, but it is awkward. I've found I can get most of it out of the bowl with just 4 or 5 scoops. Then I run my spatula around the sides and bottom and then pick up the bowl and transfer the remaining portion. I stir it after I've transfered it into the container. It does try to crystallize a little around the sides because I use a slower method to get it out of the bowl. Any crystals that formed are not hard enough to stick around, and just a couple of stirs with my spatula and they are broken up and incorporated.

I like the soft serve consistency of the Ice Cream, but only if it's going to be eaten immediately. It really needs to be finished off in the freezer if you are going to dish it up nicely and serve it to guests. It's too soft when it comes right out of the freezer bowl to not melt a little while you dish it up into room temperature bowls.

You can also freeze your bowls. I like to serve sorbet in martini glasses. If I freeze the glasses first, while I'm scooping out the sorbet, the glasses get frosty. If you scoop it into room temperature glasses, it will melt a little and you will have a little pool of melted sorbet in the bottom. Sorbet in frosty martini glasses - it's a little gay isn't it? - well if you haven't guessed that I'm gay yet, I'm sure that gave it away hahaha. It is really gorgeous served that way. Seems to make it taste better when it looks so good.

The last thing is really essential. Buy some pants with an elastic waistband.

I did find some people have had the problem of ordering this when they have an older or European model Stand Mixer. It is not designed to fit either. There is a warning on the Kitchen Aid site. It's right next to the attachment on their store page. I think Amazon should put it front and center on this page also.

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Fits only US 110 volt models, does not fit European models.

Convert any Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer into an ice cream maker! Offers the largest single bowl capacity in the industry. This attachment makes frozen desserts and soft-serve consistency ice cream in 20-30 minutes. The dasher rotates inside the freeze bowl to spread, scrape, and mix the batter.

If you have a model produced before 1989 please call the Kitchen Aid Customer Satisfaction Center at 1-800-541-6390 with the model and serial number from your stand mixer for further assistance.
Features:

* 2-quart capacity
* Fits Tilt-Head or Bowl-Lift Stand Mixers
* Includes: Freeze bowl, Dasher, Drive assembly, and Adapter ring

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I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

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Very handy equipment

This attachment makes excellent ice cream. After reading the reviews, I purchased the unit and have several comments. I had a thirty year old well used stand K-5 and I too had difficulty attaching the dasher. Kitchen Aid customer service worked with me to ensure my satisfaction to a high level rarely seen in todays world. I cannot say enough for their response to my problem. The ability to fill the bowl is easily handled by using a stainless steel mixing bowl to pour the mixture into the freezer bowl, no different than using the regular bowls on the stand mixer. The need to cool the mix to near freezing before churning is only an in-convenience if not planned for in advance. Also be sure your freezer is working properly. Measure the temperature and be sure it is zero F or lower where it should be for proper food storage. All in all, this is a great way to produce frozen deserts and drinks for a small family. Larger quantities can be prepared by planning and production through several days in advance. Obviously, this is not designed for a family of eight to have home made ice cream every night, but a batch could be completed once a day easily. Freezing the bowl for 18 hours is a small price to pay for not packing a conventional freezer with ice and salt and then churning for an hour or so. Properly chilled mix can produce a full batch in about 15 minutes. It is really great to have attachments for one power source rather than another full machine eventually destined to the appliance graveyard in the cellar.

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Great addition to my KitchenAid Mixer

KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment
I have used the ice cream maker with great results. My husband and I have been losing weight this year. Our greatest enjoyment is treats that are cool and refreshing. I am quite sure this attachment will do great traditional ice cream because it makes great sorbet and other frozen treats. It works exactly as described in most of the other reviews I read. We really love the recipes we have used so far and look forward to many other innovative low calorie treats.

ice cream mixer attatchment

great item, very useful, I haven't left the kitchen and I am set for the summer!:D

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Hope for the best

I had wanted this attachment for my KSM5 for a few years and finally decided to get it. Right out of the box there was an obvious problem. The drive shaft attachment didn't fit onto the motor housing. In the instruction manual it says it will fit securely. No, it doesn't. I called KitchenAid. They said it does. I put it together. Still not right. I called KitchenAid. Well, actually the manual is wrong, it doesn't fit securely what it means to say is that when the beater is in place and the bowl is raised then it will fit securely. I make a batch of ice cream but before it's done the beater and the drive shaft attachment fly off because it doesn't fit securely. I call KitchenAid, they send a video clip to show me how. Okay. I try again. Again as the ice cream firms up, the pieces come apart. I feel like returning it since it's a big annoyance. However, if I can get past the annoyance of having to stand over the unit watching it, the ice cream is quite good.

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