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GE Ice Cream Maker Instructions

Dawn Walls-Thumma

For ice cream aficionados, a home ice cream maker offers the opportunity to experiment with flavors and ingredients that aren't available at your local ice cream shop.

Freshly made ice cream adds a finishing touch to many home-baked desserts.

The ice cream maker available from GE is a low-cost, low-maintenance appliance suitable for people who want to start making ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt at home without investing a lot of money into the more costly machines. You will freeze the mixer bowl of your ice cream maker for up to a day prior to using it. This does limit the amount of ice cream you can make at once, as you will be able to make only one or two batches before the bowl thaws and requires refreezing, but this type of ice cream maker consistently delivers a high-quality product in about a half-hour.

  1. Place the mixer bowl in the freezer. The amount of time required depends on the temperature of your freezer, but you should expect to leave it in the freezer for about one day prior to use. To check if the bowl is frozen, shake it gently. If you don't hear any liquid sloshing around inside, it's ready to use.

  2. Place the mixer bowl onto the motor base when you're ready to make ice cream. Insert the mixing paddle into the bowl and place the cover over the bowl.

  3. Turn on the ice cream maker and pour the ice cream mixture into the hole at the center of the appliance until it reaches the fill line. Do not exceed the fill line, as the ice cream will increase in volume as it freezes. Use the low setting if you want a firm ice cream and the High setting if you want a softer consistency. Do not add nuts, candy or chocolate chips at this stage as they can become hung up in the mixing paddle and stop the machine.

  4. Cover the center hole with the cap and allow the ice cream maker to run for 30 to 45 minutes.

  5. Add mix-in ingredients such as nuts and candies two minutes before shutting down the machine.

  6. Turn off and unplug the machine prior to removing the ice cream from the bowl. GE recommends using plastic or rubber utensils to avoid scratching the inside of the mixer bowl.

Tip

Clean all parts of the GE ice cream maker with warm, soaping water. Do not immerse the motor base in water or put any of the parts in the dishwasher. Dry the freezer bowl thoroughly before returning it to the freezer. Preview your ice cream recipe a day before you intend to mix it. Custard-based recipes require cooking, and you should expect to cool the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator for at least four hours prior to mixing it in the ice cream machine. Never use a warm mixture. For very firm ice cream, allow two hours after mixing for the ice cream to "ripen" in the freezer.