One of my favorite kitchen appliances!

I love my little ice cream maker - in fact I have the 1 qt version. I keep the bowl in my freezer so it's ready to go at any time. The motor and shield are small enough to store easily. I've followed recipe instructions, and never had any issues with it not freezing. I have to assume that some of the other reviewers who couldn't get it to freeze may have had issues with the mixture or weather being too warm.

For soft serve, we eat it right away, and for hard serve, just pop it in the freezer. Fresh fruit and simple syrup can become a heavenly delight! The kids love to help make this, and in fact it's become a specialty of my fifteen year old son.

I love this ice cream maker so much, I'm giving one to my sister in law for Christmas, and SHE's a professional chef! She's a chef on a small yacht and having ice cream is a real treat. However, they can't really take any on charter, because there's not enough room in the freezer to store it! However, for 8-12 hours needed to freeze the mixing bowl, she can make freezer space, and just 30 minutes later, be able to serve homemade ice cream to her guests.

I'm bummed by all the negative reviews :-( I love mine!