Panasonic BH-941P Ice Cream Maker

OK, I got one of these a while back because it was cheap and...well, that's about the only reason. I figured it might be good for some fun with my daughter, but I also figured it would probably quickly land on the same shelf that holds that ice cream maker with that you have to pre-freeze before using (Donvier), and the traditional ice cream maker that requires rock salt and all that nonsense. I don't use the former because I never plan far enough ahead to clear space in the freezer and freeze the thing down, and I never use the latter because it's just too much of a hassle. OK, so the question is: Is this one any better? And the answer is: Resoundingly YES! This ice cream maker does not require any advanced planning. All you do is drop the ingredients in the (room temperature is fine) bowl, snap it together, and put it in your freezer. That's it. A few hours later: Ice cream. And it's GOOD ice cream that's ready to eat! One of the problems with the Donvier-type makers (pre-freeze the bowl type) is that they aren't cold enough to make real ice cream. They make ice pudding. To get that pudding to freeze to the right consistency, you have to put the pudding back in the freezer after you've made it and let it harden for a few hours. With this Panasonic ice cream maker, when the job is done, it's DONE. The ice cream is ready to eat. OK, as for the brass tacks: Pros: Easy to use; don't have to plan ahead; requires no user intervention--just set and forget and come back to ready-to-eat ice cream; The physical dimensions of the ice cream maker are small, so you should be able to find room in your freezer for it (a major consideration!); The ice cream it makes is really good (well, depending on what you put into it, of course!) Cons: Uses two lithium CR123A batteries to power ice cream maker. You should get 20 or more cycles out of a fresh set of batteries, but you will need to eventually buy more batteries (a set is included with the ice cream maker). Expect to pay between $1.50 and $5.00 each ($3 - $10 a set) for the replacement batteries (shop around on the net and eBay and you should be able to find batteries at the lower end of this price range). Assuming you get the batteries at a good price, that works out to about $3 per 20 uses or $0.15 per use; The small size, although a plus because it makes it easier to find space in your freezer, also means you won't be making huge amounts of ice cream. It will make about 1.5 pints, which is enough to dainty desert portions for a family or small dinner party, not enough for a big party of any type, but surely enough to push Dr. Atkins to roll over in his grave if you eat it all yourself :-) At the current blow out price, I'd say this is a no brainer.

I almost passed on this ice cream maker due to some of the reviews. I am very glad I bought it especially since it was on sale for $9.99. 1. Do not listen to the few people that are complaining about this machine. Either they cannot read directions or they are unable to understand what they read. The machine is designed to stir the ice cream for 5 seconds or so and then stop. Every few minutes it stirs again for about 5 seconds - detects the amount of resistance from the ice cream and then repeats. It seems as the ice cream gets harder, the machine stirs more frequently. It is not designed to stir constantly. If so the batteries would die after one batch. When it is done the machine turns off. 2. Do not use the recipes in the the manual. Wow, they did not test them and I had to throw the first batch out..too sweet and to strong of mint flavor. Any one have any good recipes? 3. It takes 3-5 hours to make a batch depending on your freezer and how full the machine is. Put it in the freezer and forget about it. 4. It runs on 2 batteries (about $8 for 2). Not sure how many batches I can get out of them ...so far 3 batches. I am looking for a battery pack or maybe rechargable batteries. Any other ideas? 5. The amount of ice cream feeds 2-4 people (3 cups total). I was really surprised at this since I am a huge ice cream fan. 6. The mixer blade is thin plastic but seems sturdy enough and it stays on well. Once again read the directions on how to assemble the mixer. I could see how the blade could fall off if not assembled correctly (I did this once then cracked open the manual) 7. Of course the ice cream is only as good as your recipe/ingredients. All an ice cream maker is designed to do is stir the ingredients long enough for them to freeze. If you want to make easy, no hassle ice cream but not in huge volumes this is it. So far very happy with it even though in the begining I was very skeptical. I like it because it seems that half of the time home made ice cream doesn't turn out quite right. With this you can experiment and not waste a lot of time or money. Also, you don't need to hassle with ice, rock salt, and the noise of a traditional maker. I give it 5/5.

I just got my ice cream maker this week and have already made 2 batches. I really like it so far, it works perfect for me. Its really small, so it doesn't make alot...but its perfect for a single person or a couple. When we have made a batch, we have just enough with no leftovers. Some people have complained about the prep of the ingredients. It really isn't that hard or that time consuming. The ice cream that we have made so far has been really yummy! Though I would agree that the basic vanilla recipe is a bit too sweet! All in all it makes great tasting ice cream, and is very easy to use.

I decided to write a review after using this ice cream maker for about 2 months. Here's my thoughts on this appliance: 1. The price was great! Where can you get a name brand ice cream maker for $9.99 2. The battery issue.....mmm......it's not a big problem - I checked around and brought the batteries from ebay. There's lots of sellers out there selling them for a dirt cheap price, sometimes as low as $1 per battery. 3. The recipes book was okay. It gives you a good foundation on making a basic ice cream. I started with vanilla but also found it to be too rich (it actually gave my mother-in-law a stomachache). Now I use only 1 egg yolk, 1/3 cup sugar and skim milk to substitute. I've made the strawberry and banana ice cream and they both turned out great. I've also made my own oreo ice cream by using a snack size bag of crushed oreos (add only 1/4 cup sugar) and that was just awesome!! I would like to try the coffee ice cream next. 4. It doesn't give you tons of ice cream but it's enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. And it's small enough so that I can put it in my freezer with no problem (you know how cram most of our freezers are). Overall, a great buy from Amazon!

This is a nice unit "except" it uses CR-123 batteries, which aren't cheap. Other than that, it's good. You would think that they would use AA batteries, which are more readily available and cheaper. Just my opinion.

Should be sold in a toy store. It's not a real appliance. Very little difference between freezing the ingredients in a dish and freezing them in this ice cream maker. I have many great products made by Panasonic. I'm surprised they put their name on this one. Recipes require mixing, cooking, whipping, cooling in ice baths, and chilling in the refrigerator for hours before even putting the ingredients in this joke. Then your freezer needs to be half empty so no food comes close to this thing while it's in there. Maybe it's just a ploy to sell esoteric lithium batteries. I'd return it, but two-way shipping costs would negate any refund. Mine is going in the trash. Can't even use the batteries for anything else. Worst Amazon.com purchase I've ever made. Gave it one star because zero was not a choice. Save your money. Buy a quart of Haagen Dasz.

This ice cream maker attempts to solve one of the problems of low-cost ice cream makers, which either use a freezable bowl or ice and rock salt: the need to plan ahead. It sounds like a wonderful idea to be able to pop the whole unit it the freezer and magically get out ice cream, but the way that good, smooth ice cream is made is to freeze the mixture _fast_. Having ice or a bowl with frozen gel allows heat to quickly conduct out of the ice cream mixture, discouraging the formation of large ice crystals and creating a smooth result. This unit, however, relies on the cold freezer air to freeze the ice cream over hours. The result is a grainy mess. High-fat mixtures do a little bit better (the formation of ice crystals is limited by all of the milkfat), but forget ice milk, frozen yogurts, or frozen fruit desserts. The result, quite literally, will not be much different than if you just placed a bowl in the freezer.

Pros - easy to use, result is great. Cons - should use 4 AA batteries = 1.5V x 4, instead of the lithum camera batteries which are harder to find, and more expensive to replace. Expensive Icecream maker is expensive because we are buying the build-in icebox/refrigerator. (-18 C operating temperature). While most of us already have a icebox, and we don't make serving to feed an army. Then this little guy do the job nicely for a family of 4. Last weekend, I tried to make durian fruit and kiwi fruit icecream. They are fantastic. It took like 2 hours + to get them done. One simple trick is to get a plain 1 gallon vanilla or non-flavored icecream from food place like costco or price club. When you are back home, the gallon-icecream may be a little soft, just mix it with your favorite fruit juice or puree and dump all into this little icecream maker, after 2 hours, you have something that you have never taste before. (Heavy cream is expensive by itself) For the batteries, get a 4x1.5 AA battery box from radioshack, and connect those to the correct polar with 4 x 1.5 2000mAH NiMd rechargable, that should solve that lithum battery issue any time :)