Ptich wrote:
>
> If one searches on the Ebay for an Ice Cream Machine, almost all found
> items will have "soft serve" in their Title fields. Does it mean that
> small ice cream machines cannot produce "hard" ice cream ?
>
> I am thinking of buying a small machine with its own freezer, but would
> like to make sure first that it is capable of producing the regular ice
> cream - not sorbet, not soft serve, not gelato, but the regular creamy,
> hard-to-scoop stuff. Also I would appreciate any recommendation for a
> specific machine.

"Ice cream machine" typically refers to the commercial or consumer soft
serve freezer / dispenser units.

"Ice cream maker" typically refers to the consumer hard ice cream
makers, some hand crank, some motorized and some with refrigeration vs.
ice and rock salt.

In the ice cream maker range there are a number of units available
including a fairly recently introduced unit from Kitchenaid that is an
attachment for their stand mixers. I happen to have this one and like
it, though having one of their stand mixers is a prerequisite so it's
expensive overall. It consists of a double layer freezer bowl with an
ice-gel type filling, and a mixer paddle attachment for the mixer. You
pre-freeze the bowl in your freezer and indeed you can store the bowl in
the freezer so it's always ready to go. It works pretty well.

Pete C.