Thanks for the comments. I'm definitely getting one with electric churning capabilities. For small groups the countertop models are fine. However, we often want to do ice cream for large gatherings. Most of the time the 4-qt size is fine, but occasionally a 6 qt size would be great. What I wondered was how the 6 qt. model does when you use for a smaller recipe?
I will add. I really like ice cream in the 'old fashioned' ones with wooden paddles and rock-salt, ice as cooling.
My freezer is tiny...so it's hard to clear space for the gel-insert ones.
And there's some quality you get with the wooden paddles and ice you don't get with smaller gel types.
That said. While the crank ones and the wooden buckets look very nice.
The fiberglass/plastic main container is much easier to clean and still 'retro'. The electric motor is still 'old fashioned' in a way, as that's what was used at my house in the 60's. When our neighbors, who had hand cranked ones, did ice cream it was the kids job to turn the crank--which was fun; for about 3 mins.
Totally agree with Sam1148. I'm not a huge fan of unnecessary appliances, I view a dependable ice cream machine as definitely necessary. The 1 quart machines have bowls that can be stored permanently in the freezer without consuming lots of space.
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My freezer is tiny...so it's hard to clear space for the gel-insert ones.
And there's some quality you get with the wooden paddles and ice you don't get with smaller gel types.
That said. While the crank ones and the wooden buckets look very nice.
The fiberglass/plastic main container is much easier to clean and still 'retro'. The electric motor is still 'old fashioned' in a way, as that's what was used at my house in the 60's. When our neighbors, who had hand cranked ones, did ice cream it was the kids job to turn the crank--which was fun; for about 3 mins.
At least get one with a electric motor.