The canister should not be just beginning to thaw when you stop the machine--at least not in my experience. Normally it's just as frozen solid after the 20-30 minutes of processing as before. Are you sure your freezer is cold enough? I store my canister in a separate upright freezer, because the fridge freezer doesn't quite do the job. And I don't think it has anything to do with mixing up the recipe the night before. I do that often--I think it's even recommended, to get it as cold as you can.

I'd test my freezer temp, and then maybe examine the canister to make sure it looks intact. And if I still had problems after that, I'd call Cuisinart's 800 number.

Hope someone else has some good ideas for you. That's got to be disappointing.

What about room temperature? Based on my experience it takes less time on a winter day than on a hot summer day. Once it hits 30C outside it takes 30 - 35 minutes to mix 2 cups of cream/milk whereas a cooler day only takes 20 minutes to do the same amount of ice cream.

That's happened to me once before too. The mixture didn't thicken at all. I wrote it off to the canister not being frozen long enough. I store mine in the chest freezer now so that I don't have to plan ahead to make ice cream.

Do you have a freezer thermometer? If not, you should get one to find out exactly what temperature your freezer is. It must get down to 0°F in order for the ice cream maker to work. As also said above, if the room temperature is too high, it will take longer.

I've noticed that if people open the freezer too often, it causes the freezer temperature to rise, and so I'm very happy now that I have an ice dispenser in the door so that my freezer door is very seldom open now. If the door does get opened, it should be closed as quickly as possible - it is very bad to stand browsing with the freezer door open - I won't tolerate that. Also, when you are getting something out of the freezer, you should get it out as quickly as possible and close the door as quickly as possible in order to keep the temperature down. This is more critical on older freezers, but it will also save you energy on the newer ones. How old is your freezer? Are you able to measure the temperature?

Lars

Did you always used 1% milk? I vaguely remember reading somewhere that making ice cream needs to be whole milk. If using skim milk, 1% and 2% would not allow the mixture to thicken.

I'll try freezing the canister a little longer next time. I thought that I read in the instruction booklet that the canister would be thawing out by the time the 30 minutes was up (I'll have to double check that).

I have it in a refrigerator freezer that is in our basement (so it's not opened frequently). It's not a deep freezer, so it may not get as cold as it needs to get :(

I'll see about getting a thermometer and checking the temp.

Yes, I've used 1% and 2% every time to "top off" the milk portion of the ice cream... with no problems. I don't like ice cream made with straight cream (too thick and it seems to leave a coating in your mouth.... I know that sounds gross, but I don't know any other way to describe it).

I'll make a few more attempts and see if I can get it thicker.

Thanks for the suggestions.

We spend much of the summer in family cottages in Ct. My mom has to store her ice cream maker bowl in my freezer as hers just doesn't get cold enough. Even then, fresh ice cream is still almost soft serve.

Jo

I have this ice cream maker and have been using it all summer. A couple of tips:

1) As everyone has said, the canister should be frozen solid before you use it. When you shake it, you should hear no sloshing at all.

2) Do NOT fill the canister all the way to the top. You should fill it only about two-thirds full. The ice cream will expand as it freezes, so you will end up with more than a quart when it's done. If you want more ice cream than that will produce, you'll have to stick the cleaned canister back in the freezer for a couple of hours before re-using.

3) The ice cream, sorbet, etc. will be 'soft serve' in 20 - 30 minutes. Scoop the processed product into freezer-safe containers and let the the ice cream firm up for about an hour in the freezer before serving.

I've made lots in my machine this summer. I love it!

Lori :D

You might try doing half of the mixture at a time. I have a cheap ice cream maker too (maybe the same one) and I've had times where it didn't have enough "cold" to freeze the ice cream. As long as the mixture has been cool, and I've used small amounts, I've had good results.