Product Description

Many summers ago, ice-cream socials centered around families getting together, each cranking out its favorite ice cream for all to enjoy. You can still carry on that tradition with this authentic-looking Ice Cream Maker with Crank. The White Mountain Freezer company, which crafts these Makers, has been in business for over 145 years and knows all about making ice cream the good old-fashioned way. In fact, they've developed an exclusive method of mixing the ice cream ??? a triple-motion gear action that properly mixes and beats the entire cream contents of the canister, resulting in the smoothest, creamiest ice cream in just 20-30 minutes. The stainless-steel canister is designed for faster freezing, and the cast-iron dasher and blades will never warp out of shape. The freezer tub is made of New England pine that has been sealed, stained, lacquered and bound with strong galvanized hoops.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19143 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Rival
• Model: F64304-X
• Dimensions: 13.50" h x 13.50" w x 18.40" l, 16.95 pounds

Features

• Makes 4 quarts of ice cream, frozen yogurt, and other frozen confections
• Hand cranking provides fun for the entire family
• Stainless-steel freezer can and dasher inside wooden tub
• Freezer can and dasher are dishwasher-safe

Amazon.com Review
For a century and a half, since a woman in New York invented the hand-crank freezer, making ice cream has been an American family value. Mom blended the ice cream mixture; Dad filled the maker's wooden tub with ice and rock salt to achieve the below-freezing temperature needed to produce smooth confections; kids clamored to turn the crank; and everyone happily consumed big bowls of ice cream as a reward. This family-bonding activity remains as vibrant today as it was through a century-and-a-half of "progress." With various ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sherbet recipes included, this old-fashioned White Mountain ice cream maker maintains the tradition. Only the use of modern stainless steel for the freezer can and dasher distinguishes this rugged maker from the one earlier generations enjoyed. And years from now it will still be used, knitting together a family's history. --Fred Brack

Customer Reviews

Good Old Fashioned Ice-Cream-Making Fun!
My husband bought this ice cream maker for our anniversary present. We tried it out right away and made strawberry/oreo ice cream and it was delicious! The recipes included in the instruction manual surely rival Ben and Jerry's! When he first brought the ice cream maker home I was worried that it would be noisy because you actually crank it by hand. However, once you get the ice all packed in inside, it is very quiet! It's not difficult to crank and it only took us about 25 minutes from the time we poured the recipe in until the time it was firm enough to eat and enjoy! I was impressed. The ice cream maker is also nice looking. It is a reddish brown wood and it washes well inside. Once you are done making the ice cream, you can transfer it into a container of your own, or you can just place the inner container that comes with the ice cream maker directly into the freezer. We have to transfer it into a tupperware because our freezer is too small. However, most normal refridgerator/freezers could hold the inner container.

I would definately recommend this product as way to make delicious ice cream. It it a process that everyone in the family can participate in. My husband said he bought it because he had such great memories of his family making homemade icecream. I am certain that tradition will continue in our family now too!

Unusable due to gear box problems
White Mountain ice cream freezers have a sterling reputation, but mine, which I got a couple years ago, is unusable due to problems in the gear box. Once you're about halfway through freezing the ice cream, and it begins to get a bit stiff, the gears start jamming and skipping, and it's impossible to continue. Not surprisingly, this leads to metal filings dropping out of the gearbox, some of which find their way into the ice cream. I note there's a lot of play in the crankshaft, which can move in and out about a quarter inch, and I suspect this is a part of the problem.

Other than this problem, the bucket, can, and dashers appear nicely made and seem to work fine.

Because White Mountain has such a good reputation, and because I see the reviews on here of this item and the similar F64306 are a mix of positives and negatives (many of which report problems similar to mine) I'm wondering if this problem is the result of a recent design change. The number on the underside of my gear frame is 337-075. It would be interesting to know if anyone with this same gear frame is happy with the operation of their freezer.

Very shoddy design for the price.
If you just want an occasional nostalgia trip, or a rustic decoration for your kitchen, then buy this freezer. But if you are serious about making ice cream with it, you're in for a disappointment.

The part that covers the ice cream container is made of a cheap, soft metal alloy. Friction slowly wears it away as you crank it, getting black gunk on everything it touches. It even gets black specks in the ice cream - yuck!