The Whynter Sno is a fully contained 2 liter ice cream machine. It will both churn and freeze a mix to create:
Frozen Custard
Ice Cream
Ice Milk
Gelato
Sorbets
and even icy beverages (think Margaritas and the like.)
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The Pros
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It Works!
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(Yes, this is a big deal. How would you like it if you plunked down $200 only to find your ice cream mix comes out soup or filled with chunky ice cubes?) This machine definitely gets the job done; It makes ice cream.
It is surprisingly quiet.
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While you wouldn't want to use it in a library, this machine is actually pretty quiet. Most of us who don't have any experience with an Ice Cream Machine can only relate to the beasts they have at the local Ice-Creameries (You know the ones: Buy One, Get One Free on certain days...) These industrial behemoths are LOUD. This machine (not being an industrial behemoth) is not loud. It **IS** louder than my refrigerator (barely,) but not quite as loud as my washing machine. It's NO WHERE NEAR AS LOUD as a Blender, Food Processor, or Stick Blender (if those are your only gauges of relevance.)
You can make your own concoctions.
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Some local ice-creameries will make you a custom blend of ice cream. For example, if you want chocolate chips in some strawberry ice cream, they'll do that. (Probably not nationwide chains, but the local shop might.) But ask them to make anything crazier than that, and you're probably out of luck. Rosewater ice cream? Sorry. Green Tea ice cream? You're probably out of luck.
With this machine, you can make whatever flavors your heart desires, and that's pretty cool. (Just don't save me any Alligator Sherbet, ok?)
Ease of Use / Capacity.
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This thing is EASY to use. For example, to make a simple vanilla ice cream, take 2 cups of half-and-half and POUR IT DIRECTLY INTO THE MACHINE'S MIXING BUCKET. DO LIKEWISE WITH 1/2 CUP OF SUGAR. Add a tablespoon of vanilla, and run the machine. About 45 minutes later, you'll have medium soft serve ice cream. NOTE that I do not say "Bring this mixture to a boil," nor do I say "Mix it," nor anything like that. In fact, when I tried this mix, I could even hear the churn running over the grains of sugar in the churning bowl. But, 45 minutes later, nothing but super-fine ice cream.
The other plus side is this machine's capacity. It's nice to be able to make a larger quantity of a mix if the mix is a bit more complicated (ie: a custard, which may require the incorporation of eggs, and possible cooking of the eggs.) This way, you can make a larger batch of mix, followed by a larger batch of ice cream.
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The Cons
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It's NOT dishwasher safe!
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While I won't say "Cleanup is hard," (there are really only 2 things to clean: the bowl and the beater,) you still can't just toss them into the top rack of your dishwasher to get the job done. You'll also need to wipe off the top plastic cover with a sponge, dishrag, etc... because it's permanently attached to the motor (which doesn't lend itself to easy cleaning.) The same thing holds true if your mix overflows the bowl and gets into the machine itself. (Don't worry, it's easy to clean, but again, you can't put the whole machine into your dishwasher [it's electrical, y'know,] so you'll have to clean it with a sponge or dishrag...) In other words, it would have been nicer if the freezing bowl (into which the mixing bowl sits,) the mixing bowl, the churn, and the plastic cover all been removable and dishwasher safe. They're not, but, to Whynter's credit, they are pretty easy to clean.
The label came off
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Petty? Yes. But it's an indicator as to the design of the machine. The label is a stiff label affixed to the rounded "tub" area of the machine. Had the machine been designed with a flat areat onto which the logo could be affixed, the label would still be there. (Mind you, this is "straight out of the box."
Little or No Documentation
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The documentation isn't bad (for what there is of it, but there aren't any recipes that come along with it. Also, there's no indicator as to the Maximum Fill Level of the Churn bucket. Overfill it, and you've got an ice cream that won't set properly, or have enough air mixed into it; or worse: ice cream base spilling into the freezing chamber. NOTE: You **CAN** go onto the website and download some recipes, but it would have been GREAT if they would have spent the extra $.38 and printed out some copies of at least a simple vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry mix recipe and thrown it into the box.
"Add-Ins" chute too small
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Do you like "Add-Ins" (ie: gelatin-based fruit-flavored candy animals and the like) in your ice cream? Well, you'll need to stop the machine, open the top, add the Add-Ins, then restart the churn (which, ideally, you'd wait 6 minutes for, since the compressor doesn't like to start and stop without a 6 minute breather.) The current model has a chute large enough for sprinkles and MAYBE very small cookie crumbs, but not chocolate chips. Again, not the worst thing in the world, but... hey! You know.
It can be slow
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This machine COULD conceivably turn out a batch of ice cream in 30 minutes, but that's only if the mix is nearly frozen to begin with (
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