My new favorite toy came in the mail today. I had been stalking CraigsList for an ice cream maker that had an internal condenser. We have tried a couple of the “frozen bowl” ones, where you freeze the bowl in the freezer and attach the paddle to it, and have never been really impressed. The ones with the internal condenser have the freezer hardware built right in, so you don’t have to keep a giant bowl in the fridge, and it can freeze much more quickly, leading to creamier ice cream. The problem is that the internal condenser models are much more expensive and tend to be on the large side. After a few weeks of back and forth with someone from the Twin Cities, I snagged a Gaggia Gelatiera for about 1/4 of it’s original price. While still much more expensive than the “frozen bowl” kind, it was a great deal for what it can do.
The Beast
This thing is a beast. It’s huge and weighs about 30 pounds. It is Italian and definitely has the “Italian” design aesthetic to it. Luckily the instruction booklet was in fairly good English. It has a timer dial and two switches – one to turn on the freezer and the other to turn on the paddle. I wanted to try a Pistachio Gelato recipe from a book of recipes I picked up at Janke Bookstore this weekend, but we couldn’t find unsalted pistachios anywhere in Stevens Point (Julie is searching for an online place to order some). Instead we got what we needed for just regular old vanilla. Our shopping list included a bunch of heavy cream, whole milk, and lard for recipes from a new Amish cookbook Julie got for her birthday – I don’t think the checkout person was impressed, but I was.
When we got home, I got to work mixing up the cream, whole milk, and seeds scraped from a vanilla bean.
Whip it up!
The mixture was allowed to rest for awhile while we ran errands, and when we got back it was reheated and a bunch of sugar and a pinch of salt were added, along with 4 egg yolks. It was kept on the heat until it got to a “custard” stage, which Julie tried to explain to me but I didn’t really understand. I put the mixture in the fridge to cool for a few hours.
Straining out the "chunks" and the vanilla bean shell.
Getting the machine ready involved making a mixture of alcohol and water. This goes between the base of the freezer and the removable bowl to keep a good, air tight seal so the freezer works correctly. Luckily we had some rather old Tequila sitting around. At least it was in a glass bottle instead of a plastic one…
Pepe Lopez Tequila - can't get any more stereotypical than that...
I added the alcohol, put the bowl in and flipped on the freezer. The freezer fires up for 5 minutes to get nice and cool, and then the mixture is added.
Adding the mixture
After the mixture is added, the timer is started and we just sat back and waited for about 40 minutes while it whipped up the mixture and froze it quickly.
The final result
The end result was some of the best ice cream we have ever had. Really unbelievably creamy and super, super rich. It went great with some chocolate cake Julie had made earlier in the evening. I am super excited to try all sorts of different kinds now, and we have quite a bit left over sitting in the freezer for tomorrow!
Jennifer
March 3, 2010 at 9:27 am
Oh my, that looks so good!
Mom/Carol
March 3, 2010 at 3:27 pm
I want some! It would be great with Chocolate Lava Cakes, which I plan to make and freeze on Thursday!
Sarah
September 22, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Wow. That looks so yummy! How much do Gaggia Gelatiera’s cost in retail? Is it really as pricey as I think it sounds?
jbgasper
September 22, 2010 at 7:59 pm
They are pretty pricey. I got this one off Craigslist for less than $200 though.
Sarah
September 22, 2010 at 8:31 pm
Thank you for the response. I was actually looking for a used Gaggia and yes, getting it for under $200 is very decent. I finally found a listing for it and I believe it’s the same model as yours but they have failed to supply the manual as well. Happen to know where I could access it? I’ve tried the company’s website but can’t find it.
jbgasper
September 22, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Not sure. Ours came with a manual – it’s OK, but kind of hard to understand as the translation from Italian isn’t all that great
Sarah
September 29, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I hope it’s not asking too much, but would it be possible to somehow get a copy of your manual? I’ve been searching and contacting places with no luck. Even just the basic instructions for how to use it would be super nice. Please let me know if it’s at all possible. Thank you.
Please Help
April 6, 2012 at 8:30 pm
I Bought one Today at a sale and it looks just like yours but it didn’t have the extra bowl you you are talking about. Can you make ice cream in without the removable bowl. I did not get one. Also I Didn’t get a manual. How can I get instructions.
Please Help
April 7, 2012 at 9:50 pm
Hi You did a really good job showing how to use this ice cream maker. I’m Please Help or JB. I went back to were I bought this machine and they still had the bowl for it . Because of your good work showing us how to use it, I found out it should have a takeout bowl and a paddle for it. Thank You. In Fact it had 2 bowls and 2 more paddles. This was a Estates sale and they didn’t know what the bowels went too. They still didn’t have a Manual and I can’t find it in english on the net. Thank You again .
jmgasper
April 7, 2012 at 10:07 pm
Operation is pretty simple:
In the main bowl (without the interior bowl inserted), put a table spoon of cheap liquor. We just use cheap tequila. It’s just so the freezing temperature gets transferred properly. Then, put the interior bowl in place, put the paddle on, and screw it into the post with the plastic screw-top. Next, turn on just the freezer for 5 minutes (green switch), or until the bottom of the interior bowl is really cold, then pour in the mixture, turn the timer all the way (black plastic), and flip the switch for the paddle mechanism (red switch) and sit back and watch it go to work.
Frank
April 10, 2012 at 8:03 pm
I have one, but my drive belt is broken. If you find a location for parts, please let me know.
Thanks
Sherry
May 31, 2012 at 8:18 am
Hello, I now have one of these. I have the manuals, only it says to use a measure, that is no longer with the machine, to make the alcohol water mixture. It appears to be, from the picture, a 2 to 1 mix of alcohol to water. My question is: Is 1 tablespoon total liquid all that is needed in the interior bowl? Thank you so much.
jmgasper
May 31, 2012 at 8:23 am
When I use the measure, the liquid just about covers the base where the bowl goes in, but any extra will be forced out the center hole into the bowl when you set the bowl in and tighten up the paddle. You can then just clean that up with a paper towel before you put your mix in for freezing. The main goal of the mixture is to provide good cooling transfer from the base to the bowl. If the liquid freezes up completely, then more alcohol will be needed. I think if it’s a little “mushy” when the ice cream is done and the bowl is removed it should be fine – just not frozen solid.