Iceman by Chefman Trio
It has no bowl: it has two steel tubs of a pint each. You make one flavour in each, in half an hour and without freezing anything beforehand. It runs on 110 volts, for the United States only.
Dos sabores del tirón, en tarrina
Chefman solved the age-old problem — one bowl, one flavour — with two pint-sized steel tubs. Each has its own lid, and you eat straight from the tub or put it in the freezer just as it is. Nothing has to be decanted.
Our score, after reading the reviews one by one.
Half a pint is little mix, so it chills fast and comes out fine. That is its real advantage.
Three programmes — ice cream, frozen yoghurt and italian ice — on colour touch controls. You pick and forget.
473 ml per tub: two servings. With both tubs, four.
That you eat from the very tub it was made in.
Four things you notice
in use, not on the box
How the ice cream comes out
Fine, because there is little mix to chill. What it does not give is volume: for a table of six you have to do several batches.
How long it really takes
Half an hour in the current revision. The first version, the black one, needed a whole hour: worth checking the reference before buying.
Day to day
Transparent lid to watch the churning, automatic chilling when it finishes and dishwasher-safe parts.
The plug
110/120 volts and 60 hertz. In Europe, the closest thing in tub format is the Ninja Creami.
Menos helado, mejor helado
The less mix there is to chill, the sooner it crosses the zone where large crystals form, and the finer the ice cream comes out. Half a pint crosses that zone in minutes. The price is obvious: half a pint is half a pint. This machine does not compete on litres, it competes on texture and on being able to make two flavours at once.
Capacidad de cada vaso
Vasos de acero incluidos
Programmes
Weight
What it wins and what you have to accept
- Its own compressor: no need to pre-freeze the bowl the night before
- The cheapest in the compressor range
- LCD screen with timer
- Removable steel bowl
- The one that takes least worktop space
- 135 W and 1.2 litres: the lowest rung of its brand
- It falls short as soon as you want more quantity or more flavours
- It does not make yoghurt
- The recipe booklet doesn't give balanced formulas; the recipe is up to you
Iceman by Chefman Trio specifications
La Iceman Trio frente a sus rivales
Whynter ICM-128WS
Almost three times the ice cream per batch, in a single bowl.
Whynter ICM-200LS
Dos litros de acero: cuatro veces esta.
nutribullet Chill
The same individual-tub idea, at 230 volts.
Lello 4080 Musso Lussino
Solid steel and batches strung together without a break.
Would we buy it? Yes, for two flavours and few people
Half an hour, two flavours at once and eating from the very tub it was made in is a very convenient way to have homemade ice cream midweek. What it is not is a machine for guests: a pint per tub goes fast. Watch the reference, because the first version took an hour. And it runs on 110 volts.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work in Europe?
No. It runs on 110/120 volts and 60 hertz.
¿Se pueden hacer dos sabores a la vez?
It comes with two tubs and their two lids, but the machine works one at a time: two batches in a row, with no waiting in between.
How does it differ from a Ninja Creami?
The Creami freezes the tub 24 hours ahead and then shaves it. This one has a compressor: you pour in the liquid mix and ice cream comes out in half an hour.
¿Una pinta para cuántos da?
Two servings per tub. With both tubs, four.
¿Media hora o una hora?
The current revision, half an hour. The first version needed a whole hour: worth checking the reference before buying.
Which would we buy instead?
In Europe, the nutribullet Chill. In the United States, the Whynter ICM-128WS if you want more than a pint per batch.
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