Soft Ice Cream Maker

When the weather is cold and frosty and the dark nights are closing in, the last thing on your mind is probably investing in a soft ice cream maker. But why not? You could buy one in the winter months and get practicing those recipes ready for when summer arrives.

A soft ice cream maker is a doddle to use and will ensure you always have a cool refreshing dessert or snack to hand when the kids are hungry or when you just fancy something a bit more exciting than a piece of fruit or a yogurt. Speaking of yogurt - a soft ice cream maker can make some fantastic frozen yogurt and if you use low fat ingredients you get a healthy snack in the blink of an eye - well, 30-90 minutes anyway!

Using your soft ice cream maker could give you some real inspiration. Many come with their own recipe books but there are thousands of recipes available online too. Peanut butter, vanilla macadamia, strawberry and white chocolate and banana chocolate chip are just some of the creations you could be whipping up in your new soft ice cream maker. Don't forget to stock up on sprinkles, cones and wafers so that you have enough for everybody to go round.

A soft ice cream maker will pay for itself over time. When you consider that a tub of premium ice cream can cost £5 for just 1 litre it really puts things into perspective. Over a summer your soft ice cream maker could have paid for itself especially as it can make 1.5 litres of the most delicious ice cream and the ingredients cost a fraction of the price of store bought alternatives.

It is worth paying more for a good ice cream maker as the more expensive models have features such as timers, professional stirring paddles and a freeze function that means you can serve your ice cream from the machine's bowl straight to the table. That doesn't mean you need to remortgage the house though! You can certainly pick up a good soft ice cream maker for under £250 and you'll have lots of change left over for your ingredients and some nice new ice cream bowls and spoons!

If you are worried that a soft ice cream maker is a gadget that won't get used, don't be. Movie nights, dinner parties and kid's treats are just some of the uses you will have for your new best friend in the kitchen, not to mention those times when only ice cream will do. In under an hour you could have some of the best ice cream ready and waiting in your kitchen and all because you chose to invest in a new soft ice cream maker.