Philips 2304 Ice cream maker: Why my ice cream failed and tips to succeed?

Philip 2304 Ice cream maker - Making Banana ice cream

I churn the banana ice cream in an air condition room to speed up the process. The ice cream is harder than it looks
 
If you have problems with using the Philips 2304 ice cream maker
-Why my mixture does not turn into ice cream?
-Why it does not churn into ice cream?
-Why the before and after is the same and no ice cream came out?
-Is Philips 2304 ice cream maker a fluke?
-Tips in using the Philips ice cream maker

then this post might be able to help you. This post concentrate on how to make the machine work and it is not referring to the taste of the ice cream.


I am bursting with happiness as my Philips ice cream maker is finally producing ice cream! I failed 3 times making the ice cream and just when I am starting to think that the product is a fluke and thinking of ways of getting rid my 1 week old ice cream maker, I finally succeeded in churning out ice cream! The first 3 times fail in the sense that the mixture i put in does not churn into ice cream. The before and  after is the same, the mixture is still in liquid form. And when I wanted to save the mixture by putting it in a container and pop into the freezer, the next day I tried and the ice cream is hard like a rock. Its hard because ice crystal form around it. Just imagine you are eating large ice cube in mango flavor.

Tips in using the Philips 2304 ice cream maker:
-Read the instruction manual page by page. My first recipe is mango ice cream. After figuring out and buying all the ingredients, I skip reading the manual and jump straight to making ice cream. After the second miserable failure I started skimming through the page and start using the recipe in the book.

-Watch out the quantity. To maximize your success rate, I suggest that you start simple and follow the recipe provided when you buy this ice cream maker. That is because when you get the recipe in the net, they might be giving the measurement base on different types of ice cream maker. As you are new, you might not know how to reduce or increase the quantity base on your ice cream maker. If you put too much then your mixture might fail to churn out ice cream.

-Freeze your mixture first. First time I did not freeze the mixture, second time I put in the freezer for a while, 3rd time I cook the ice cream mixture and put for 2 hours. Fourth time I put a non cook ice cream for 1 and half hour.

-Freeze the cooling disk till its rock solid. In this model, you will need to store the cooling disk till its hard. To ensure it is ready, just shake the cooling disk. If you hear a watery sound means that it is not ready. I find this easier comparing with the manual recommendation whereby "you will hear a crunching sound when you press the bottom of the disc with your thumb". For my freezer, apparently 24 hours might not be enough. The fourth attempt I left it for 48 hours in the freezer.

-Thaw the cooling disk make sure its free of ice. I find this step crucial as i ignore this step the first 3 times. When there is ice stuck on the grey side of the cooling disk, where the stirrer turn, then there will be a weird sound produce. That is because the stirrer could not turn properly and it will turn the cooling disk too. By right the cooling disk should remain still while the the stirrer turn. The fourth time I thaw the ice away carefully with a plastic ruler (please do not use metal utensil as it will damage the cooling disk). Before pouring in the mixture I switch on and make sure that the stirrer is turning smoothly. I stop it to clean the cooling disk as I heard a "wrrrr..tak tak.....wrrrr" which means that it is not turning smoothly. You can start pouring in your mixture once you have check that the stirrer is turning smoothly

-Room temperature. Well this might be a weird method but desperate situation calls for a creative measures. The 3rd attempt onwards, I started making ice cream in a air condition room! It state in the preparation time section in the manual that the mixture will take a longer time in higher temperature environment. I belief this really help to speed things up as I started seeing ice cream appearing miraculourly in less than 20 minutes!

-Dont stop to check your ice cream. On my 3rd attempt, I stop halfway. When i start back there is a weird "tak....tak...tak" sound like something is stuck! The sound is so disturbing that I stop the process, took out my vanilla mixture and realize that the mixture has stuck on the cooling disc

-Watch ice cream making video. It will build up your confidence. There are many ice cream making recipe in Youtube.

-Start simple. If your first few attempt fail its best to start simple. If you have banana at hand, I recommend you try their Banana Ice cream at page 9. Its simple as you don't have to cook it and it does not involve any eggs.

If you still face problem even after reading this post, I recommend that you read the instruction manual and start with a simple recipe. Read the manuals word for word.