Latest news with #CREAMi
Wall Street Journal
9 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
Soft Serve at Home? This $350 Kitchen Gadget Makes It Possible
Making soft serve at home hasn't, historically, worked out so well. Most countertop appliances are designed for hard ice cream. If you go Luddite and leave a carton of ice cream out to thaw just so, it easily ends up somewhere between a milkshake and soup. So, when appliance maker Ninja released the Ninja Swirl by CREAMi Soft Serve & Ice Cream Machine ($350) earlier this year, I was—cautiously—hopeful. Would the quality of the soft serve make it worth laying out the money and the counter space? First, you mix the base—largely milk, cream and sugar—in the provided pint container. (The Swirl comes with recipes.) Then you freeze it for 24 hours. The next day, you load the container into the machine, choose the soft-serve setting, and wait 4-5 minutes as a metal shaft with a toothy blade moves through the frozen base. Next, move the pint container to the Swirl's top left corner and ready a cone or cup. Hold the lever down for about 10 seconds, and a piston pushes the ice cream through a star-shaped silicone tip similar to the kind that pipes frosting onto a cake. The ribbon of soft serve meanders down slowly, tantalizingly. The ice cream will definitely be soft, but it can also be icy. My freezer was already set to zero degrees, but I learned that carving out a spot in the very back chilled the base faster, reduced the iciness and delivered a mouthfeel closer to commercial soft serve. I also found that the base works better with eggs, and experts back me up on this. 'I add eggs when I make soft serve at home,' said Kimberly Bukowski, a dairy foods extension specialist at Cornell University and former ice-cream-shop owner. 'Eggs are a natural emulsifier, so you can use yolks without necessarily having to use any stabilizers.' Adding a couple yolks did make for a richer consistency. You have to cook them first—for food safety and thickening—in a saucepan, to about 170 degrees. Ninja includes egg-based frozen-custard recipes in the book that comes with the Swirl. But this bit of fuss lengthened an already 24-hour-long endeavor. The easier route: Use store-bought hard ice cream as your base. Commercial ice creams have stabilizers to ward off iciness and come in flavors and colors tricky to replicate in your kitchen. (I happen to love an artificially green mint chip.) The machine is loud enough to make your kitchen sound like a wood shop. And it's big, with a 12-by-10-inch footprint. But it's also a twofer, since it churns scoopable ice cream too. Most important, while the ribbon it produces isn't quite as fat as what you get at Mister Softee, it comes close. Turns out, it is pretty exciting to make soft serve at home. The Wall Street Journal is not compensated by retailers listed in its articles as outlets for products. Listed retailers frequently are not the sole retail outlets.
Daily Record
29-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Ninja shoppers 'absolutely love' Creami that comes with fun recipes amid £60 price slash
With summer just around the corner, many people will soon be reaching for their favourite ice cream to help them cool down in the hot weather . While pre-made sweet treats are always available, Ninja has marked down one popular kitchen appliance that will allow you to make your own. Just in time for the upcoming heatwave, Ninja has reduced the price of the CREAMi Deluxe 10-in-1 Ice Cream and Frozen Drink Maker . Usually priced at £275.98, cool drink and treat lovers can now snatch it up for £214 after a huge £60 price slash. This website-exclusive bundle deal includes the CREAMi machine along with five handy tubs with lids so you can safely store your delicious ice creams. In comparison to older models, this CREAMi is said to make "50 per cent more ice cream", which will be ready "in minutes". READ MORE: Speedy cooling fan drops to £20 in heatwave-worthy deal READ MORE: Amazon's XL BBQ that you 'cannot beat' is 'brilliant' for garden parties in upcoming heatwave The Ninja CREAMi can make more than just ice cream as it features 10 simple one-touch programmes for a variety of treats, reports the Express. These programmes include: Ice Cream, Sorbet, Light Ice Cream, Gelato, Milkshake, Mix-In, Frappe, Frozen Drink, Slushi and Frozen Yoghurt. Using advanced creamify technology, the Ninja device will be able to finely shave and transform ice particles into the creamiest treats you have tasted. And after all the treats are made - from fruity sorbets to cheeky alcohol infused frozen drinks - the CREAMi features dishwasher-safe parts to make cleaning up a breeze. If you are looking for something a bit cheaper, there are alternative products on the market - but you should note that they won't be able to create the same variety of treats as the Ninja CREAMi can. Argos has recently reduced the price of the highly-rated Cuisinart 2L Deluxe Ice Cream Maker . Normally retailing for £100, shoppers can now grab it for only £85. While only making ice cream, sorbet and frozen yoghurt, the Cuisinart is said to make ice cream "in 25 minutes". Alternatively, you can buy the Lakeland Digital Ice Cream Maker for only £39.99 after a £10 discount. This 1.8L device will make your delicious creations "in as little as 40 minutes", but again you won't have the joy of making your own frozen drinks or slushies. From over 170 shoppers, the Ninja CREAMi Deluxe has earned itself an impressive 4.5 stars, with shoppers praising the device for how easy it is to use and its creative recipes. One delighted shopper wrote: "Excellent product, fun and easy to use. Comes with recipe ideas and really clear instructions on how to use." Another shopper also added: "Arrived the next day after ordering online. Easy to use, great instructions and recipe suggestions. Makes incredibly smooth ice cream." While a third five-star reviewer said: "Absolutely worth it. I've made frappes, sorbets and have been so satisfied with everything. Absolutely love the new functions. A great machine and product. Especially with the extra tubs." A fourth shopper was also complimentary, saying: "I was bought this for Christmas, I absolutely love it. It was easy to set-up and use. It's also easy to clean. I highly recommend this product. I have many Ninja items and can honestly say this doesn't disappoint." However, not everyone was satisfied with their results, with one shopper writing: "Very loud and very expensive for what you get. Wouldn't buy again. Seems to produce cold slush each time." Another reviewer also noted: "Nice ice-cream machine, just my one never works first time. I have to switch it off from power supply and again turn it on and only then it start working." If you want to snatch up a bargain price for the Ninja CREAMi Deluxe 10-in-1 Ice Cream and Frozen Drink Maker, you can click HERE.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Yahoo
I Tried Ninja's New Ice Cream Maker, and I Totally Get the Hype (I Use It Every Night!)
This article may contain affiliate links that Yahoo and/or the publisher may receive a commission from if you buy a product or service through those links. When it comes to desserts, there are few things that satisfy me like ice cream — no matter how cold it might be outside. My freezer is almost always stocked with a grocery store tub or two, alongside popsicles and disappointing attempts at homemade frozen yogurt or banana-based ice creams. At least, it used to be. Ever since the release of the Ninja Swirl by CREAMi, I've been making my own ice creams, custards, and even fruit whips almost nightly — and I can confidently say my at-home ice cream game has never been stronger. Chances are, you've seen the Ninja CREAMi all over TikTok. You might even have one in your kitchen. Or both! Well following on its viral success of this ice cream maker, Ninja launched the next iteration — Ninja Swirl by CREAMi — just last month. Similar to the beloved countertop appliance, you can make ice cream, gelato, and sorbet. The Swirl takes things to the next level with even more cold, creamy desserts, like frozen yogurt, fruit whip, and soft serve! Plus, as the name implies, this machine can also give you that classic ice cream shop-swirl when you're done mixing your soft serve. Amazon $349.99 Buy Now Ultimately, this machine is bigger and a little pricier than the CREAMi. It also offers a whole lot more functionality, which is super exciting for ice cream die-hards like me. I was initially a little intimidated to work with the Ninja Swirl, not going to lie. Once I got going, I actually found it to be pretty intuitive (plus, the QR code on the machine links to simple 'how to' videos). Since my first go, every time after has been easy. I've been using it for over a week and am thoroughly impressed with the frozen results. I've seen CREAMi users on TikTok end up with chalky-looking ice cream that needs to be respun a time or two before they get the texture they're looking for. I haven't had this issue at all with the Swirl. I've already made a handful of recipes, and my favorite was easily the cookie butter frozen custard (which was a riff on the PB&J frozen custard in the booklet that came with the Ninja Swirl). The texture was thick and luscious, denser than your typical ice cream — but also smoother and creamier than my favorite store-bought pints. It was on par with the ones I order at my local frozen custard joint when I'm back home. It had a burnt caramel flavor infused with notes of warm spices. It was satisfyingly sweet without becoming saccharine. Beyond the frozen custard, I've also made vanilla soft serve, pineapple, and banana fruit whip, and chocolate mint protein ice cream, which all turned out delicious as well — especially the soft serve. That's going to be a summertime game-changer! I originally thought having to freeze each dessert for 24 hours before spinning would feel like too much planning for what is typically an impulsive craving for me, but it's something I actually look forward to. Each night, I've been mixing up a new dessert for the next day, so I always have one ready to go when I want it. It's been particularly fun experimenting with flavors I don't otherwise find at the grocery store or ice cream shops. My one critique is the volume: it is quite noisy when it's spinning my ice cream. (Picture the loudest blender you've ever heard and then some.) It's hard to talk over it, though each setting is a little different, so some are quieter than others. I usually just leave my kitchen while the ice cream is spinning and check back in on it periodically until the timer hits zero. While I've never considered an ice cream maker a kitchen necessity (and I still don't), the Swirl is quickly becoming one of my top-used appliances. I've been breaking it out every night. It's a new ritual my fiancé and I look forward to — especially when coupled with watching the latest episode of one of our favorite shows (ahem, The Traitors). Buy: $349.99 at AmazonHave you tried the new Ninja Swirl by CREAMi? Tell us about it in the comments below. The One Cookware Brand That Gordon Ramsay Can't Stop Talking About Reese's Just Launched a Limited-Edition Peanut Butter Cup, and It Tastes 4x Better than the Original Sign up for The Kitchn's Daily newsletter to receive our best recipes, posts, and shopping tips in your inbox.
