292277 Fri Mar 21 14:06:17 -0800 2003 12 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1594714 My mother is considering the purchase of a Musso Lussino (4080 model) ice cream maker. [I think I have that right.] She's asked me to solicit opinions. Does anyone have any knowledge of this machine or this manufacturer? IIRC, this machine is capable of churning out 1.5 quarts in 30 minutes. For some reason, she finds this impressive. I'd appreciate any product recs that you may have for table top ice cream makers. I do know that she has absolutely no interest in machines that require pre-freezing the bin. Thank you, Erik M. Chicago Fri Mar 21 14:06:17 -0800 2003 0 Erik M. 1 1594717 In a word: Don't! I bought one from Williams-Sonoma about 2 years ago and returned it a week later. Problem being is that it heats up. It took me 45 minutes to run a Mango sorbet w/ a low vicosity sugar syrup (2 cups water/1 cup sugar)and it was still soft. I replaced it with the Simac Il Gelataio Magnum. It's a work horse with a removable bowl. I wrote my cookbook (or maybe it's a freezebook) "SORBETS!" with an earlier version of the Simac and it justs churns non-stop. Jim Tarantino Fri Mar 21 14:45:34 -0800 2003 1594714 0 Jim Tarantino 2 1594722 Today must me my lucky day. Mom's too. Thanks so much, Jim. Regards, Erik M. Fri Mar 21 15:04:02 -0800 2003 1594717 0 Erik M. 2 1594727 Should have read your post more closely, Jim. I think we have the same model. Fri Mar 21 15:29:12 -0800 2003 1594717 0 Greg Spence 2 1594731 I second this. I have a much earlier verion of the Simac with a non-removable bowl. Even with this downer, it is a winner. Pat G. Fri Mar 21 15:41:43 -0800 2003 1594717 0 Pat Goldberg 3 1594776 We're collectivly on the same page. The older Simac (non-removalble bowl) of the Simac lasted 9 years. I ran that for hours during recipe testing and it never gave up. That's the one to get if you can find it. The Magnum holds up pretty well. I have to research this more, there's an outfit in North Jersy that imports and repairs them and may have some reconditioned older versions. The only other machine I had was a 5-gallon Emory Thompson Batch freezer. It made a lot of snow. Jim T Sat Mar 22 08:44:04 -0800 2003 1594731 0 Jim Tarantino 4 1594786 If you find them, please post. The handle for the top of mine is kaput. We can of course fashion a replacement, but I would love to get the real thing. Pat G. Sat Mar 22 13:37:48 -0800 2003 1594776 0 Pat Goldberg 5 1594849 I had an older Simac for about 18 years. I didn't run it constantly but when I used it I made gallons of ice cream and sorbet in a short period of time. About 3 years ago I started to have problems with it and found a place in NJ (I think it was called ElectraCraft) to get it fixed. I have the address at home and will post it if you are interested. Unfortunately after about $100 of reconditioning it crapped out for good. I replaced it with a Simac II with the removable bowl. It is a great machine and well worth the money. Mon Mar 24 08:58:51 -0800 2003 1594786 0 AGM/Cape Cod 6 1594852 Pat, I need to do some digging and I also want to cnfirm that they're still in business. Be back to you, Jim Mon Mar 24 09:20:00 -0800 2003 1594849 0 Jim Tarantino 7 1595034 Hi Pat, hope this helps! Essetti, inc. 200 Winston Drive, Suite 3007 Cliffside Park, NJ 07010 tel: 201-886-8993 fax: 201-886-3865 e-mail: sales@essetti.com 1-888-339-4909 www.essetti.com Tue Mar 25 14:34:08 -0800 2003 1594852 0 Jim Tarantino 8 1595051 Thanks for taking the trouble to dig it out. BTW, I found a copy of your Sorbet book. It should arrive any day. Tue Mar 25 15:59:02 -0800 2003 1595034 0 Pat Goldberg 9 1595057 Wow! Where were you able to find it(Kitchen Arts & Letters)? It's been out of print. Crossing Press was bought out by Ten Speed Press and I'm in the middle of doing a major overhaul on my second book, "Marinades". Once that's finished I'll roll back into Sorbets!. BTW, loose the eggwhites in the recipes. While it smoothes out the texture, it dilutes the flavor. They tested OK when I first did the recipes, but I rarely use them now. Thanks for grabbing the book. Jim Tue Mar 25 16:29:40 -0800 2003 1595051 0 Jim Tarantino 1 1594726 A few years ago, I bought an ice cream/gelato maker made by "Il Gelato" at a garage sale for $50. It's fabulous. Some friends bought an expensive model from Williams - Sonoma that's very nice but they use it mainly for making frozen drinks. Fri Mar 21 15:27:15 -0800 2003 1594714 0 Greg Spence