Ice cream knows no season. Sure, you may harbor fond childhood memories from sweltering summer evenings of frolicking around catching fireflies while devouring a melting waffle cone. But, don’t pigeonhole this delicacy.  It tastes almost as glorious in March or November as it does in August.

If you’ve never eaten homemade ice cream, we pity you—truly. A higher plane of enlightenment exists to which you are oblivious. You’ve heard the saying, “Ignorance is bliss.” Not here. Not even close.

Making homemade ice cream used to be arduous. You had to cover this hand-cranked contraption with ice and rock salt and churn it continuously for 25 to 30 minutes. After all that work, you couldn’t immediately enjoy the spoils but had to give it another hour to cure.

Things improved with the advent of the electric ice cream machine. About seven years ago, we bought the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence Ice Cream Maker. Its “freezer bowl” eliminates the need for ice and salt. After leaving the bowl in the freezer for at least 24 hours, you place it into the machine, add ingredients and press go. It supplies the labor, i.e., no more hand cranking. It’s not perfect, though.

First, you must either leave the bowl in the freezer or remember to insert it at least 24 hours in advance. We tried skirting the time limit. Twelve hours isn’t enough. Our custard wouldn’t freeze. We had to pull a bait-and-switch by inviting our nieces to play outside while we ran to CVS for some emergency Edy’s.

Second, even if properly frozen, the bowl will thaw. You might not have time for two batches, so you’d better get it right the first time. And, when you make a custard base, it better chill completely before you add it to the machine.

Luckily for mankind, technology solved the inherent “freezer bowl” problems. We recently got a SPT KI-15 Self-Refrigerated Ice Cream Maker. It cools itself. That means: (1.) we could conceivably make ice cream all day; (2.) we can add custard before it completely chills; and (3.) the machine will keep the ice cream frozen after it’s made.

We use the SPT KI-15 frequently, especially when hosting. Ice cream serves as a great desert for dinner parties.  Want to really impress? Try this recipe for green tea ice cream.

We at G@H thank Sunpentown for providing the sample SPT KI-15 Self-Refrigerated Ice Cream Maker.