- Makes frozen treats one quart at a time in about 30 minutes
- Built-in compressor freezer for continuous use; auto safety shut-off
- Electronic timer; removable bowl, transparent lid, slim ingredient window
- Recipe book and ice cream scoop included
- Measures 11 by 14 by 12-1/4 inches; 1-year limited warranty
Product Description
With a minimum freezing temperature of ?4 degrees F, the Simac Gelato Junior takes only about 30 minutes to satisfy your craving for a frozen confection. Plus, the built-in compressor freezer operates continuously, so you can turn out multiple flavors of ice cream while your guests finish their dinner. A 60-minute electronic timer frees you up for other activities, and an automatic safety mechanism sounds a warning beep if the integrated spatula blade gets stuck. A removable 1-quart bowl, transparent lid, and slim ingredient window all simplify operation, and the unit is also useful for crafting frozen drinks and chilled soups. Though not lightweight at 31 pounds, the Gelato Junior is fairly sleek for its class, measuring 11 by 14 by 12-1/4 inches. Simac includes a booklet of tasty ice cream, sorbet, and dessert sauce recipes, as well as an ice cream scoop.Amazon.com Review
With a minimum freezing temperature of –4 degrees F, the Simac Gelato J… More >>
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Just received and tried out the Gelato (reportedly manufactured by Simac…but the company name on the machine is Lello..don’t know why a different name). Results were great! The machine is rather large and heavy, due to the self-contained compressor, but that means you don’t have to plan ahead or take up freezer room to prefreeze the bucket. Makes enough ice cream for about four people, although if you need more you can start another batch right away by moving the first batch to another container (or your mouth)and refilling the bucket.
The machine runs quietly and freezes well (albeit I would add 10 minutes to times listed in the included receipt booklet). A timer is included to signal when the “set time” has ellapsed. The timer does not stop the churner or turn off the machine. However, according to the manual the machine will shut off before mechanical damage is done, if the ingredients become too frozen and the churner stops.
For a few dollars more than models requiring prefrozen buckets, you can buy this model and reap the benefits of higher priced models. You may get a larger capacity bucket on some higher priced models, but for home use this machine will put you in the ice-cream maker “big league” with no apparent short comings.
Rating: 5 / 5
I have gone through my share of ice cream makers. I have had the hand crank and electric version of the ice/salt mix and I had the Villaware ice cream maker available here on Amazon, sold it and my old icewater/salt type at a garage sale. None of them compares to the Lello Gelato Junior when it comes to convenience and ease of use. You just dump the ingredients in the little bucket, put the mixer/lid on and go. With other models you have to keep the bucket in the freezer or mess with an icewater/salt combination. Sure it might take some of the fun out of making your ice cream by eliminating the turning of the hand crank, but so does buying store bought ice cream or for that matter store bought butter.
The big plus with this model is that you can even dump in the ice cream mix while it is still warm off the stove (you have to cook a custard ice cream base). Just turn on the compressor a few minutes before you begin and it will start chilling the bucket.
You might be concerned about the noise this machine makes when running, don’t be. It is quieter than a microwave running and by far quieter than almost every diswasher on the market. I would say it is louder than my Bosch dishwasher, but my Bosch is the quietest dishwasher you can get. You’re not going to notice the noise from the Lello.
A note about their recipie for vanilla ice cream. When it recommends using a vanilla bean, do it. They are very expensive, like $8 a bean, and for good reason. It is the greatest vanilla ice cream you have ever had. The smell of fresh vanilla will forever blow your budget because you won’t ever want to use vanilla extract for anything again. Save the rinds of the bean in a small tupperware bowl full of sugar, you can use it for baking or flavored coffee or something.
A few little things to note about this machine:
1. The opening for adding ingredients is small, m&m’s are about the largest thing you can reasonably expect to put down the “chute”
2. The timer won’t shut off the maker when it expires, just lets you know your ice cream is ready to eat.
3. It weights about 30 pounds or so. If you can’t lift that amount easily without straining youself, leave it out on a counter somewhere.
4. Unless you are the type of person who likes the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, don’t even think of using a metal utensil in the aluminum bowl, you will cringe like never before. Can you say chewing on tin foil with fillings in your teeth?
5. Keep excercising regularly, with this thing you are going to have lots of extra calories to burn.
Rating: 5 / 5
I ordered this unit from Amazon.com when it was offered on a Friday Sale at such an attractive price that I could not let it go. Some reviewers commented that the booklet could come with a better instruction… I agree !! The first time I tried to use the machine the paddle would not turn around because the lid was not closed properly. I was trying to figure out why ? It was because the freezing basket was not placed in properly. After I figured it out then everything else worked great.
The recipes from the included booklet assume certain things like when you buy frozen rasperries, they are the kinds with sugar or syrup. The kind I buy is without sugar added. So the first raspberry ice cream I made was kinda tart as the recipe did NOT call for sugar. Now I know I have to add sugar to the frozen raspberries that I buy !!
The negatives to this unit ? I wish the timer was set so it would shut itself OFF automatically; I went like 10 mins longer than it should and the ice cream was totally frozen in the unit and the paddle was stuck in it. So, you do have to watch your time. This is NOT a set it and forget it type unit !! But what do you expect from an INEXPENSIVE Gelato maker ??
I do enjoy this unit and I made passion fruit sorbet which was out of this world. I used passion fruit concentrate with a little water. I also made lemon sorbetto using fresh lemon juice, organic evaporated cane juice ( it is unrefined sugar) and water. The intense flavor and the creamy texture was just sublime. There is NOTHING like a freshly made sorbetto !!!
Since this is relatively small unit one can bring to trips or other places and make ice cream / sorbetto on site but since this has freezing unit built in, one need to be aware that you have to set this machine horizontal ALL THE TIME and never tip or place it upside down. Even the outside box has an arrow pointing UP so the delivery guy knows it should not turn the box on the side.
So for the price / performance , this unit is just wonderful !! Why 4 stars ? Poor instruction booklet.
Rating: 4 / 5
Great machine, ultra quiet and easy to use! We had company over a long weekend and this thing kept cranking out batch after batch of ice cream. We also made margaritas (which were exceptional). The only beef I have is with the instruction manual. While it’s true the machine is easy to use, I wish there was some sort of trouble shooting page and/or list. There’s a trick to inserting the bowl, and it took a few minutes to figure out (it would have been nice to have had some sort of reference just to make sure I did it right).
Rating: 5 / 5
The first thing I would like to make clear is that if you buy items based on company reputation and warranty quality, please look elsewhere. The first unit I purchased looked like a reconditioned unit straight out of the box and after the first several uses it was apparent that the typical freeze time was running 50-60 minutes. The enclosed recipe book states that the ice cream should freeze in 25-30 minutes. I called the customer support number for Lello and after being shuffled from one number to another by some of the rudest people imaginable I finally got a “customer service” representative on the phone. The woman that I spoke to said they receive lots of complaints about this unit and there was nothing that could be done to repair my unit. Despite the fact that the unit was taking 20 minutes longer than the instructions state and despite the fact that the unit was only 2 month old they refused to honor the warranty. All I was looking for was a repair. At this point I contacted Amazon and they were very helpful and sent me an exchange even though I had purchased the unit over 30 days prior.
Okay, new unit. This one looked better out of the box and seems to operate more quickly. About 35 minutes to freeze as opposed to an hour. Over all I am much happier with my new ice cream maker however I am still going to stick by my low rating due to the fact that I have no confidence in Lello honoring their warranty in the event that I should have a problem with this unit. I place a great deal of emphasis on customer service and Lello failed miserably. At any rate if you are comfortable with the price I won’t recommend that you overlook this item but I would strongly recommend that you make sure it functions properly well within Amazons return time. Lello will not make good on their warranty. I would like to make one other observation, I purchased this item based on prior reviews and I know that other people had good experiences with their customer service so it is entirely possible that I had isolated incident. However, based on the attitude and response of everyone I spoke to at Lello I would not get my hopes up for a better experience in the future. Good Luck regardless of your decision!
Rating: 2 / 5