Cooks Illustrated Review

This comes from page 2, Cooks Illustrated, July/August 1998 issue.
This is a great magazine. One of the few I'll ALWAYS subscribe to.
To subscribe or just to look go to: www.cooksillustrated.com

"While testing the peach ice cream recipe on page 23 in this issue, we experimented with two popular, inexpensive electric models, the Krups La Glaciere (model 358, $59.99) and the Cusinart Automatic Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker (model ICE-20, $69.99)
Neither of these machines was difficult to assemble, though we preferred the layout of the Cuisinart. Both involve freezing a coolant-filled canister, preferably overnight. The primary difference is that after the ice cream mixture is placed in the canister of the Cuisinart, the paddle stays stationary and the canister revolves to churn the mixture, while the Krups has a top-mounted motor which rotates the paddle while the canister remains stationary. In addition, their capacities vary. The Cuisinart makes one quart of ice cream, whereas the Krups makes 1 1/2 quarts.
Once assembled and going, though, the performance characteristics of these machines and the ice creams they produced were very similar. The Cuisinart took about 25 minutes to churn 3 cups of custard into 3 1/2 cups of soft-serve-consistency ice cream. The Krups, even though it has a larger capacity, also took about 25 minutes, churning 4 1/2 cups of custard into 5 1/4 cups of ice cream. (We should note, though, that to get a really firm texture, both ice creams had to be frozen after churning.)
Though several tasters thought the Krups-made ice cream was slightly lighter than the other, both were generally smooth, creamy, and dense. In operation, the Krups was a little quieter, but its canister is bulkier and more difficult to fit into a full freezer. Essentially, if larger capacity is important to you, the Krups is fine, but because the Cuisinart is easier and more intuitive to assemble, we give it the nod, if only by a hair.
Along the way, we developed a couple of hints to help ensure success with both machines. Freezing the canister thoroughly is important. We measured the temperature in several home freezers and found them to be consistently 3 to 6 degrees above the recommended 0 degrees. To counteract this drawback, allow plenty of time for the canister to freeze (overnight is best), place it at the back of the freezer, which is colder than the front, and do not overpack the freezer because that will limit air circulation. Second, chill the custard to 40 drgrees before churning it. This is best accomplished at the back of an uncrowded refrigerator shelf. Third, to help limit the iciness that occurs when the custard comes into contact with the frozen canister wall, set up the machine and switch it on before adding the custard mixture through the hole in the cover. And finally, do not fill the canister to the very rim. Allow plenty of space for the ice cream to increase in volume as it churns by leaving about half an inch of headroom at the top."

Again, I highly recommend Cooks Illustrated magazine.