The American Originals ice cream maker is a freeze first model, requiring at least 12 hours in the freezer first, so you'll need to plan ahead. It can make a single portion of ice-cream, just over a pint, ready to eat in 30 minutes. Sorbet will require a little longer in the freezer after mixing, just to harden up.
This ice cream maker has a quirky appearance and is simple in its design. On all tests, whether the base mix of ice cream was thick or thin, a hard and inedible layer of ice cream coated the inside of the bowl. Given its small capacity, this ice cream maker can't afford to create ice cream that cannot be served.
Some trial and error was needed throughout the testing process to find the right amount of mixture to use, as a minimum and maximum capacity isn't specified in the instructions. Over-filling resulted in the lid coming off the body of the freezing bowl and the paddle coming free from the motor as there is no means of securing the lid to the base.. In our chocolate chip recipe, we followed the American Originals instructions but it still struggled and didn't fully incorporate them throughout the mix. The motor and blade made a strained sound during the 30 minutes it took to churn.