Christopher Kimball, founder and editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine, loves to make and eat homemade ice cream. Here is his evaluation of ice cream makers they tested at Cook's.

  • Lussino Ice Cream Machine: Very deluxe (it has its own air conditioning unit), very spendy ($600.00), and it needs a lot of storage space. The trade-off? Fabulous ice cream. A serious machine for serious home cooks.

  • White Mountain: The classic barrel model with a crank makes a gallon of ice cream at once, a big plus. It's best if you have a back porch since the machine is very noisy and it can be a mess. Even so, this is Chris' favorite because he likes the mess and the gallon of ice cream! About $200.

  • Krup's La Glacière: A moderately priced electric model with a canister that has to be placed in the freezer overnight (the freezer must be at zero degrees). About $60. A similar machine is the Cuisinart Flavor Duo that can make two kinds of ice cream at once! About $100. Chris thinks both are "really great machines" that make smooth, creamy ice cream in less than 30 minutes.

  • Donvier: A low-tech model with a canister and hand crank makes "so-so" ice cream, not as good as the electric machines. About $50. Bottom line? For the same money, go for the Krup's and better ice cream.