Black & Decker IC200 Arctic Twister Ice Cream Mixer | 
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| Brand: Black & Decker
Category: Kitchen
List Price: $69.99
Buy Used: $49.95
You Save: $20.04 (29%)
Rating:  49 reviews
Color: White
Shipping Weight (lbs): 7
Dimensions (in): 14.6 x 12.2 x 11.5
MPN: IC-200
Model: IC200
UPC: 050875515383
EAN: 0050875515383
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Turns store-bought ice cream into soft-serve | | • | Mixes toppings of your choice into ice cream: nuts, candy, cookies, fruit, granola | | • | Swirls enough for 3 cones in one run | | • | Components are dishwasher-safe (top rack only) | | • | One-year limited warranty |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Take your favorite ice cream, low fat frozen yogurt or sherbet and customize it with your choice of mix-ins! Crush and mix in the goodies of your choice by pressing down the lever. Add chips, nuts, granola, dried apricots, cookes and more! Create an instant soft serve treat which is then exuded right into a cone or cup.
Amazon.com Review
Rather than heading down to the local Dairy Queen for a soft-serve cone, use the Arctic Twister to make custom soft-serve ice cream at home. Using the Arctic Twister is not as ambitious as making ice cream from scratch: simply buy your favorite ice cream, sherbet, or frozen yogurt and swirl in the toppings of your choice to make your own original flavor. The dispenser can handle almost any topping you can think up, from the healthy (nuts, granola, fruit, and cereal) to the decadent (sprinkles, chocolate chips, M&Ms, cookies, and candy bars). Once the five pieces of this easy-to-assemble appliance are in place, remove the lid and layer your ice cream with candy, nuts, etc. Replace the lid, turn on the power, and start pumping the handle on the lid to get your ice cream churning. But don't delay in getting your cone positioned under the spout--once your soft-serve treat begins spiraling out, you want to be ready to catch it. In one run, the dispenser twirls enough ice cream for three cups, cones, or bowls. Cleanup is easy as all components of the dispenser are plastic and safe to wash in the top rack of the dishwasher. A great dessert idea for kids' parties, ice-cream socials, or summer picnics, the Arctic Twister is covered by a one-year limited warranty. --Cristina Vaamonde
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| Customer Reviews: Read 44 more reviews...
 Clarification November 5, 2008
Chadmore W.
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I want to clarify a point of argument between some of the posters here. I have many of these Arctic Twisters and they work well for me. Some people say they need to hold the button down and others are wondering what they are talking about. The truth is that some machines come with buttons that need to be held down and other machines come with buttons that do not need to be held down. Besides that, the machines are identical. It seems to be luck of the draw over which type of button your machine will have and is perhaps a manufacturing mix up.
I also have two pieces of advice:
1) Do not overwork the machine if the ice cream is too cold - it will strip the inner gears which are plastic. You need to find a balance of ice cream temperature so that it isn't too warm nor too cold.
2) In order to save the ice cream that would otherwise go to waste simply remove the ice cream holder from the base and stick it in the freezer until you are ready for more. Just remember you will need to slightly thaw it out before using it again (see number 1 above).
I believe this product has been out of production for quite some time so enjoy it while it lasts.
 Arctic Twist Ice Cream Maker January 16, 2007
Paris Girl (KY, USA)
This is great! It was a gift to my 12-year old daughter. She can use it and clean it with minimal help. It is so simple to use - just fill it with regular ice cream and the toppings you want, and out comes delicious soft ice cream. Beats running to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard all the time! The only negative thing is that not all of the ice cream comes out; however, we just eat that with a spoon after we take it apart.
 Too Bad ... July 30, 2006
Jolly Roger (El Cerrito, CA USA)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
It's too bad ... I really wanted this to work, since I love soft serve. But after using it twice I donated to Goodwill.
It would be great if somebody brought out a home version of the "drill" thing they use in some frozen yogurt places. Until then the best bet is to let the ice cream or frozen yogurt thaw in the fridge for a few hours, then stir it up with a spoon until it's the preferred level of softness.
FANTASTIC MACHINE! April 21, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a great machine. It did just what I wanted it to do which was to make soft, swirly ice cream out of regular ice cream.It could do one flavor on the bottom and one flavor on the top which I love! It was easy to make and use! I am lactose intolerant and I was able to use soy ice cream in this machine!
That's especially why I love this machine! My sister's completely allergic to dairy but she can use this machine!
This Thing is Great--Makes Amazing Blizzards!! (Debunking the Myths of Other Reviews) April 8, 2006
It's Just Me (Chicago, IL Suburbs)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
Don't pay any attention to the truly uncoordinated people who tell you it takes two or more people to run this machine--I honestly can't figure out why it would! It couldn't be easier & the resulting treats couldn't be better!!
Reading some of the reviews of this product just leaves me scratching my head...as such, I apologize for any cynicism you may detect in my review, but I feel the need to counter some of the misinformation out there (and I empathize with the Black & Decker reps who had to deal with some of these cranky people who are too inept to operate a rather simple tool).
1. The "ON" switch does NOT need to be held down like a pulse-button--just turn it on & let go, people...this leaves your hands free to pick up the cone & fill it with the deliciously yummy treat coming out of the Arctic Twister. When you're done, just turn it off again (see, now wasn't that easy?).
2. The idea that it takes too long is hilarious, too. Unless, of course, the 90-seconds it takes to assemble it & scoop in the ingredients is considered a lot of time (certainly not in my book, especially considering the fact that the results are WAY better than a DQ Blizzard). I literally took this product out of the box the first time and was eating an awesome dessert in less than 2 minutes--without reading any directions for assembly or use--it is that simple of a product to figure out. Clean up is a breeze, too. It dismantles with the push of a button & it rinses in the sink, again, in just a few seconds (there are only three pieces to wash). It is easy enough to use that it's not a big deal to reassemble it if someone wants seconds or more people pop in after you've taken it apart--it literally is one of the easiest & most fun food preparation products we own. So the idea that jumping into a car & going to DQ for Blizzards would be somehow more efficient is outrageous (and the closest one to us is only 5 miles away). It would truly take longer just to get our shoes on* & into the car than it would take to run the Arctic Twister! (* = I'm talking a family of four who all tie our own shoes--no other hindrances like diaper bags or anything.)
3. Noisy? Well, the thing DOES have a motor. So does your blender, food processor, popcorn popper & hand mixer! It's not like you're running this thing for any real length of time. In my mind, if you can't handle a bit of noise from a product like this for all of 10-30 seconds, then you are missing the whole point of having a good time using a product that is meant to be fun. Lighten up folks--life is wayyyyy too short!
4. And, no, a regular ice cream scoop is NOT too big to use with this machine (when you see the size of the chute into which you place the ice cream, you'll find this a strange comment, too). No special equipment needed here.
5. Next, I can't imagine there is a kid out there (or many of us adults either) who wait for everyone in the room to have their cones in-hand before taking a lick of theirs...is there now a new etiquette to eating ice cream? I wonder if the comment about waiting for everyone to be served was written by Emily Post (with ice cream dripping down her arm)!? The laws of physics explain pretty well why ice cream melts the longer it is out of the freezer. Therefore, mix it, serve it & eat it--no need to sit and admire it (although it IS pretty darn cool).
6. Finally, the comment about this product being too hard to use if you have arthritis is SO untrue...I have pretty severe arthritis in both my hands and my elbows and had NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER using this machine. The most difficult part was scooping the ice cream from its original container--if you can do this part, you should be fine. If you can't scoop it out & you don't have arthritis, then your freezer temperature is set too low or you should dip the scooper in hot water first. However, once the ice cream is in the Arctic Twister and the motor is turned on, it begins to soften up--and one only needs to push the handle periodically and enough to advance the ice cream down toward the mixing assembly, but a lot of physical effort is not required since the motor does the work of mixing & churning the food. Again, if I could do this without any pain, nearly anyone can.
Truth be known, I agree with the comments that the design of this machine could be improved upon, since a fair amount of ice cream is not pushed through the machine (although we, too, have NO issues in licking the remains off the cone-shaped assembly--it's no different than licking the beaters when making a cake! Probably another lapse in the etiquette of our house ;) ). It would probably be nice is there was a way the machine could extrude closer to 100% of the finished product. But this is not enough to make me want to return the machine--and even less of an issue when serving a larger group of people, since the amount wasted remains the same whether making one cone or 50 cones & therefore becomes a relatively minor amount after numerous consecutive servings.
I am very impressed that this little gadget is so great at pulverizing the mix-ins, especially in the absence of any sharp parts (there is nothing that could cut you whatsoever--all parts are plastic, but seem sturdy at the same time). I half-expected the chocolcate chips to pose a problem because of their larger size and hard consistency; but they came out tiny & beautifully interspersed amid the Girl Scout Cookies, nuts, sprinkles and whatever else we added. Versus DQ (and other ice cream places), it is nice that you can use as many ingredients as you want (and have a greater variety) without being charged 50 cents or whatever they charge for each one, you can vary the flavor of the base ice cream, and you don't have to pack everyone into the car and stand in long lines and even battle to find a place to sit. The Arctic Twister is convenient and fun and, in short, I highly recommend it! I decided to write a review because I was just about to buy one for my sister's kids for Easter this year and couldn't believe the amount of negative reviews about it. I have no doubt they will love it as much as we do.
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