I've been waiting months for the Sage Ice Cream Maker to appear in one of Sage's promotions, but in the end I couldn't wait any longer and decided to buy it at full price. I'm glad I did. I've always been a bit of a Sage enthusiast, and this machine certainly doesn't disappoint. Before buying it, I tried a frozen bowl attachment for my Kenwood mixer, but after two disappointing attempts it was relegated to the back of the cupboard. I also owned the Ninja Creami, which produces good results but is incredibly noisy and requires you to prepare the mixture the day before. The Sage machine is far more convenient. If I decide I want ice cream after dinner, I can make a fresh batch and be enjoying it within an hour, which is exactly what I was looking for. My only challenge isn't with the machine itself but with my recipes. I'm experimenting with lower-fat ice cream, which tastes fantastic straight after churning but freezes into a solid block overnight. The Ninja had the advantage of simply re-processing frozen ice cream back to a smooth consistency, so I'm still learning how to adapt my recipes for the Sage. The reason I've given it 4 rather than 5 stars is because, like many Sage appliances, it doesn't include any recipes or a proper user guide for getting started. Instead, you're expected to go online to find recipes and instructions. I appreciate that this probably reduces printing costs, but it's frustrating when you've just bought an expensive appliance and want to start using it immediately. My second criticism is the "Keep Cool" function. When making ice cream on the firmest hardness setting, the machine stops churning once it reaches its maximum firmness, meaning the Keep Cool function doesn't continue to operate. I assume the hardness setting is based on the resistance encountered by the paddle, so either my machine has an issue at the highest setting or the Keep Cool function simply isn't designed to work with harder ice cream. If it's the latter, it limits the usefulness of what would otherwise be a very useful feature. Overall, despite those criticisms, I'm extremely pleased with the machine. It's well built, quiet in operation and allows me to make fresh ice cream whenever I want, without having to plan a day in advance. Once I've perfected my recipes, I expect I'll be using it for years to come.

Incredibly easy to use! The best homemade ice cream I’ve ever had! Wonderful

I love it. I have used it for over 2 weeks, whipping up cookie dough, vanilla and strawberry ice creams. I have also made yogurt ice cream. I tweaked the recipes in the manual and they still came out delicious. I plan on experimenting with more flavors this summer!