My 30-year-old wood bucket Richmond Cedar Works ice cream freezer conked out a few years after the Virginia-based company went out of business, and of course I haven't been able to find one mechanic to fix it. So the freezer sits hopefully in my kitchen closet.
But recently in the throes of a homemade ice cream frenzy, I went shopping on the Internet and bought a 4-quart wood bucket ice cream freezer made by White Mountain of Vermont for $225.
Budget buys include a 4-quart plastic bucket ice cream freezer for $30 or so made by Sunbeam, which also owns the pricey White Mountain brand. Hamilton Beach has a similar 4-quart plastic bucket freezer in the same price range.
Kitchenaid has a 2-quart lined freezer bowl that attaches to all Kitchenaid standing mixers made after 1990; cost is $100.
Cuisinart makes a boxy ice cream freezer that has a built-in compressor so no chilling, ice or salt is required; priced from $400 to as much as $700.
JOYCE WHITE
