(Pocket-lint) – I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream – it might not be the newest jingle, but it still rings true. Trust us when we say that every time we hear an ice cream truck play its siren song, a significant part of us wants to sprint outside to buy something. 

• Best stand mixer: Brilliant kitchen mixers for baking and food prep

So, yeah, we like ice cream. It’s not necessarily an economical habit, though, and buying from stores and trucks can sometimes feel like you’re being had a little, the markups getting bigger and bigger. That’s why so many people have ice cream makers, canny machines that let them cut out the middleman and easily create their own frozen goodies at home. 

We’ve gathered together some of the very best models you can pick up right now, so if you’re thinking about entering the world of homemade ice cream, look no further. 

Our pick of the best ice cream makers to buy today

Sage

Sage The Smart Scoop

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Sage’s kitchen gadgets tend to be at the top end of the price scale, but also have a history of justifying that positioning with absolutely oodles of features and super impressive performance. That’s a narrative that holds up with The Smart Scoop, an ice cream maker clever enough to automatically adjust how hard your pudding will be according to your recipe, but simple enough that it isn’t too challenging to use for first-timers. 

It’s a brilliant ice cream maker that’s easy to get going with, and will store your ice cream for 3 hours once made, in pristine serving condition, so that you can easily make your frozen snack ahead of time then get it out when ready. 

Magimix

Magimix Gelato Expert

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Magimix has a bit of an advantage over Sage’s maker in that it’s smaller and matches its performance, but we can’t deny that its price tag is even more off-putting than The Smart Scoop. However, it’s still a pretty stunning machine, and the fact that it can churn out amazing ice cream in 20 minutes flat doesn’t get old. 

It also has an impressive capacity compared to many makers, meaning that those 20 minutes don’t just make a couple of measly scoops. Dedicated functions for ice cream, gelato and crushed ice mean that you can also switch up your recipes really easily.

Cuisinart

Cuisinart Ice Cream Deluxe Maker

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Cuisinart’s maker matches the big 2L capacity of the Magimix model up above, but does so at a far lower price point, which makes it an interesting proposition in the first place. On top of that, though, it serves up really solid performance. 

It keeps things super simple, without much in the way of pre-programmed options, which does mean that you’re a little bit out on your own with it, although an included booklet of recipes will help on that front. Still, for its price a stripped-back maker is very much okay with us. 

Argos

American Originals Ice Cream Maker

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We know that many people won’t have kicked off their search for an ice cream maker accepting the fact that they might have to spend hundreds to get one, though, and we empathise. If you’re looking more for a maker that’s a bit fun and easy to use, plus is far, far more affordable, this one from American Originals is a great shout.

It’s perfect for kids and families, and while its capacity is only just above a litre, and it takes more like 45 minutes to an hour to get actual results, it’s still an impressive option given the price. If you’re looking to make some ice cream for a party or on a one-off basis, this is a good choice. 

Smeg

Smeg Ice Cream Maker accessory

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Finally, if your kitchen is already decked out with great devices you might be wondering whether some of them could be adapted to the job of ice cream making. It’s not as simple as that, sadly, but if you’ve got one of Smeg’s superb stand mixers for baking and cooking, it can be. This accessory works with Smeg’s mixer to give you a high-grade ice cream maker.

It’ll give you 1.1 litres of ice cream in between 20 and 30 minutes, making it pretty standard in terms of capacity, but the results are impressive compared to the competition. Of course, we recognise it won’t work for anyone without a Smeg stand mixer, and those are expensive enough on their own to make this a fairly pricey and niche option. 

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.