Breville Smart Scoop LCD Display Ice Cream Maker, 1.5-Quart
Last updated: December 20, 2022
If you prefer a softer ice cream mixture, steer toward the Breville Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker, which creates a concoction closer to soft serve. This model is both easy to clean and quiet in operation. One of the best things about this machine is its keep-cool function, which ensures your ice cream doesn't turn to soup within minutes of making it.
We looked at the top Ice Cream Makers and dug through the reviews from some of the most popular review sites. Through this analysis, we've determined the best Ice Cream Maker you should buy.
Product Details
Key Takeaway: For a consistency that's closer to soft serve, the Breville can't be beat.
In our analysis of 69 expert reviews, the Breville Smart Scoop LCD Display Ice Cream Maker, 1.5-Quart placed 8th when we looked at the top 14 products in the category. For the full ranking, see below.From The Manufacturer
The BCI600XL Smart Scoop is Breville’s easy to use ice cream maker with automatic hardness settings. It’s the first ice cream maker that automatically senses the hardness of the mixture based on your selection and keeps it ready until it’s time to serve. The Breville BCI600XL Smart Scoop is made of BPA free materials, features a child lock, and when your dessert is ready will sound an alert beep or one of three musical tunes.
Expert Reviews
What reviewers liked
This ice cream maker includes cleaning brush, offers 12 hardness settings and has self refrigerating compressor.
Reliable results, with 12 hardness settings for making everything from gelato to frozen custard. Fully automated or manual.
It has an auto function with 12 hardness settings and a keep-cool function so you can set your ice cream and walk away. And its brightly lit LCD screen and control panel with big buttons make it easy to use—even for kids.
The Breville was considerably less noisy. It simply emitted a low hum as it churned and was barely noticeable in the background. Breville were especially easy to clean and ready to use again in minutes. The Breville even comes with its own small brush to clean the hard-to-reach canister cylinder.
The Breville's control panel features a brightly lit LCD display and large buttons that make it simple for anyone to use.
Optimum operating temperature adjustment is possible with pre-cool settings.
It has an auto mode that lets you choose from 12 hardness settings, from soft sorbet to super-firm ice cream, and alerts you when it's time to add mix-ins or when the the cycle is done. It also has a unique cool-down function that brings the temp of your base and the machine down to the perfect turning temperature before it starts to churn.
- Engadget
This portable ice cream maker will let you fine-tune settings according to hardness so you can make sorbet, frozen yoghurt, gelato, and ice cream. It has a very large bowl capacity so you can make ice cream for you and a friend.
The bowl on this model is easily removable with its sturdy metal handle, allowing for quick cleanup. The lid is also clearly marked, making it easy and quick to slide into place. The wide opening on the lid lets you easily add mix-ins and keep an eye on the ice cream’s progress.
It has a very attractive brushed stainless steel housing, that features ventilation vents on the front, sides and back and an embossed Breville (or Sage) logo the front. ​The finish gives it a high quality, well made feel. It looks great!
It’s just so easy to select the setting you want, but because of the handy display, it’s easy to see on the indicator the precise setting you want for the dessert you’re making. It’s that easy taking the guess work out of making gelato. You find the setting that’s set to your liking, and boom, you’re done.
The BCI600XL is a compressor model, so there’s no overnight wait for the bowl to chill. It takes only a few minutes to get your ingredients to the proper temperature, and the pre-cooling function can cool down bases that you’ve cooked on the stove, like custards.
Unlike lower quality appliances, the Smart Scoop comes with no less than 12 hardness settings. From soft serve to firmer ice cream and everything else in between, the machine is guaranteed to deliver a much better consistency than regular store-bought ice cream. Along with regular ice cream, you can also use it to make other frozen treats like gelato, frozen yogurt and custard, frozen smoothies, sherbet, sorbet and the likes. By this token, this machine allows you to always have dessert on hand for whenever unexpected guests show up at your door.
This self-refrigerating model by Breville has all the bells and whistles you could ever want in an ice cream maker. While most models require that the mixture is churned in a chilled bowl, and then allowed to set for up to four hours in the freezer, this machine actually freezes the ice cream as it churns it. All you have to do is set your hardness preference before you start, and you're good to go.
Easy to clean, it has 12 hardness settings and it can be set to cool ice cream for three hours after churning.
What reviewers didn't like
It is pricey.
Some don't like its noisy operation. Scooper that's included is too short.
The steep price negates its marginally better performance.
As with most of the other machines, the ice cream had soft-serve consistency and needed to be frozen before serving. We found the texture of the desserts made in the Breville disappointing. The vanilla custard ice cream was more like frozen whipped cream with a heavy aftertaste of butterfat. The chocolate, sorbet and non-dairy coconut were grainy with ice crystals.
On the downside, the Breville is a heavy machine – about 30 pounds – so it can be cumbersome to take in and out of a kitchen cabinet if you don't want to leave it out on the countertop. It's also pricey. At about $320, it's not the most expensive ice cream maker available, but it's more than some may want to spend on a kitchen gadget they may not use frequently.
Small Capacity
The Smart Scoop really has going for it are more automatic options—basically a lot of extra bells and whistles that most people probably don't need.
- Engadget
It is larger than most models and can only make a small amount of ice cream.
The shape of the paddle results in the ice cream spinning along the center dowel, unlike the folding and sweeping motion produced by the Cuisinart’s paddle. This motion resulted in unevenly distributed mix-ins and left a layer of unspun hardened ice cream base along the inside of the bowl. This model is also big, heavy, and expensive, requiring an investment of both money and counter space.
​A one year warranty on a machine like this seems very tight to me. Compressor machines can be quite delicate. They're also an expensive investment. A decent length warranty provides peace of mind.
It’s very expensive
Parts are not dishwasher safe.
Expensive
The ice cream maker is pricey and can only make three to four cups at a time.
View our Ice Cream Maker buying guide for in-depth advice and recommendations.