Deni 5530 Deni Automatic Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker

I received this product as a gift and was very excited, as I love all kinds of ice cream, especially soft serve ice cream. I dreamed of all the amazing flavors and different toppings I could make for my friends and I and couldn't wait to get started.

I kept the bowl in the freezer for a few days and then immediately turned the machine on once the bowl was out of the freezer. I had refrigerated the ice cream mix for a few hours so it was nice and chilled as well. After having a machine on for over an hour the ice cream had still not firmed up, and it never really got much past the soupy stage.

The Deni made a lot of noise, which at first I didn't mind and thought would be worth it once I had my creamy dessert, but it quickly got annoying.

It was also a huge pain to clean out once I gave up on the ice cream, since it never got firm. It even leaked a little, which turns out was because I had attached the dispenser handle incorrectly. Once fixed it no longer leaked, but still didn't make soft serve ice cream.

I did try the soupy mess and I will admit that it tasted pretty good and probably would have made good soft-serve if it had ever gotten hard enough to actually serve in a cone.

I did find that if I take the soupy mixture and place it in a new container and freeze it myself, I get something closer to ice cream. However it's not the same consistency as normal soft-serve, and kind of defeats the point of having an automatic soft serve ice cream maker.

I have heard that some people got the Deni to work by leaving the ice cream mixture in the fridge over night and leaving the canister in the freezer for up to a week before making the ice cream. And then letting the machine mix everything up for a long time.

After my previous failures I don't know if I even want to bother trying again. The product shouldn't be that finicky in order to work. I think I would rather try a different machine that is easier and more people have had success with.

I do not recommend this product at all and would rather drive to the ice cream place and buy a cone every night than fight with this machine, which I plan to return.