I love this ice cream machine!  It makes enough ice cream (6  quarts! not 1 to 1-1/2 quarts like the others) for large gatherings or  enough to store for future consumption. It's very simple to operate with  the electric motor doing all the work and the Ice Cream is fabulous, smooth  and creamy. I put it on a "rag rug" on the kitchen floor where I add the ice/salt. It's a bit noisy, but it's part of the fun. My only complaint is that very few  recipes are included with the machine. Solution, purchase a book of ice  cream recipes to supplement. Some good ones are:  Frozen Desserts : The  Definitive Guide to Making Ice Creams, Ices, Sorbets, Gelati, and Other  Frozen Delights which gives DETAILED history/information and The Ice Cream  Machine Cookbook  by Melissa Clark which includes some very creative ice  cream combinations.