Everything You Need to Know Before Purchasing Ninja CREAMi
There’s a rift between fancy cooks and home cooks that always irritates me, and it comes to a head whenever a new appliance becomes overly popular. We’ve seen this with the air fryer and Instant Pot, where seasoned cooks and cooks have recoiled from both appliances, declaring them “unnecessary” without considering the benefits for home cooks, especially those living in households of two or fewer, and those who has a disability . Ninja CREAMi is ready for that treatment, according to numerous Facebook groups dedicated to home appliances.
What is Ninja CREAMi?
The Ninja CREAMi falls into the “ice cream maker” category, but it’s better at making “alternative” frozen treats than processing real custards and ice cream bases. According to the product description on Ninja’s website, “Ninja™ CREAMi® turns frozen solid bases into ice cream, sorbets, milkshakes and more at the touch of a button. From healthy to satisfying, Ninja® CREAMi™ can create frozen treats that are as unique as you!”
To use CREAMi, you mix ingredients together to create a liquid base, freeze it into a solid, and then clamp it onto the machine so that the “creaming technology” (aka a series of blades driven by a powerful motor) can “break up the evenly frozen block into an incredibly smooth, creamy texture in minutes.”
But it’s not that simple. Not all liquids freeze equally, and getting the right texture for frozen treats may require some trial and error.
Who is Ninja CREAMi for?
This device is a real godsend for people with dietary restrictions, especially when you consider the price of dairy-free and other alternative “ice creams.” Fruit juices, fruit preserves, protein drinks, yogurt, coffee creamer and all sorts of alternative milks are just a few of the ingredients that are often used to make made-to-order frozen treats.
However, it doesn’t make very good ice cream, at least not without a lot of fiddling around. The standard vanilla ice cream recipe from the CREAMi manual is honestly not up to par. The powerful “creaming” blades do terrible things to heavy cream, effectively churning it into butter, giving the ice cream a fatty taste. There are ways around this problem (reduce the amount of cream and use more milk), but if you buy this appliance with the intention of making a lot of real ice cream, you will end up frustrated and disappointed.
But if you’re looking for ways to make low-fat dishes creamier and more delicious than they actually are, or just want to turn a jar of pie filling into sorbet, you’ll love Ninja CREAMi.
There are a few add-ons you might want to buy.
I think every CREAMi owner should have two ingredients: guar gum and citric acid . Guar gum is a natural thickening and stabilizing agent that increases the viscosity of frozen desserts. It prevents the formation of large ice crystals, keeping the consistency smooth and creamy. Some CREAMi recipes call for cream cheese, which contains guar gum, but it’s cheaper to just buy a packet of the additive, and guar gum is vegan-friendly. You don’t need a ton—just 1/2 teaspoon per pint is all it takes to make your not-quite-ice cream taste more like the real thing.
Citric acid (also known as ” monosodium glutamate “) is another ingredient I’ve used frequently in my CREAMi experiments, especially when experimenting with fruit-flavored desserts. Just 1/8 teaspoon increases the acidity, balancing the sweetness and enhancing the fruit flavor with a little contrast.
Keep the engine running
If you browse the various forums and Facebook groups dedicated to this unit, you will notice that several people are complaining about the motor failing. The Ninja seems to do a decent job of replacing broken models, but the easiest way to prevent literal burnout is to let the frozen base soften for five or 10 minutes before letting the unit do its thing. After I made this adjustment, I found that my desserts were smoother and creamier and didn’t need to be swirled as often.
What kind of “twisting” of business is this?
On paper, Ninja CREAMi is easy to use. Freeze the base, attach it to the device and select the appropriate program (ice cream, sorbet, etc.). The blades do their job and your base turns into a smooth frozen confection without any noticeable ice crystals. In reality, some bases come out dry and crumbly the first (and second) time of processing, and you have to process them again, either using the “Re-spin” function, or using the original program. Leaving the foundation for a few minutes can help with this, but sometimes re-twisting is unavoidable, especially with low-fat or very low-fat foundations.
What a professional food writer with no dietary restrictions does with Ninja CREAMi
Finding CREAMi recipes is easy. The unit comes with a recipe booklet, and as I’ve mentioned a couple of times, there are many forums and groups dedicated to CREAMi recipes, and you can find quite a few recipes on the Ninja website . While I haven’t found an “ice cream” that compares to traditional whipped vanilla, I have been delighted with the sorbets and sorbet-side treats. I have three favorites:
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15-ounce jar of fruit filling or pie filling (with accompanying liquid) + 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon citric acid (depending on the sweetness of your fruit and love of sour): Mix, freeze until solid, and process. using the “Sorbet” function.
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15 oz can of fruit + 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (can be reduced based on personal preference): Combine, freeze until solid and process using Ice Cream Lite.
There’s also a Dole Whip piña colada that I’m absolutely obsessed with.
How to Make a Vegan Dole Whip Piña Colada in Ninja CREAMi
Dole Whip is a frozen dessert that’s often imitated and rarely duplicated, but this recipe comes incredibly close to the real thing, with one difference—a hint of coconut flavor that makes it more “piña colada” than straight up “pineapple.” Otherwise, the texture and flavor are remarkably similar, and you only need three (vegan, by the way) ingredients.
Ingredients (makes approximately 1 1/2 pints):
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15 oz jar of Coco Lopez coconut cream
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20 ounces canned pineapple chunks (with juice)
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1/4 teaspoon citric acid
Mix all three ingredients with any blender until smooth. Pour into CREAMi-compatible pints and freeze overnight or until firm. Remove from the freezer and let soften briefly on the counter for five minutes. Attach to Ninja CREAMi and process using the Light Ice Cream setting. Enjoy immediately for a soft consistency, or return to the freezer for a couple of hours if you want something healthier.