My husband, Rick, has the ability to add a touch of decadence to any adventure he pursues. However, even for him, the purchase of a Lello Musso Pola ice cream maker for our sailboat, SV Aphrodite, seemed way over the top. What’s better than making ice cream on a sailboat? (Eating it.)
Cruising with a Fancy Italian Ice Cream Maker
We are no strangers to the Lello Musso Pola. We originally purchased this same machine to accommodate our son’s food allergies when we lived in Ottawa, Canada.
It should be said that you can find the Lello Musso Pola ice cream machine at better prices than the link I provided above. But, either way it is expensive.
We splurged on the purchase reasoning that we will be making ice cream until our son leaves the roost. We cannot buy ice cream from a parlour due to cross-contamination issues. Plus, the machine has mouth-wateringly good online reviews.
The Lello Musso Pola is as big as it looks. Weighing in at 60+lbs, the ice cream maker is about the size of an average microwave. On SV Aphrodite, the machine takes up precious counter space.
Is an Ice Cream Maker Worth It on a Boat?
Does it belong on a sailboat?
Hell yeah!
(I don’t usually talk like a hillbilly. But, we think that visitors to SV Aphrodite will not be disappointed.)
The machine can produce about 2 quarts (about 2 liters) of ice cream in 20 minutes. In the past, we’ve used this machine to make frozen daiquiris, and countless types of ice cream.
See our Easy Dairy-Free Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream Recipe. As the image suggests, this recipe works without an ice cream maker as well. It just takes more time.
The way that the ice cream maker works is simple. A spinning blade churns inside a mixing bowl. A built-in compressor freezes the contents.
How We Power Off-Grid Appliance Luxuries
At first, our boat couldn’t support the power requirements of the built-in compressor. This was disappointing. But, we’ve resolved that problem using a dedicated inverter, currently borrowed from our friend, Dave.
So far, we’ve made orange slushies. Tonight, I made chocolate-pumpkin ice cream.
Because of my son’s dairy allergy, we tend to make our ice cream using coconut milk and almond milk.
With blog posts like this you might wonder: are we still sailing?
Well actually we are anchored out, working on our boat and getting into a homeschooling routine.
It is quite a lifestyle change. Because I am so new to sailing my transition to liveaboard life is intimidating. It is not unlike becoming a ski bum, only to start at the bunny hill.
Away from creature comforts like shore-based electricity, Starbucks, and a vehicle to get there, our ice cream maker provides some much-needed normalcy and decadence.
Life is good.
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Next post in the Managing Food Allergies Story Arc: Living with Four Kids in a Boatyard in Trinidad — Turns Out, It Isn’t So Hard to Stay ‘On The Hard’
I would love some of your recipes. We have a similar ice cream maker that is ancient. I received it used from my former boss. It works great! My husband loves ice cream but can’t handle the milk. We have bought nondairy ice cream at the store but he has not liked them. My email is [email protected] love your blog! We took early retirement and live in western WA with our 14 year old son.
i like your recipes. thank you for your post