Review: Ninja – Swirl by Creami

About 4,000 years ago, the Chinese began mixing honey, berries, and fruits with snow, thereby creating the first ice cream, which later evolved into what we have today. Modern dairy ice cream dates back as far as the 17th century, and what we are going to take a closer look at today is soft serve, which was invented by chance in 1934. According to legend, a car broke down and the ice cream vendor had to sell off the melting ice cream as quickly as possible. This softer version of ice cream became a huge success.

My relationship with ice cream and first impressions of the machine

Personally, I have always loved ice cream and especially soft serve, so Swirl by Creami from Ninja is perfect for me. This machine features 13 different programs where you can make regular scoop ice cream, soft serve, sorbet, frozen yogurt, gelato, milkshakes, and much more.

As soon as I receive the box, I realize that this is not a toy but a solid product. It has weight to it, and once it is unpacked, the work begins to keep track of all the different jars and containers and how it all fits together. What I hadn’t understood until I started reading the instruction manual is that this isn’t actually an ice cream maker that creates ice cream from scratch, but rather more of a food processor that whisks and aerates what you have mixed together and frozen.

A machine that is not an ice cream maker

It comes with a thick recipe book featuring all the different types of ice creams and how to whisk the ingredients together. I choose pistachio soft serve because it sounds absolutely epic. A perfect combination of my favorite flavor and form of ice cream. I whisk the ingredients together according to the description and put it in the freezer. It must stay there for at least 24 hours. If it is too soft when it comes out, it won’t work. So, I just have to wait patiently until the next day to continue.

First test: Pistachio soft serve

The next day, I eagerly take the container out of the freezer, install it in the mixer, and select a program. There are clear buttons that cannot be misinterpreted. The program starts, and depending on the type of ice cream you are making, the preparation time varies. it ranges between 2–10 minutes. This one takes four minutes. The machine is quite loud, so it’s a tip to leave the room while it’s processing.

The preparation process

Four minutes later it stops, and now you remove it from the processor, screw on a new lid, and mount it to the front of the machine instead. Now you can activate it by pulling the handle, and presto, soft serve comes out of the nozzle. It’s a bit stiff at first, but the softer the ice cream becomes, the easier it gets.

The result and first tasting

So, time for the tasting, and lo and behold – it really tastes and feels like soft serve. Now, it might not be quite as perfect as it is in stores, and there are several reasons for that. Firstly, I cheated when I made the mixture, as it was supposed to contain milk powder, which is both unnecessarily expensive and my local store was out of it. So I skipped it. Secondly, I might not have whisked the ingredients properly because I wanted to make something quickly, and the final detail is the temperature of your freezer.

My freezer is set to minus 18 degrees, which is the coldest they recommend, but I think it gets too cold, making it difficult for the processor to properly fluff up the ice cream, resulting in a harder consistency. Furthermore, it depends on how it freezes to ensure it is even and smooth. Therefore, some experimentation is required to achieve that perfect ice cream.

Experimentation and functionality

Soft serve is just one of many functions, and the more you can experiment and create your own creations, the more fun and better it gets. For example, you can take your existing favorite store-bought ice cream and transform it into perfect soft serve or a milkshake. You can also mix in nuts, fruit, and other ingredients into existing ice cream or the one you create yourself. The machine is not designed to chop nuts and frozen ice cream; that is something you must do yourself before mixing it in.

If you have created ice cream that turned out too hard, you can solve it by running the program again. If you don’t want to eat everything in the container at once, you can press “retract” so the arm pulls back, allowing you to disconnect the container and put it in the freezer for the next session. You need to run the program every time after freezing; otherwise, it won’t work.

Recipe book, price, and target audience

As mentioned, the recipe book contains a plethora of different recipes, including several low-calorie versions, which specify what ingredients you can substitute for less fat, sugar, or lactose-free options. The only thing I find a bit unfortunate about the book is that it is only available in English and a few other languages, but not Swedish. With a price tag a bit over 4,000 SEK, this might not be a product for every household, but since you have the ability to make so many different versions, it is perfect for a home with many ice cream enthusiasts. Imagine having a birthday party where you can serve specially composed ice cream in various forms. The containers can be purchased separately and are dishwasher safe. The rest of the machine never touches anything that needs cleaning, which is a huge plus. All moving parts that must be washed are easy to remove and clean.

In summary, Swirl by Creami from Ninja really does exactly what it’s supposed to do – it creates several different types of ice cream, and only your imagination sets the limit. What speaks against it a bit is precisely that it isn’t a traditional ice cream maker. You need some foresight to use it, as you have to wait 24 hours. On the other hand, if you have a few jars in the freezer, you can take them out and choose what you’re in the mood for. It’s about the size of a food processor, so it’s not exactly small, and it’s quite loud. However, the most important thing is the result, and being able to make your favorite ice cream is often worth the wait. Still, a fairly hefty price tag and the fact that it technically doesn’t create the ice cream means the rating doesn’t quite reach a recommendation.

Ninja sent a review unit for this test. Senders of material have no editorial influence on our tests; we always write independently with you, the readers and consumers, in focus.