Cottage Craft Works, LLC

Ph: 281-638-0050 | Visit www.cottagecraftworks.com





Thursday, August 3, 2017

Amish Made Ice Cream Maker-Freezer to Last a Lifetime

Astonishing old-fashioned quality in the US made homemade ice cream maker built by the Amish.  Lifetime Freezers are simply built to last a lifetime and are backed by a lifetime warranty.

No more annoying catastrophes during family gatherings when people are glaring at you ready for some homemade ice cream and you have none because your freezer failed.

The Amish are simple people with a straight forward honest approach to the products they make. To them, it’s still about old-fashioned quality and durability as it used to be. The Amish just make things to last expecting the next generations will be able to enjoy it as well.

Planned obsolescence’s, boosting corporate share holder profits, using cheaper imported parts just isn’t the Amish way of doing business. 

That’s also a good thing for others who seek out Amish made products because of that commitment to the quality US made products.

Those who haven’t discovered this unique and limited source may just be throwing money away. Just look for an 8-qt ice cream maker and you will quickly find that only the Amish are making them, wonder why? It’s some of supply and demand but much of it is because the cheaper parts made in the imports just won’t hold up to churning 8-qts of ice cream at one time.

The Amish love to make frequent homemade ice cream year-round. So, when the US manufacturers moved operations overseas they began noticing a decline in how long the parts were lasting.  At first, they made their own replacement parts then over time discovered they were basically replacing so many parts on a new ice cream maker they just began to duplicate the old-time ones that they grew up with.

They incorporate modern day materials such as stainless steel and insulated formed poly into the tubs. The Amish made ice cream makers even further improved on the old classic designs.

Lifetime 6 and 8-qt freezers hand crank models use a durable powder coated cast brass hand crank housing equipped with stainless steel gears, stainless steel shaft and a stainless-steel hand crank with a wooden spinner. No concerns of rust or corrosion on these ice cream makers.

The exclusive Lifetime freezer tub is made from high-density poly with an inner Styrofoam insulating core. It holds ice cream for hours longer than the old wooden bucket tubs. Lifetime uses only quality stainless-steel for all the tub latches, the freezer can and dasher. An optional insulated poly tub cover is also available. The insulated cover holds the ice cream for even longer periods. A great option if you’re making and serving ice cream later or have people coming and going over a period.

Lifetime freezers are more comparable other more expensive all stainless-steel Amish ice cream freezer options.

The Lifetime dasher is cut from a solid sheet of ¼” stainless eliminating the need to have multiple welds. Their efficient paddle design provides more mixing surface eliminating the need for a secondary fixed dasher blade as found on a triple action dasher. The Lifetime dasher is equipped with durable food grade poly dasher scraper blades.

The lifetime dasher has fewer moving parts and is much easier to maintain and ensure sanitation. It is also easier to pull out of the ice cream and clean off the excess instead of a triple motion dasher and with all its rods and bars.

Lifetime is considered a dual action ice cream maker as opposed to a triple action machine. The Lifetime dasher turns in one direction while the freezer can spins in the opposite direction. On a triple action machine, the dasher has another inner part that spins back once again with the can to supposedly mix the custard better.

We have used both machines and couldn’t tell any difference in the outcome or time it took to freeze our ice cream. We liked the many attributes of the Lifetime dasher when it came to clean up. If anything, the Lifetime freezer may have frozen a bit quicker, but so much about the freezing time is about the ice and salt mixture rather than the inside churning process.

With the growing popularity of Amish, ice cream makers also come the proliferation of online retailers trying to cash in on the made in the USA movement. Just a few years ago just a handful of companies offered Amish made ice cream makers.

Cottage Craft Works.com is one of the original companies to do so. They were the first to find and introduce Immergood Freezers and now at the time of this writing are the first to introduce Lifetime Freezers.

Cottage Craft Works is the largest supplier of Amish made ice cream makers meaning they have the largest selection of all three Amish brands, Country, Immergood and Lifetime. They also have them in stock and ready to ship when others are listing them out of stock. You will also find all the parts and accessories to go with your purchase plus a live person to talk to on the phone when you call with questions or problems.

Cottage Craft Works, www.cottagecraftworks.com is a full line general store that carries a wide variety of the old-fashioned products made to last for the home, farm, and garden. They are your self-sufficient living go to place for practical products that are as useful today as they were in yesteryears.

*Lifetime warranty on all stainless parts and Poly tub. Warranties are extended directly by the Lifetime Freezer Company.


Lifetime Hand Crank Ice Cream Freezers 6-8-qt

Lifetime Stainless Steel Can & Dasher


Lifetime Freezer Stainless Steel Tub Latch


Lifetime Freezer Hand Crank Gear Frame


Lifetime 8-qt Ice Cream Freezer With USA Motor




Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Best Hand Crank Ice Cream Makers Ever Made

These are the real McCoy, old-fashioned hand crank ice cream makers built like things used to be. Built for serious homemade ice cream making year-round.

No more disappointing the family when the ice cream maker fails. These old-fashioned US made high-quality ice cream making machines are still being made even better than the originals that were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Direct from the American Heartland these brand new old-fashioned hand crank ice cream makers ship directly from the Amish shops that make them right here in the US.

Modern day materials allow the traditional hand crank ice cream freezers from yesteryear to be enhanced with stainless-steel gears, stainless-steel hardware and insulated molded leak free poly tubs that will keep finished ice cream frozen for hours

When it comes to making and consuming homemade ice cream the Amish know how to do it best and they know how to make the old-fashioned ice cream machines like they grew up with.

You might call it a homemade ice cream revolution as the public discovers the level of quality in these Amish ice cream freezers.

For years the Amish have been slowly and quietly manufacturing their own ice cream makers as they became disenchanted with the ones being made by outside companies.

The shift started when their favorite hand crank ice cream machines once made here in the US became caught up in the shift of American made products going to overseas manufacturers fuel by the demands of the mega discount stores to sell cheaper discounted products.

At first Amish machine, shops began replacing the hand crank gears with their own gears they made to last longer. Then, as the tub latches and tub ears started to decline they began making the old-fashioned cam lock tub latches from stainless steel to replace those coming from the foreign factories.

Before long the Amish had all the parts and started making their own brands of ice cream makers to sell within the various Amish communities. The Amish ice cream makers which, they call ice cream freezers were a throwback to the late 1800s and 1900s when things were just so well built you could count on them to last a lifetime and then on into the next generations.



Unbeknownst to the Amish, other people, in general, were becoming as frustrated with the run of the mill imported ice cream makers. Those who visited the Amish stores soon caught on to these better-quality ice cream makers and purchased them to take back home.

When other friends and neighbors saw the quality and how well they worked, they just had to have one of their own.

If you're fortunate to live close to an Amish community you might luck out and find one there.  If not Cottage Craft Works.com has done all the leg work for you.

This unique online general store specializes in combing the back roads in the American Amish communities to discover these high-quality products and bring them to the online marketplace.

Amish made ice cream makers have become so popular that several suppliers are now selling them online. Many will have just a few of one model sitting in a back room and have them listed on the Internet, kind of here today gone tomorrow. Many of them quickly run out of stock or have a back-order list.  They also don’t provide other options for insulated tub covers or additional parts to support the purchase long term.

Cottage Craft Works, on the other hand, works directly with the Amish shops to maintain in stock inventory and feature all the accessories and parts to support your purchase. Their web pages give you in-depth information and pictures of the ice cream machines to understand the many different brands and options.

Best of all they will directly answer the phone to walk you through any questions and Yes, you can talk directly to a knowledgeable owner that can explain the many differences in the Amish ice cream makers they have available or quickly help you to resolve any issues that you may have with one after the sale.

Cottage Craft Works.com is the largest supplier of Amish made ice cream makers offering all the brands and models made by the three Amish companies, Country, Immergood and Lifetime Ice Cream Freezers. Electric motor models are also available.

Cottage Craft Works.com online general store is full of the old-fashioned products of yesteryears still mostly made by the Amish.

In business now for over 10 years and accredited by the Better Business Bureau, Cottage Craft Works.com is definitely a reliable source for Amish ice cream machines.  





Lifetime Amish Made Ice Cream Maker

Country Amish Made Ice Cream Freezers




Monday, July 31, 2017

Wagon Mounted 20-qt Ice Cream Freezers-Makers-Machines

Wagon Mounted 20-qt Ice Cream Freezers can be operated by both gasoline and electric motors. Some models have on board freezer compressors and require no ice or salt.

For decades, the old-fashioned ice cream freezer has been churning up homemade ice cream at county fairs and festivals.

The 20-qt Amish made Country Freezer is the most popular and the only remaining company still making this large of ice cream freezer.

Many have adapted it to run off all types of motors including the old hit-n-miss motors.

As the hit-n-miss motors have become difficult to find Amish companies have moved forward to using more modern-day gasoline or electric motors.  While many can hook a motor belt and pulley to the 20-qt freezer one Amish company has engineered them to be used with onboard freezer compressors requiring no ice or salt to facilitate the freezing process.

These iceless ice cream freezers use a coil of tubing inside the tub to circulate the Freon. The tub is then filled with a food grade glycol that transfers the cold over to the ice cream freezer can. This solution is then saved and reused time after time.

This type of setup is perfect for making multiple batches of ice cream since there is no ice to empty and refill to reinsert the freezer can. Over a period, the savings of not purchasing salt and ice can add up.

Simpler models are available with the belt driven motor setups. One electric powered freezer uses a direct drive angle gear box and an electric motor on the side.

This combination has become very popular for commercial ice cream shops, organizations and just individuals who love to make homemade style ice cream. The unit is compact, doesn’t have the belt pinch points when being used around employees or in a crowd of curious people.

All the Country Ice Cream 20-qt freezers have NSF certification available as an upgrade. The symbol is stamped on the can, dasher and lid if local health departments require it.

The electrically powered Country freezers are very sophisticated with an onboard amp meter to show when the motor is pulling high amps indicating that the ice cream is completed.

Cottage Craft Works.com is an online company that specializes in finding quality Amish made products and bringing them out of the Amish communities to offer to the public.

Cottage Craft Works has the largest selection of Amish made ice cream freezers and brands from all three Amish companies. The company also carries all the Accessories, parts and support for those products. They even carry replacement parts for the older White Mountain Freezers that are not available anywhere else.




Self Contained Iceless Electric Country 20-qt Ice Cream Maker


Self Contained Country Iceless 20-qt Gas Power Ice Cream Machine

Country 20-qt Wagon Mounted Gas Ice Cream Freezer


Country 20-qt Direct Drive Electric Ice Cream Maker


Bulk Homemade Ice Cream Maker-Machines-Churns


Commercial duty old-fashioned homemade ice cream maker-machines-churns bring old-fashioned ice cream to events, venues, festivals and church socials.

The Amish USA made old-time wooden tub ice cream makers relive the memories and flavors of making homemade ice cream on location at county fairs and festivals.

Many families began as couples sought out using ice cream as an initial way to bridge introductions while visiting at church socials, county fairs, and festivals. Later many family arguments were also settled over a scoop of homemade ice cream as it always brings a smile and compromise to almost any situation.   

Whether if you’re looking to make a profit at making homemade ice cream or just wanting to please a large crowd of people these combinations of Amish made Country, Immergood and Lifetime Ice Cream makers will fit the bill.

Ice cream maker manufacturers have become so competitive using imported parts these days they have lost sight of the end user consumer and their needs.

A simple old-fashioned ice cream freezer built strong enough to hold up to multiple batches of making ice cream just almost seems non-existent these days.

Most store-bought ice cream makers are either for an occasional small batch of homemade ice cream at home and are just not made to last. Many have become frustrated when they break down using them to make even small batches of ice cream for family reunions and events.

Many families discover when they pull out their ice cream freezer out of storage for the 4th-of July Holiday that it is no longer working.

Generally, ice cream maker manufacturers are no longer offering anything over a 6-qt size as they know their gear frames and electric motor heads just will not withstand the pressures of making an 8-qt batch of frozen hard ice cream.

To find a bulk ice cream machine most will Google and quickly find commercial soft serve machines running thousands of dollars above anyone’s budget. Plus, soft serve is just not like old-fashioned homemade ice cream.

Once upon a time in the late 1800s and early 1900s, several US companies were making well-built ice cream freezers up to 8, 10, and 20-qt sizes.

As generations moved away from the old-fashioned social events the demand for those ice cream freezers declined and the few remaining companies shifted focus to discount mega store sales and smaller families cutting sizes and cost by using cheaper made imported parts.

This became a real problem within the Amish communities who love to make homemade ice cream several times a week for their large families, weddings, and social events.

So, several Amish companies began reproducing the old-time ice cream freezers that they grew up with to feed the demand of future generations of Amish ice cream events.

The Amish made ice cream freezers are truly amazing in the old-fashioned materials and quality that are still being built into them. Country Freezer is the only company still making the nostalgic 20-qt wooden tub freezer that is still available on the old-time popping hit-n-miss motor powered wagon.

Country Freezer also has NSF certification available on the freezer can, dasher and can lid for commercial applications where local health departments require it.

As those old hit-n-miss motors have become more difficult to find the Amish have transitioned to gasoline and electric power for the Country 20-qt freezer.

One Amish company has gone as far as making an onboard wagon mounted 20-qt freezer and compressor to provide iceless homemade ice cream without using the old salt brine.

10-qt freezers are no longer being made but three Amish companies, Country, Immergood, and Lifetime are making an 8-qt and 6-qt ice cream freezer durable enough to serve ice cream to larger groups of people.

Cottage Craft Works.com is an online company that specializes in finding quality Amish made products and bringing them out of the Amish communities to offer to the public.

Cottage Craft Works has the largest selection of Amish made ice cream freezers and brands from all three Amish companies. The company also carries all the Accessories, parts and support for those products. They even carry replacement parts for the older White Mountain Freezers that are not available anywhere else.

The 8-qt Stainless Immergood freezers have become very popular for large families and even churches who purchase several at a time for their annual ice cream socials fundraising events.

The Country 20-qt direct drive motor ice cream freezer with the NSF certification is very popular with ice cream shops, carnival vendors, and even restaurants as far away as France and South America.

These ice cream freezers not only make ice cream they can be used to make all types of frozen treats. One vendor only makes and sells frozen lemonade in his 20-qt Country freezer and sells out early.


Country 20-qt Direct Drive Electric Ice Cream Freezer

Country 20-qt Self Contained Gas Powered Ice Cream Maker


Self Contained Iceless Electric 20-qt Ice Cream Maker

Gas Powered 20-qt Ice Cream Freezer

Immergood Ice Cream Freezers





Thursday, July 27, 2017

Homemade ice cream machines

Serious homemade ice cream lovers will want to look at these USA made ice cream machines-makers-freezers-churns. They are simply the best ice cream freezers on the market today. They are Amish USA made to the old-fashioned USA quality standards once enjoyed by generations before the 1970s.

Whatever you may call them, Ice cream freezer, ice cream maker, ice cream churn or ice cream machine people have been using them to make homemade ice cream clear back to 1660. 

Throughout the centuries homemade ice cream has evolved from flavored snow to the most common approach of using a mixture of ice and salt to create cold enough temperatures to freeze a cream mix in a metal freezer can equipped with rotating dasher blades. 

The means of powering this rotation is still currently done by either a hand crank or an electric motor.

The variations of ice cream machines and materials used in them are what has made the biggest changes over the centuries. This is what creates the decision dilemma of purchasing a great homemade ice cream machine today.

During the 1800s and early 1900s, a multitude of US companies made ice cream machines generally consisting of a wooden tub, a freezer can, dasher and hand crank gear frame to spin the can on a center pivot located at the bottom of the tub. Ice and salt were added around the can filled with the ice cream mix to create the freezing temperatures.

These ice cream machines once were the highlight of most all summer get-togethers and social events. Somewhere along the way, ice cream was not included in the “As American as Apple Pie” saying since ice cream and apple pie is an all-American treat as well. Today they are still a family get- together favorite having the kids learn old-fashioned heritage and values of hand cranking homemade ice cream.

One company, White Mountain, withstood the time and became considered the American standard of ice cream freezers.  It was a White Mountain machine that would be under the Christmas tree and found in and around backyards and parks churning the favorite American summertime treat during the hottest months of summer.

Even though White Mountain may not still be considered the American standard by many, because of using imported parts, they still make quality ice cream machines today especially their Appalachian Series. Even the standard White Mountain Freezers are far more superior when compared to some of the plastic counter top ice cream machines being offered online and in discount retail stores.

During the 70s, 80s, and 90s, many American companies became caught up in the discount chain store frenzy forcing them to find ways to produce things cheaper by using cheaper imported parts so that the mega stores they sold to could undercut the local signal owner merchant store.

The phenomenon of planned obsolescence was also born initially making durable products with a shorter life span so that the consumer would need to replace it instead of selling them something once that would last them a lifetime as products were once made pre-1970s.

Plastic parts seemed to now have replaced metal parts in such critical components such as gears to the point that no company really must work too hard to have a product wear out these days.

Many American companies that complied with the demands of the mega store chains soon found their product quality ratings plummeting and consumer complaints climbing. Before the Internet and social media, a company could still put out a marketing facade and maintain a good market share.

White Mountain was not immune to this criticism and still, today has very mixed reviews even after many product improvements over the last few years, especially in their electric motors. 

The buy American trend is also working against those companies relying heavily on imported parts.

One silent group of people that you might not even consider as being resourceful became as frustrated with the cheapening of products. That is the growing Amish and Mennonite populations across the country and around the world.

For generations, Amish families have purchased items that would sustain their self-sufficient lifestyle and pass those items on to the next generations. During the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s products were made to do just that plus many were still being made to operate without electricity.

The Amish also love to make homemade ice cream and their choice was the American Made White Mountain Freezer.  As they began seeing a decline in quality they began to slowly make their own replacement parts. 

They made their own gears, then the tub and freezer latches and even their own gear frames. Finally, one Amish Company, Country Freezer began making their own ice cream freezer out of all Amish American made parts.

Country Freezer became the new Amish standard ice cream freezer because it was made like the original White Mountain freezers.  As people visited Amish communities and stores they began purchasing the Country Freezers and taking them back home where others saw the quality and wanted one as well.

Country Freezer was the only Amish made freezer up until 2012 when another company developed their own freezer called Immergood Freezers.  Immergood simply further improved upon Country and raised the bar on the old-fashioned ice cream freezer a few more notches.

For years the Amish owner of Immergood was making many of the White Mountain replacement parts and selling both an Amish improved version of White Mountain and Country Freezers to the Amish. He saw an opportunity to improve and even provide a more budget friendly freezer.

Immergood utilized an insulated fiberglass bucket and designed their own heavy duty stainless tub latch, with stainless-steel gears as standard in all their hand crank freezers. They made the stainless-steel freezer can stronger and thicker and added food grade durable poly scrapers and a poly tub center.

At around the same time another Amish company, Lifetime Freezers, started to manufacture their own poly insulated tub freezer with stainless steel hardware and stainless gears as well.  They offer 6 and 8-qt freezers in both hand crank and electric models. Lifetime just hasn’t had the exposure that Immergood has had to be as well known. Lifetime does offer a lifetime warranty on their tubs, hardware and hand crank frame.

Cottage Craft Works.com is a unique online store that goes deep into the Amish communities building upon over 40 years of working with the Amish people and culture to find and help bring to market these very durable and high-quality products. They initially found and introduced Immergood Ice Cream Freezers in 2013 and have also added Lifetime freezers to their old-fashioned general store making them the largest online supplier of Amish USA made ice cream freezers providing access to all three Amish brands and models.

The company by far sells more Amish ice cream freezers over the White Mountain Freezers.

While Immergood Freezers are now sprouting up elsewhere on the Internet Cottage Craft Works.com Ice Cream Freezers is still the only online store that provides the knowledge, accessories, and parts to truly support Immergood Freezers. They also have direct access to factory stock so you won’t likely hear out of stock or back ordered from them as the Immergood Freezers have become a high demand product, especially during the summer months. Just another testament to the quality of the Immergood brand.

More than just about Ice Cream Makers, Cottage Craft Works www.cottagecraftworks.com is also an old-fashioned emporium of all the old time good stuff for the farm, ranch, and home.




Lifetime Freezers

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