Lello 4080 Musso Lussino Review

I recently splurged on a Lello 4080 Musso Lussino, a commercial quality, home use 1.5-quart compressor gelato maker, made entirely in Italy! I came across this machine last fall, but didn't buy it because I knew I wouldn't be making or eating ice cream as much in the colder months. I saved up for it throughout the year and after my 40th birthday in March and my 1-year work anniversary at my part-time job at the end of April, I decided to go for it. I'm sharing some items I bought to go along with it and some tips on how to use and clean the machine.

I purchased my Lello Lussino from Sur La Table because I had $50 "SLT Perks". This made the price cheaper than Amazon or anywhere else I could find a new one. I also didn't want to gamble with ordering something like this from Amazon. My package was shipped directly from the USA distributor in NJ and arrived 2 days after I ordered it. UPS delivered it and put the box by my front door on its side, not upright as it should have been, so I unpackaged it and let it sit for 24 hours before I used it (because of the compressor). It was perfect right out of the box - no issues at all (all the legs were even and the blade did not scrape the bowl - two things I read others have had issues with). 

I've used it a few times so far and I absolutely love it! It is built like a tank, with high quality materials and few, simple controls (a timer knob, churn switch and chill switch - that's it!). The only plastic items included are the lid and the spoon. All the parts of the gelato maker itself are stainless steel. Unlike other ice cream makers, the bowl is non-removable. The top of the ice cream maker is just one piece of steel and the bowl is part of it. While some people do not like that aspect of this machine, I love it - it is part of what makes this ice cream maker perform so much better than all the others and produce such delicious frozen desserts!

Since it's large and heavy and I don't have a good place to store it in my kitchen, I decided to purchase this microwave cart and store it in a corner of my dining room that has been empty for years. Luckily there is an outlet right behind the cart so this was the perfect spot for it! The cart is solid wood and was very easy to put together. I put 3 coats of Minwax Matte Polycrylic on it, lightly sanded between each coat, attached the wheels and it was ready to use. It is the perfect size cart for this machine!

I ordered a custom-made appliance dust cover from this lady on Etsy. She lets you pick your own fabric design, orders the fabric for you and makes the cover. The cover arrived only a few days after I ordered it. I gave her the exact dimensions of the Lello, and the cover is slightly big but that's how she makes her covers, and it makes it very easy to put on and take off. My dining room has an Italian theme so I chose this beautiful Mediterranean fabric. I absolutely love it!

The cart also has plenty of room to store my ice cream containers and mason jars (more info on those below). In the past I had some Tovolo insulated ice cream tubs and I hated them. They are the ones with the bottom portion that is in two pieces. They were a pain to clean and the lid did not stay completely closed. I looked around and ordered a few new containers and bought colors that coordinate with the fabric I chose above. I bought the BALCI Ice Cream Container - 2 Quart, in Blue & Mint and the Tovolo Sweet Treat Ice Cream Tub - 1 Quart in Raspberry & Lemon. Since this machine is 1.5-qt capacity, I'll use the 2-qt. containers when I add mix-ins to my ice cream base and I'll use the 1-qt. containers when we eat some of the ice cream right away and freeze the rest. I like these containers so much more than my old ones. Some people like to freeze the empty containers before they put their freshly made ice cream in them, but I have never done that, mostly because I never think to do it. Tip - keep the top of the ice cream covered with plastic wrap touching it to prevent ice crystals and to keep the ice cream fresh for a long time in the freezer. If you're like my family though, you will eat the ice cream faster than ice crystals can form!

My favorite ice cream scoop to use is a Zeroll Ice Cream Scoop (I use this with the containers, not to get ice cream out of the ice cream maker). I've had this for many years and it's still good as new. I also have a Zeroll XL Ice Cream Scoop which I only purchased because I had some sort of coupon or rewards to use and could not find anything else to use it on. I prefer the regular size scoop but at times it does help to have two scoops. Lastly, I just purchased the Zeroll Ice Cream Spade. As you can see, it is quite a bit larger than the scoops but it also serves a different purpose. I have not used it yet so I can't comment on how much I like it. All of these Zeroll items are high quality and made in the USA. Hand wash only - do not put them in the dishwasher or they will get ruined.

I make eggless ice cream bases and like to refrigerate them overnight. Once I mix a batch, I put the mixture in a wide mouth quart-sized mason jar, which holds 4 cups - the perfect amount for this machine. Because of the air that is whipped into the ice cream during the churning process, you will end up with more volume of ice cream than what you started with in your base, so it's important not to overfill the bowl with mixture or it will overflow beyond the mixer bowl. Using the mason jars, I know that if I have more mixture than will fit in there, it's too much to put in the machine. I refrigerate the filled mason jar in my basement refrigerator, which gets opened a lot less than the one in my kitchen so items in there stay colder. I refrigerate it for 4-6 hours or overnight (I read somewhere that it's OK for up to 3 days but the most I ever do is overnight). Of course, you can skip this step if you want to make the ice cream right away, especially since this machine has a compressor and gets very cold quick!

Using the Lello, when it's time to make the ice cream, I set the timer for 30 minutes,  turn on the "chill" switch, pour the ice cream base from the mason jar into the machine, put the clear plastic lid on, turn on the "churn" switch and let it churn for about 20-25 minutes. I always set more time on the timer than I think I will need, because with this machine, if the chill function turns off, you need to wait a few minutes before turning it back on (because of the compressor, or you could damage the machine). There is no way to turn the timer off - you have to let it run out and then it turns off on its own. If I'm adding any mix-ins to the ice cream (chocolate chips, Oreos, cookie dough, etc.), I add it after the ice cream has completely finished churning. I don't put the mix-ins directly into the ice cream maker bowl and continue churning for the last few minutes like I used to do with my Cuisinart machine - I add them in the container I'm storing the ice cream in. The only exception to this would be when making Stracciatella and drizzling the melted chocolate into the ice cream as it's churning so the chocolate can freeze. I like the soft consistency of ice cream when it's freshly made so we usually eat some of the ice cream right then and freeze the rest for later, but not always.

Vanilla bean ice cream

Chocolate ice cream

Vanilla ice cream

Cheesecake ice cream

Once the ice cream is ready, I either remove as much as I can into the container first or I remove the locking nut and stainless steel blade, being careful not to drop any ice cream into the exposed center piece. I cover the center pole of the ice cream maker bowl while removing the ice cream and cleaning the machine (to ensure no ice cream, soap, or water gets in there, which could reach the inside mechanics and damage them) with a rubber finger tip or thimble (after washing it well first). I saw from some reviews that other people used these but no one mentioned what size to use. The medium was too small but the large (size 13) works well. I put this on and then use the included plastic spoon to transfer the ice cream to a container, or I transfer as much ice cream as I can to a container while the blade is still attached, and then carefully remove the locking nut and blade and put the rubber finger tip on.

This center area is what you don't want to get wet!

This was the best solution I found to cover it up so I could clean around it

Once I've removed all of the ice cream from the ice cream maker bowl, I use a silicone spatula to get any remaining ice cream out. Then I let it sit for a little while to get to room temperature before cleaning since it's hard to clean when everything is still cold. I wash and immediately dry the locking nut and stainless steel blade (being sure to dry the inside part of the blade as well, to prevent rust), along with the spoon and lid and set all of them aside. Cleaning the ice cream maker bowl is very simple - I use paper towels to clean out as much leftover ice cream residue as I can. Then I use a wet sponge with some dish soap on it to wipe everything out very well. Then I use a few more damp paper towels to get all of the soap out. I then remove the rubber finger tip and carefully clean around where it was. I do one final wipe of everything with a dry towel and it's perfectly clean!

I wipe out as much as I can with wet paper towels

Then I use a soapy sponge to clean everything

I use several more wet paper towels to get all the soap off and then a dry towel to dry everything

Replace the washed and dried blade

Replace the washed and dried locking nut

Wash and dry the lid and spoon, and I'm done!

I hope this information has been helpful to anyone who is considering or has already purchased the Lello Lussino. This machine was a big splurge for me, but it is great quality and a huge improvement over my previous Cuisinart ICE 21 which used a freezer bowl. I find this so much easier to clean and more convenient to use. I also love that I was able to find a good place in my house to keep it out at all times, and a beautiful cover for it! I had a lot of fun putting the cart and items together in order to make this corner of my dining room look nice.

I did a lot of research before I purchased this (I read every single review I could find - hundreds!) and the tips I read from others helped me so I am passing along some of the info I learned. I also read that many people have had this machine for over 20 years, which is amazing! More importantly, every batch of ice cream I've made so far has been incredible! It is more creamy and less icy than the ice cream produced by my old machine, even after having been in the freezer for a few days. I look forward to using this machine for many years to come so my family can enjoy delicious homemade gelato and ice cream made with fresh ingredients.

Note: Gelatiere Musso S.r.l. ("Musso") is the manufacturer, located in Mortara, Italy. Lello Appliances Corporation ("Lello") is the importer in the USA, located in East Rutherford, NJ. Musso makes two machines for home use and they go by various names depending on which country you are in or which online site you are browsing. This 1.5-qt. capacity model that I have is the L1, also known as 4080, Mini, Lussino, Piccolo, or Classica. This machine is 12" Wide x 18" Long x 11" High and 38 pounds. There is a larger 2-qt. capacity model, the L2 (L2A), which is also known as 5030, Stella, or Pola. This larger machine is 20" Wide x 14" Deep x 12" High and 66 pounds. Both machines have a 1-year warranty. There is a nice video on Musso's website that shows how these machines are made and some photos on their Facebook and reels on their Instagram.

Cheesecake Ice Cream & Cherry Topping

I've been trying out some new ice cream flavors lately and came across one for Cheesecake Ice Cream in the cookbook "The Perfect Scoop" by David Lebovitz. I love cheesecake so I had to try this recipe out! I made a few changes to it though so the below recipe is adapted from his, but I'm including the original recipe from his cookbook as well, at the very bottom of this post.

I used lemon zest this time but I didn't use all of the the zest from the lemon because I read a review that it was too tangy, and it still was pretty tangy. Next time I'll just use a little bit of lemon juice instead of the zest because I didn't love the zest being in the ice cream, but that's just my personal preference. I changed the recipe below to reflect that change.

I also increased the amount of half-and-half from the original recipe to 1 cup because I wanted 3 cups total of liquid and I thought it might help the ice cream not taste so rich. This ice cream base is very thick, so I'm glad I added the extra liquid to help thin it out a little bit.

I added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla to the original recipe, which had none, because my cheesecake recipes always have vanilla in them, but next time I will increase the vanilla to 1 teaspoon, as is reflected in the recipe below.

After blending the ingredients together, I refrigerated the mixture for 4 hours (in a quart-sized mason jar - it fits perfectly) and then it was in my ice cream maker for 15 minutes before I heard it struggling to churn and turned it off. I usually churn my ice cream for 20-25 minutes, so that should tell you how thick this is! I put it in the freezer and tried it about 3 hours later. It was delicious! It's thick, rich, lemony, cream-cheesy and just so, so good!

I love putting cherries on top of homemade cheesecake, so I also made a cherry topping using a 12-ounce bag of frozen cherries. The final topping is crushed graham crackers reminiscent of a graham cracker crumb crust, which makes this cheesecake ice cream really taste like homemade cheesecake!

As much as I liked this, I might make a few more changes next time to try to thin out the mixture a little bit - maybe use 2 cups of half-and-half (or a mixture of whole milk and heavy cream) and no sour cream. I think first I'll try the recipe as it is written below and see how that comes out with substituting the lemon zest for lemon juice and increasing the vanilla and then make additional changes another time if need be.

If you love cheesecake and ice cream, you should definitely give this a try and adjust it according to your preferences!

Cheesecake Ice Cream

Recipe adapted from “The Perfect Scoop” by David Lebovitz

 

8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon of sea salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 

 

Cut the cream cheese into small pieces. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, half-and-half or cream, sugar, salt, lemon juice and vanilla directly into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

 

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (at least 4-6 hours or overnight), then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The mixture is very thick and may stop churning after about 15 minutes.

 

Top the ice cream with cherry topping and crushed graham crackers.

 

After mixing and before putting in the fridge for 4 hours. It is very thick!

The perfect size jar for the amount of mixture that fits in my 1.5-qt. ice cream maker

Ready to churn!

15 minutes later, it's done!

Ready for the freezer

 

Cherry Topping

Recipe adapted from “Vintage Kitchen” Website

 

This easy cherry sauce recipe takes minutes on the stove and keeps for days in the refrigerator and frozen for at least a month. Use fresh cherries when in season, but frozen ones also work. It's great as a topping for waffles and cheesecake, and as a sauce over ice cream.

 

12 ounces whole cherries (fresh or frozen)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon cornstarch

 

If using fresh cherries, wash and pit the cherries. You'll have about 1½ cups of cherries. Alternatively, use a 12-ounce bag of frozen cherries.

 

Put the cherries in a medium saucepan and add the sugar and lemon juice. Mix. 

 

Cook fresh cherries over medium heat (or frozen cherries over low heat) until it breaks a boil, stirring gently once in a while. 

 

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water until no lumps remain and drizzle over the berries. 

 

Stir constantly and cook for 1 more minute. 

 

Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and let cool down. 

 

Store in the refrigerator for up to a week in a glass mason jar with a tight-fitting lid or another type of airtight container. It can also be frozen for up to a month in a plastic container. Defrost at room temperature.

Frozen cherries with brown sugar and lemon juice

Boiling and ready for the water and cornstarch

Finished and cooling down

In a mason jar and ready for the fridge

Broken up graham crackers

Cheesecake ice cream and toppings

Delicious!

Cheesecake Ice Cream

Recipe from “The Perfect Scoop” by David Lebovitz

 

8 ounces cream cheese
1 lemon, preferably unsprayed
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of kosher or sea salt

 

 

Cut the cream cheese into small pieces. Zest the lemon directly into a blender or food processor. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, half-and-half, sugar, and salt, and puree until smooth.

 

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

 

Makes about 3 cups.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

I just bought a new ice cream maker and the first recipe I made in it was this one. I prefer simple flavors and eggless recipes, also known as Philadelphia style (as opposed to custard or French style which contain eggs).

I've always used vanilla extract in my ice cream before but decided to try Vanilla Bean Paste and I loved the results.

I also used some half & half in place of some of the heavy whipping cream, mostly just to see if it made any difference since whipping cream has been so expensive. I thought it tasted great so I will likely use it in more recipes, but if you don't have it or don't want to use it, use 1 cup of whole milk and 2 cups of heavy whipping cream - or any combination of milk and cream to equal 3 cups.

My sister Maria lowered the sugar to 1/2 cup when she makes her ice cream, but the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup. You can adjust the sugar to your liking.

This is the perfect base recipe to add various mix-ins to (chocolate chips, crushed Oreos, peanut butter cups, cookie dough, etc.) or just have it as plain vanilla! 

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

 

1 cup whole milk, very cold

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup to ¾ cup granulated sugar

1 cup half and half, very cold

1 cup heavy cream, very cold

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

 

In a cold bowl, whisk together milk, salt and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Stir in half and half, heavy cream and vanilla bean paste.

 

Optional: Refrigerate mixture for at least 4-6 hours or overnight for better results (using a quart-sized mason jar works well to store this amount of mixture).

 

Pour cold mixture into ice cream maker's freezer bowl. Let it run for about 20-25 minutes or until ice cream is thick and done.

 

If adding something extra, mix for 15-20 minutes and then add 1/4 cup (or up to 1 cup):

·      Mini chocolate chips

·      Oreos

·      Snickers

·      Reese's cups

and mix for 5 more minutes.

Transfer ice cream to a container and place in the freezer for about 2 hours to completely firm up.

Chocolate Ice Cream

The second recipe I made in my new ice cream maker is this Chocolate Ice Cream recipe. I don't usually care for chocolate ice cream but one of my sons has been asking me to make it. I made a chocolate recipe a few years ago and didn't like it (neither did my husband, so it wasn't just me!), so this morning I searched for a new one to try. I came across this recipe, which looked good. After reading through the comments, I discovered the mixture overflowed in most commenter's 1.5-qt. ice cream makers, which is the size I have. I also read that it helps make the ice cream less gritty if you sift the cocoa and sugars first. I used these two suggestions and adapted the amounts as best I could to come up with the recipe below, which we all loved! Everyone had a second helping, even me. I put some cut up fresh strawberries on top of mine which made it even better.

I used some half & half in place of some of the heavy whipping cream, but if you don't have it or don't want to use it, use 1 cup of whole milk and 2 cups of heavy whipping cream - or any combination of milk and cream to equal 3 cups.

I'm happy I found a chocolate recipe that tastes good and we can now use this as a base for other recipes (chocolate chocolate chip, chocolate peanut butter, rocky road, etc.) or just have it as plain chocolate!

Chocolate Ice Cream

Adapted from Chew Out Loud Website

 

2/3 cup cocoa powder, good quality, unsweetened

¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

¼ to ½ cup white sugar

1 cup whole milk, very cold

1 cup half and half, very cold

1 cup heavy cream, very cold

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Sift the cocoa powder, brown sugar and white sugar together to enable a finer mix into the cold ingredients - it makes the ice cream taste less gritty.

 

In a chilled bowl, combine the sifted cocoa and both sugars, whisking to combine well. Add cold milk and whisk until the sugars are dissolved. Stir in cold heavy cream and vanilla. The colder everything is, the better.

 

Optional: Refrigerate mixture for at least 4-6 hours or overnight for better results (using a quart-sized mason jar works well to store this amount of mixture).

 

Pour mixture into the freezer bowl of ice cream maker. Let it run for 20-25 minutes, or until the mixture is thick, soft, and creamy. Churned ice cream should increase in volume, reaching the top of the machine's freezer bowl.

 

If adding something extra, mix for 15-20 minutes and then add 1/4 cup (or up to 1 cup):

·      Mini chocolate chips

·      Oreos

·      Snickers

·      Reese's cups

and mix for 5 more minutes.

 

Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours or until ice cream is desired consistency.

 

Prior to serving, let ice cream sit at room temp for a few minutes just to soften enough for easy scooping.

Stracciatella Ice Cream

Stracciatella gelato has always been my favorite flavor. Today I made Stracciatella ice cream for the first time. It is so easy and very delicious! I used my vanilla ice cream base, which I let chill in the fridge for a few hours before adding to the ice cream maker, but you don't have to do that. While it was in the ice cream maker, I melted a bar of 70% dark chocolate and let it cool a bit until the ice cream was almost finished (25 minutes in the ice cream maker). Then I used a small spatula to lightly drizzle the melted chocolate into the ice cream while the ice cream maker was still on. The melted chocolate freezes on impact with the ice cream and it breaks into shreds as the ice cream maker keeps churning it. I reserved a little bit of chocolate to drizzle on top of the ice cream container that I put in the freezer to make it look nice.

The ice cream was so good, and I don't know why I waited so long to make this! To me it tastes so much better than just adding chocolate chips to ice cream. This is not an official recipe and the steps are so easy but I just wanted to make note of what I did and what chocolate I used so I can remember the next time I want to make it. If you enjoy making your own ice cream, I highly recommend you give this a try with your favorite chocolate bar! This would taste good in other flavors of ice cream as well instead of vanilla (chocolate, strawberry, coffee, etc.), but this way is my favorite!