Yonanas Review

I purchased my Yonanas dessert maker at a local department store. A care and use manual as well as a recipe booklet were included. It came fully assembled and so it was ready to operate after removing it from the packaging and plugging it in. 

For those with limited counterspace the overall size might be problematic, but only if it was something the user would want to leave out on the counter all of the time, but for most people I doubt this is likely.  It measures approximately 6" wide by 6" deep by 15" high when fully assembled. It is lightweight but sturdy enough for the task.

The base of the device has a stainless-like finish with a black chute assembly. The housing appears to be made entirely of plastic although as I stated before, it seems sturdy enough. The base includes the power (on/off) switch, the electrical cord, the motor inside, and the receptacle where users will place the chute.

The chute assembly is placed upon the base and is rotated counter clockwise to lock it in place. There is a blade cone at the base of the chute which purees the fruit as it is loaded and pressed down into the chute. Using the included plunger, frozen fruit can be pressed into the chute easily and safely.

The Yonanas device operated smoothly with no vibration. The 60Hz 200W motor was fairly loud although no worse than most food processors or blenders. More importantly, the motor easily handled all of the frozen fruit I fed through the chute and did its job fairly quickly. 

Clean up was very easy. To disassemble, I merely had to rotate the chute assembly to unlock it, pull it off, unscrew the cap, remove the gasket and blade cone, and wash all of those pieces by hand or in the dishwasher.

I ended up concocting three separate desserts with the Yonanas dessert maker. First with frozen bananas only, then with strawberries added, and finally with peaches added. The results were consistent.

The first question is whether or not this device will create a healthier alternative to ice cream. My answer is yes, absolutely. The desserts that I created were made entirely of frozen fruits. No fat and no cholesterol were involved. No added sugar, no added salt, no artificial flavorings, coloring, or preservatives. For those who have problems with dairy products, the dessert that Yonanas creates, won't be a problem. There is no milk, cream, or anything of that nature added either. It's fruit and nothing but fruit; unless of course, you choose to add something else, such as chocolate.

The second question is whether or not Yonanas is affordable. Certainly, the answer to this question is dependent upon your budget, but in general, I would say the answer is again yes.  The price seemed to vary from store to store and website to website, but I paid $49 for mine at Target. As I indicated before, it comes with a recipe book and includes a 90 day warranty.

The next critical question is whether or not the device is easy to use and if the process is quick. I consider making treats with the Yonanas dessert maker to be a very simple process. To make the dessert, one simply  turns on the power, loads some fruit into the chute, presses it down with plunger using a steady pressure, and within 15 seconds it begins dispensing the frozen treat into a bowl you place at the bottom of the chute. Within a minute or two, a couple of servings are ready for consumption.

Quick and easy. Of course, some pre-planning is necessary. Bananas are the basis of all of the desserts. Whether you want something strawberry flavored or chocolate flavored or whatever else, bananas should be the basis of the dessert. This is what provides the creamy consistency that's necessary for it to emerge similar to soft serve ice cream. This mean that you will have to assure that you have some bananas that have started to turn brown, ones with "cheetah spots". You will need to have peeled those bananas, frozen them for at least 24 hours, and defrosted them on the counter for 5 minutes or in the microwave for 20 seconds before using them.  In fact, all of the fruit should be handled this way, so some pre-planning is necessary.

The final question is whether or not the Yonanas device creates an ice cream-like treat. Yes and no would be my response to this question. The consistency and temperature of the treat you create with this device will be very much like soft serve ice cream. Cool, thick, and creamy.  Wonderful on a hot summer day. The bananas will lend some sweetness and the other ingredients or fruit that you add will lend more flavor. However, don't expect the sweetness of ice cream.

The Yonanas treats that I created were consistently smooth although peaches, strawberries, and presumably other fruits won't blend quite as completely as the bananas. However, it is still much smoother than what you would get from a food processor or even from name brand ice creams that include bits of fruit in them.

For the most part, I feel like the Yonanas frozen treat maker lived up to its claims. It's affordable, easy to use, and is capable of creating a healthy dessert that is very similar to soft serve ice cream. However, if you expect the treats it produces to be as sweet as traditional, name brand ice cream, you are likely to be disappointed.