TikTok Is Divided On This Unique Ice Cream Machine

A popular social media site that promotes products found on Amazon says we should love Yonanas (via Just Jared), which is an ice cream maker/blender hybrid that turns frozen fruits into something resembling ice cream according to Wired. But the TikTok jury is divided on this one.

TikToker amazonsbest featured the Yonanas in a recent video, titled "Our Favorite Amazon Finds, Part 82." (Turns out this video was actually Part 84, but who's counting?) The video, with voiceover, demonstrates how the Yonanas works. Put frozen bananas and strawberries, or any other frozen fruits you like, into the chute at the top. Turn the machine on, and voilà! A frozen fruit soft serve that does a passable job imitating ice cream.

For $45, this almost-ice-cream maker sounds like a good deal. Or does it? Some of the commenters on the amazonsbest TikTok weren't impressed. Maybe this is just another kitchen appliance you don't really need that will only take up precious counter space. "Blender does the same exact thing," @abby10205 commented. "Don't waste your money!!" Other commenters weren't impressed with the stuff that comes out of the business end of the Yonanas. The most-liked comment under the TikTok reads, "So basically just frozen mushy fruit." Another commenter who tried the machine was underwhelmed. "I've tried this, it literally just tastes like cold bananas," @ennyfromcapecoral09 said.

Plenty of TikTokers stepped up to praise the Yonanas. "I've had this for years and love this," karen.benson commented. "It's exactly soft-serve consistency + so much better than using a blender." A few other commenters wanted to explore the possibilities with this unique soft-serve maker: Does it only mush up frozen fruit? "I'd be putting like a dozen Snickers in it," h.s.blessing said.

Or maybe, a device that turns frozen fruit into ice cream is good enough. "Frozen pineapple with this is bomb," lanukeillewis said. And juliaa.batista chimed in with, "This is a perfect thing for parents whose kids won't eat fruit but love ice cream."

Yonanas is getting a lot of attention now, thanks to amazonsbest, but it has been around for years. Wired reviewed it in 2013, and gave it a positive review with a few quibbles. The machine is noisy, Wired said, and it doesn't work well unless you let the fruit thaw for a few minutes first. Also, a lot of the good stuff gets stuck in the machine's blades, and you have to scrape it out to get your full serving.

But that was 2013. Maybe some of these flaws were corrected in later models? Nope. A review on Reviewed, updated in 2020, said their machine had the exact same issues. Another thing they don't show you in a 24-second TikTok video: It takes the machine five minutes to make enough soft-serve for two people.