I have the below cuisinart ice cream maker. I've been trying to experiment with lower fat ice creams and I've had some problems. Specifically, I've used 2% milk and half and half rather than cream. The ice cream never really thickens and I'm not quite sure why. Not sure if they are related to using lower fat dairy, the ingredients not being cold enough, or the ice cream maker itself. I know there were lots of home ice cream makers on this site - anyone else have these problems when using reduced fat dairy options?
Hm. I have a different cuisinart and have no problem using lower fat milk/cream. What is yours coming out like? It should be a soft-serve consistency (for hard serve, you need to transfer to a separate container and freeze for a few hours)
Maybe the lowfat options have a higher water content so you get a different consistency. When oil/fat gets cold or freezes it gets thick, but when water freezes you just get ice crystals. I've noticed coconut milk does this a little too. It has some fat (though not saturated fat), but it also has a lot of water, so it can crystallize.
I don't have much advice, though, since I haven't made dairy ice cream in ages. Most recently I used a blend of coconut milk (the canned kind, regular, not light) and soy creamer (which has less water). With enough flavoring and chunky stuff, most people don't realize they're eating nondairy ice cream. Plus people aren't that critical when you put anything homemade in front of their face...