Rival GC8250 Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker

by Rival

Product Features

• Compact 1-1/2 quart gel-canister ice cream maker with soft-serve dispenser
• Fast-freeze system for ice cream, sherbet, or frozen yogurt in 20 to 35 minutes
• Built-in timer for consistent ice cream texture; recipes included
• Skid-resistant bracer feet; helpful bottle brush included
• 11-1/2 by 9-3/4 by 11-1/2 inches; one-year warranty

Product Details

Product Manual [1.84mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 12.1 x 11 inches ; 9.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 11 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00008SJXO
• Item model number: GC8250
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,212 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Making ice cream at home can be tons of fun, and Rival's Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker adds a new twist--classic soft-serve in a star pattern, perfect for cones. The fast-freezing gel canister needs to go into the freezer for at least eight hours (or preferably overnight). Assemble the ice cream maker, pour in a chilled recipe's worth of ice cream mix, and in 20 to 35 minutes it's ready to serve. There's no salt or ice to fuss with, and you don't have to monitor the process by stirring or hand cranking; it's all done automatically.

The Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker has an automatic timer that starts when you turn the machine on. After 22 minutes, a tone will sound for 10 seconds, and the indicator light will change from red to green, indicating that the ice cream is ready. (For firmer ice cream, transfer soft-serve ice cream to a plastic container and place in the freezer until it reaches desired texture.) The clear plastic cover locks in place while the paddle rotates. When the time is up, just tilt the whole canister, rest it on the nonskid bracer feet on the canister collar, and press the dispenser button.

Clean-up is very easy; warm soapy water will do the trick, and there is a brush for cleaning the hard-to-reach parts. (The upper motor section is not immersible.) The gel canister should not contact hot water until it is near room temperature, and it should be completely dry before being frozen again. When fully assembled, the Rival Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker is 9-3/4 by 11-1/2 wide and 11-1/2 inches tall. Rival products include a one-year warranty against defects and come with a detailed booklet of instructions, recipes, and tips. --Garland Withers

Product Description

Rival 1.5 Qt Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I had no trouble at all!!, August 18, 2006

By 

A. Mortenson "Mountain-Dreamer" (Colorado Springs, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rival GC8250 Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker (Kitchen)

I bought this ice cream maker as a 2nd unit - I also have the GC8191. I read so many reviews that claimed the product didn't work at all - I have no idea what the users were doing wrong - but it was pretty clear to me.

I followed the instructions regarding how long to freeze the bowl - common sense dictates that you have to freeze the bowl first...how else would it work? I froze mine for 24 hours, prepared the recipe as instructed for Strawberry Sorbet, and turned the machine on. In 25 minutes I had a lovely sorbet, it comes out soft and can be easily served that way or can be frozen for a few hours to make it firm. I tried again with the easy vanilla ice cream recipe - great results in 30 minutes.

Here's the low down:

Don't use a greater volume of ingredients than recommended - it won't freeze properly.

Don't skimp on the length of time to freeze the bowl

Don't use warm ingredients - make sure your ingredients are refrigerated or it won't freeze properly.

If it doesn't freeze within the required time - turn the micture out of the bowl, refreeze the bowl for 12 hours and then try again. The 40 minute safety timer cannot be overridden - it is designed the protect the motor. After 40 minutes, the bowl will be too defrosted to cool the product anyway. Don;t take the bowl out of the freezer until you are ready to pour the ingredients in - then plug the machine in and start the machine BEFORE you pour the mixture in - or it will freeze as it touches the bowl and the beater won't turn.

If you follow the instructions properly - it really cannot fail.

NOTE - the ice cream maker does not make hard ice cream - no machine will do that, not even professional ones. It is designed to incorporate as much air as possible into the mixture as it freezes it to a soft consistency - like a very thick milk shake - but not pourable. Once the machine is done, you can either serve it very soft, or place the bowl into the freezer to allow it to firm up.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good Idea but did not work well, June 11, 2003

By 

S. Beamer (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rival GC8250 Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker (Kitchen)

The ice cream maker was easy to assemble but it would not quite freeze the ice cream enough. The plastic parts seem like they are designed to last about 2 weeks. I had to run it an extra 15 minutes and even then the ice cream was runny but the motor was about to burn up. The ice cream was good after I froze it overnight but I would stick to the conventional ice and salt method after this experience. Mine is going back to the place I bought it.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Poor Product, April 9, 2004

By 

S. Lovell "Sandy" (Somerset, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rival GC8250 Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker (Kitchen)

This product simply did not work well. The labeling on the box is misleading because it states that it can make ice cream in 30 minutes. But the reality is that the process takes a minimum of 24 hours if you count the preparation time. OK, fine. However, when I attempted to pour the mixture into the machine (following the directions) it froze up and would not operate at all. I ended up having to mix the ice cream by hand for 20 minutes. It tasted fine (and it was thick), but that was largely because of my own preparation. The moving parts are made of plastic (not very sturdy). You will also learn when you read the instructions that you can't put nuts or pieces of fruit in the ice cream mixture because that might "damage" the machine. Bottom line, it didn't work as promised. You will probably be disappointed.