Rival 8550-X 5-Quart Wooden Electric Ice Cream Maker

5 QT, Wood Bucket Ice Cream Maker, Auto Shut Off When Ready, Includes Recipes, High Quality Wood Bucket.

Amazon.com Review
While this wooden ice cream maker looks old-fashioned, it's actually electric, taking the arm work out of the whole process. In just 20 to 40 minutes, the maker produces up to five quarts (approximately 40 servings) of ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt. The high-torque motor shuts off automatically when freezing is complete. All that's required is rock salt, ice, and the desired mixture of any flavor (a recipe booklet is included). The Rival ice cream maker consists of the motor unit, a 10-by-11-1/2-inch wooden bucket, a metal ice cream can with plastic lid, a cork stopper for the hole in the lid, and a plastic dasher with a metal shaft. A latch system secures the motor unit to the bucket, and a 45-inch cord allows good reach to a power outlet.

To make good old vanilla ice cream, spiced cider sorbet, frozen strawberry yogurt, and many other tasty treats, the mixture is poured into the metal can, the dasher inserted, lid placed on, and motor unit engaged with the dasher shaft. The dasher does not turn during the freezing process; rather, the can turns around the dasher. Layers of ice and rock salt inside the wooden bucket around the can keep the temperature low enough to freeze the mixture. In case of leakage through the wooden bucket, it's a good idea to have newspaper or a plastic tub underneath. To harden ice cream, the dasher is removed after churning is complete, the cork stopper inserted into the lid, and ice and rock salt are packed over the entire can for a couple hours. All the parts except the motor unit should be washed and dried by hand. Rival covers the ice cream maker with a one-year warranty. --Ann Bieri