Customer Reviews:
  Fun and easy! June 17, 2008
I've used it about 5 times. My son (3 years) and myself roll it back and forth on the floor. It's a very fun alternative to shaking plastic bags or an automatic maker :) Its easy to clean and easy to use, very simple. I would suggest using a long soft scrubber to clean the inside, my hand wouldnt fit in with a sponge well. Also, I found tht using fat free half and half makes a good creamy texture and (obviously) no fat like whole cream! I recommend this highly as a fun toy for summer and a great cooling treat after!
 Fun Ice Cream Maker - heavy..but fun June 10, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Keep in mind that you are ordering the larger of the two Play and Freeze Ice Cream Maker balls.
1. Size: It is quite large and when filled with the ice cream products and ice/salt, it is quite heavy. Not recommended for little children and their fragile fingers. Because it's heavy, it gathers some momentum and I can see how someone might get their fingers/toes hurt. But the end product is enough to feed 5 people a good coffee cup full of ice cream.
2. Noise: because the ball is larger, it does make a lot more noise. Just with the ice slushing around in there along with the ball rolling on the floor. We have hardwood floors so over the rug, we placed another blanket and rolled the ball around. Luckily, our walls aren't too thing.
3. Ice Cream: I used half n half because I didn't have cream, sugar, vanilla, bananas, strawberries, and chocolate chips. It turned out great! The consistency wasn't like soft serve, but actually more like Breyers ice cream. Light and with a bite to it. PLenty of recipes you can try.
4. Time: It does take longer to make this ice cream. I'd suggest 15 min, scrape down the sides, give it a gentle mix, another 15 minutes and then check it. Depending on how hard you roll and how much ice you put in the beginning, you don't even need to refill it with ice and it's done in 30 minutes.
5. Removing the ice cream: I didn't get a special spoon like someone did with their order from another company... so I used a wooden spoon. Didn't really work ..only with the ice cream in the center. So I had to carefully scrape the ice cream off the walls with a butter knife. Another option is to empty the ice end, and dunk the ball in warm water just for a few seconds. The ice cream on the wall of the cylinder will melt and it will be easier to scoop.
Again, not perfect ice cream and it's not instant...but if that's what you're looking for, why buy an ice cream maker :) It's fun I have to admit, especially since you can get really creative. And we are people in our mid 20s...put on some music and it's pretty fun. So, if you get it while it's on sale, I'd say go for it.
And lastly, if you have kids, I'd stick to the smaller one if you want them to help make the ice cream. This ball gets heavy, gathers momentum and can really easily bruise or sprain a little finger.
A little work for great ice cream May 22, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this to use with my kids. (Why is the pink so much cheaper?!?) We had a lot of fun with it and it was easy. We sat on the family room floor and played hot potato by rolling it back and forth. The ice cream tasted great and I used organic cream and unprocessed sugar so we weren't eating a lot of unnecessary chemicals. To get the ice cream out easier, empty and rinse out the end with the ice first. I did that and the ice cream just slid out. It then needed a bit of a stir, but it was good to go. Oh, the ice cubes from my freezer slide right in. Basically it does what it says it will.
ice cream ball May 20, 2008
This product is great. It works well and makes great ice cream. It is a lot of fun. The only beef that I have with the product is that the stainless steel container where the ice cream is made is too long, I get my arm all covered in ice cream when I am scraping it down. But other than that it works wonderfully and really only takes 30 mins to have home made ice cream.
We love ice cream! May 16, 2008
With a family of 5 that loves ice cream and three active kids this was a perfect choice for us. This was a gift for my daughter's 8th birthday, and she loves the idea of making her own ice cream. The recipes are easy and you can get creative, trying different flavors. For the kids I think the fun of rolling the ice cream ball around is enhanced by the anticipation of the prize in side. Easy to clean. Great gift idea.
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