Rival CFF5 Chocolate Fondue Fountain
The Rival CFF5 advertises itself as an alternative to one of those extremely expensive chocolate fountains that you can find at the coolest parties. We were skeptical about how well these work, so we decided to give one a try.
It required some minor assembly, but the instructions were very clear and easy to follow. Putting it together was a breeze.
Now for the chocolate! The instructions recommended adding vegetable oil to the chocolate. Apparently this helps to thin out the chocolate so that it can flow nicely through the fountain. Now we have tried some of the best chocolate fondue recipes in the world here at FondueBits.com, and adding gobs of plain old vegetable oil to our high quality chocolate didn’t set well with us.
Nevertheless we grudgingly melted the chocolate with the right amount of oil and cranked up the fountain. It ran very quiet and didn’t complain a bit as we added the melted chocolate
The instructions recommend 3 to 5 pounds of chocolate for the fountain to operate smoothly. We found that we had to add the full 5 pounds to get a good flow going. But finally, with enough chocolate added, the fountain worked perfectly.
We have to admit that the oil didn’t noticeably affect the taste of the chocolate. However, we’ve heard horror stories of people adding too much oil. This will make the chocolate thin and also affect the taste. It’s worth noting that the reason they had to add so much oil in the first place was because of the low quality of the chocolate. Fortunately, you can bypass the oil situation altogether by following the instructions in the Tips section below.
The fountain cleaned up very well. Everything but the base is fully immersible and dishwasher safe so we were able to just rinse off the parts in warm water and put the fountain in the dishwasher. We were sure to start cleaning it immediately after use. If the chocolate was given time to harden, the cleaning probably wouldn’t have been so easy.
Pros:
It works! Affordable, Easy to clean and dishwasher safe, Clear directions, Very impressive to guests.
Cons:
Needs a lot of chocolate to flow right, so it’s overkill unless there are a lot of people, Oil isn’t the best solution.
The Bottom Line:
The Rival CFF5 Chocolate Fondue Fountain worked exactly how it was supposed to. There were a few negatives about it, but in the end they were fairly minor faults. Read the instructions carefully, follow our tips, and you should have a lot of fun with it.
FondueBits Rating:
Chocolate Fountain Tips
If you don’t want to have to deal with buying chocolate and mixing oil in with it, there are prepackaged mixes available. The chocolate is typically very high quality. They can be expensive, but if you are already stressed about a party and don’t want to deal with the fountain they might be worth it. We recommend SF Signature Fondue Chocolate or J&D Fine Foods Fondue Chocolate.
Another alternative to oil is using Paramount Crystals. These are what the professionals use for thinning out chocolate. They are easier to get right than an oil mixture and will not affect the taste of the chocolate. Use an 8 oz bag for every 3 lbs of chocolate. As always, you will get better results with a higher quality chocolate.
Chocolate fountains are not recommended for outdoors. Wind is the biggest problem and will drastically affect the flow of the fountain. If you do decide to use it outside, make sure your guests aren’t showered in chocolate.
The instructions say not to add any liquers such as Kahlua or Grand Marnier to the chocolate. But, if you have to have that extra flavoring, just put it in when you melt the chocolate and you should be ok.
Give the fountain at least 20 minutes to warm up before adding the melted chocolate.
Leftover chocolate can be poured into ice trays and stuck in the freezer for later use.