The new blender that you received as a gift is great.
It chops and blends frozen fruit to make delicious smoothies for the entire family.
Unfortunately, you discovered that it won’t blend ice cubes into your smoothies if they are put in while the motor is running.
This seems odd because so many other appliances do exactly what this one does: chop up ice cubes with no problem at all!
There must be some magic trick or an easy way to work around this limitation of your new blender.
In this post, we will look at how to crush ice in a blender to blend ice smoothly.
But first, let’s answer the question – can you crush ice in a blender?
Can A Blender Crush Ice?
Blenders are amazing machines that have the ability to handle ice. The more you spend on a blender, the better it will be at crushing it. If you want to get the most out of your money, I recommend going with a high-end model like Vitamix or Blendtec. Cheap blenders (those under $30) may struggle to do anything other than 1-3 small cubes.
I finally bought one of those high-end models and now my life is so much easier.
It handles all kinds of frozen fruit without any problems! Plus they’re pretty nice looking too!
Related Posts
- Why Isn’t My Blender Crushing Ice?
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- Can Blendjet Crush Ice? (Hint: Yes, It Can!)
- Does Nutribullet Blend Ice?
Now that we have answered the question of whether blenders can crush ice, let’s see how to crush ice in a blender.
How To Make Crushed Ice In A Blender
Here is the best way to crush ice in a blender –
1. The first step in this process is to take the ice out of the fridge and place it on your kitchen counter for between three to five minutes.
2. It’s important to read your blender’s user manual before attempting to crush ice cubes in a blender. If it isn’t capable of crushing ice, then you won’t be able to use it for its intended purpose and will only end up burning the motor by spinning the ice around in circles instead.
You’re looking for a blender that is capable of grabbing large amounts of ice and then turning it into small pieces.
Some blenders can even make the ice itself really coarse or fine, which is helpful if you want to put crushed ice in your drinks.
The following models are all worth considering: they have fewer blades than others so that there’s less chopping going on; they also have a specific button for crushing ice in a blender.
The cheaper ones are made from plastic or glass, while the more expensive ones use stainless steel because it lasts much longer than glass does and is more resistant to breaking as well.
For a higher quality blender, it’s hard for the motor to not have ice-crushing abilities.
However, if you’re unsure and would like more information about your specific blender, there are two ways to find out.
The first is by checking what power the motor has which should be 400W or higher in order to successfully blend ice.
Secondly, you can check reviews of that specific model online or at stores near you!
The manual offers helpful tips and tricks to help you crush ice, so now you can learn more about the art of crushing ice while adding to your repertoire.
3. Put ice in the container at this point. Fill it to level, making sure that ice is not too densely packed in the container. There must be some space for the ice cubes to rotate inside the blender.
4. To make your smoothie extra-creamy, close the lid and pulse the button on your blender for three to five minutes. If you want a frozen treat, use two-second intervals with pulses lasting about 10 times each. For an icy drink that will last longer, hold the pulse button down for 3 seconds at a time.
To make your ice cubes smoother and easier to extract, try adding a small amount of water or juice. This will help the ice cubes spin more easily and prevent them from sticking together as they do so.
5. Once you’re satisfied that it’s crushed enough, turn the blender off and take a look inside – if there are still big chunks of ice leftover, just pop them back in and repeat the process!
6. After you have finished crushing your ice, put it aside. If you are going to use it immediately, have fun!
Best Way To Blend Ice Smoothly?
Blending ice can be quite a challenge.
It’s tough to get it smooth, and oftentimes, you end up with chunks of ice that don’t fully blend in.
But there are some tricks to crush ice in blender and make sure that your drink is perfectly blended every time –
Add Lots Of Liquid
If you don’t want the ice to be watery, keep adding water in between the pulsing cycles so that it doesn’t turn into slush.
This will make pure crushed ice that you can even use to make snow cones.
Start Slow
You may be able to get your ice crushed by starting with a slower speed, then gradually increasing in speed.
This helps create a vortex and makes the process much easier.
Don’t Overload The Blender
If you fill your blender too high with ice cubes, the ice will be so densely packed that it will take a lot longer to blend.
Things need to bounce around, and for that, some space is needed in the jar.
Keep The Ice Outside For Some Time
You can save time and frustration by softening the ice before you crush it.
This can be done by keeping it outside the freezer for some time.
Read The Manual Carefully
It is important to find a blender with a durable glass jar or plastic container for ice crushing.
You risk cracking your jar if you attempt this task with one of those thin models.
Read the instructions on the manual to understand whether your blender is capable to crush ice or not.
Is Crushing Ice Bad For Blender?
If you are wondering – is it safe to crush ice in a blender, the answer is that it might not be. If the ice is sufficiently large, it can become a snowball effect and begin to jam up the machine’s moving parts.
If you’re talking about a normal kitchen blender, then a little crushed ice won’t cause any problems.
However, if your blender is being used for harder tasks such as thick smoothies or making frozen drinks, then the blender blades will quickly become stressed from the pressure of crushing hard ice chunks.
This will inevitably result in damage to both your appliance and tooling costs down the line since replacing these parts can often take some time when not made readily available by an authorized dealer.
How To Know If A Blender Can Crush Ice – Blender Crush Ice Test
Some blenders are more powerful than others. It will depend on your needs, but some blenders can’t easily crush ice or pulverize it finely.
Try putting a block of ice in the blender. If you are able to get crushed ice in blender, then you’re all set! If not, consider getting a more powerful blender.
Now that we know how to identify if a blender can crush ice, let’s see how many watts in a blender to crush ice works best.
Can A 200 Watt Blender Crush Ice?
The metal blades at the bottom of most blender jars are not hard enough to grind regular ice cubes, so unless you’re using some type of powdery ice crystal there’s no way for a standard 100-200 watt machine to make crushed ice in blender.
Can A 400 Watt Blender Crush Ice?
400 watts is not enough power to crush ice. You need something between 500-700 watts for that.
A 400-watt blender has a lot of weak points within the blade construction, which can compromise its durability and longevity over time.
A less powerful blender will save you money on your electric bill, but saving up for a more powerful one will be worth it in the quality and dependability of the product.
Can A 500 Watt Blender Crush Ice?
Yes, but not of course as easily as a 700-800W blender.
Read: Top 6: Best 500 Watt Immersion Blender Reviews
Can A 1000 Watt Blender Crush Ice?
Most 1000 watt blenders are capable of crushing ice.
Blenders with higher wattage levels will generally crush ice more evenly and in a quicker fashion, but it is dependent on the particular blender; not all 1000 watts will be equal in power or effectiveness.
For example, if your blender is rated at 1000 watts for 10 seconds it may take 5-15 minutes before the blender has crushed through a big block of ice versus a 1500 watt appliance rated at 10 seconds which would require less time to do the same job.
That’s because blade speed plays an important role in how quickly ice can be cut up and mixed together.
Things To Keep In Mind While Crushing Ice In A Blender
1. Knowing what your pitcher is made out of will make blending super easy. You don’t want to be mixing ice cubes with water in a plastic container – that’s just asking for trouble!
2. It’s worth it to use a glass pitcher for all your ice-crushing needs because they’re more durable and provide more stability as compared to plastic.
3. Another good way to make sure your blender is working at optimum levels is by crushing the ice beforehand. This will prevent overheating.
Can Immersion Blender Crush Ice?
If you’re looking to crush big ice cubes, an immersion blender is not the best tool.
Its blades are too small and it won’t even crush one tablespoon of ice!
Plus, the motor will get overheated, and the blades will become dull in no time at all.
Instead of just blending with ice cubes, you can have a blast by using a regular blender or going caveman-style and smashing them up.
It’s really fun!
Once your crushed ice is ready for use, load it into the cocktail shaker and give it some extra oomph with an immersion blender to get a refreshing drink that’s all yours!
Storage Info
Place an open paper towel on top (the barrier will allow any extra moisture to escape) and place the ice in a sealed bag.
The crunched ice should keep for up to one week in the refrigerator. Alternately, keep it out on your countertop or use it right away if you just need some for drinks.
What To Use Blender Crushed Ice For?
1. Ice cubes for cold drinks.
2. Frozen ice packs to reduce swelling and pain from injuries.
3. To keep food or drink cool in hot weather.
4. As a base for snow cones, ice cream, and other frozen desserts.
5. To make homemade slushies by pouring the juice over crushed ice and stirring until it freezes.
6. To chill wine bottles before serving them at the perfect temperature.
What Is The Best Blender For Crushing Ice?
In my opinion, Ninja Nutri Pro Compact Personal Blender is the best blender for chopping ice.
It’s a portable blender that crushes ice and makes smoothies, shakes, soups, sauces, and more with ease.
The powerful motor crushes ice in seconds!
It’s compact enough to fit on your countertop or even in your cupboard when not being used.
This means you can have fresh smoothies whenever you want them without having to go out of your way to buy ingredients or find time to prepare them.
You won’t have to worry about wasting time cleaning up after making a smoothie or protein shake with this powerful little machine because the pitcher is dishwasher safe!
Just pop it right in there with all of your other dishes!
No more scrubbing away at those hard-to-reach places inside of the cup, as you would do with most blenders!
And if you don’t own a dishwasher (or even if you do), just rinse out the pitcher under some running water and let it dry before storing it back in its place on your countertop.
Easy peasy!
You don’t need any special skills or knowledge either; just add the ingredients and push a button!
Related Post: Blendtec Strawberry Ice Cream
