Crushing ice is the task that most often disappoints personal blender owners, and it is the one where technique makes the largest difference. The machine is frequently capable and being used in a way that guarantees failure.
Why Ice Is Hard
Ice is hard, it is not uniform, and it does not circulate. Cubes wedge above the blades, which then spin freely underneath in a cavity while nothing happens.
The problem is rarely power. It is that the ingredients have stopped moving, and no amount of running the motor fixes that.
Frozen Fruit Behaves Better Than Ice
Frozen fruit is softer than ice, contains water and sugar, and breaks down considerably more readily. It also produces a thicker, colder smoothie than ice does, without diluting the flavour.
Many people find that using frozen fruit and skipping ice entirely gives a better result. Ranges supplied with multiple cup sizes, of the kind at magic-bullet.net, help here because a smaller cup keeps frozen ingredients closer to the blades.
What Actually Works
- Liquid first, always, so the blades have something to circulate
- Smaller pieces rather than large cubes
- Pulsing in short bursts rather than running continuously
- Shaking or tapping the cup between pulses to redistribute
- Filling less than the maximum, so contents can move
- A mix of frozen and unfrozen ingredients rather than all frozen
Liquid Is Not Optional
The single most useful correction. Without liquid, a personal blender cannot create the circulation that brings ingredients back into the blades.
Even a small amount, a few tablespoons of water, milk or juice, transforms the result. Attempting to blend dry frozen fruit produces a cavity and an overheating motor.
Let It Sit for a Minute
Frozen fruit straight from a freezer at its coldest is considerably harder than the same fruit after five minutes on the counter.
That short wait reduces the load on the motor substantially and produces a smoother result. It is the least effortful improvement available.
Protecting the Motor
Small blenders are designed for short bursts. Running one continuously against a jammed load is the most reliable way to burn out a motor.
If the blades are spinning freely and nothing is moving, stop. Shake the cup, add liquid, and try again in pulses. Continuing to run it achieves nothing except heat.
What It Will Not Do
Dry-crushing ice for cocktails, in the way a dedicated ice crusher does, is beyond most personal blenders and is not what they are designed for.
Attempting it repeatedly damages blades and motor. For crushed ice as an ingredient rather than a drink component, a bag and a rolling pin is faster and free.