A food processor is a flexible kitchen apparatus that can rapidly and effectively hack, cut, shred, granulate, and puree practically any food.
A few models can likewise help the home cook in making citrus and vegetable juice, beating cake player, plying bread batter, beating egg whites, and pounding meats and vegetables.
Why ice ?
Can crushing of ice be a source of income ?
Well , to the common man , it might seem like a dull idea but tens of thousands of street vendors in India sell what they call “ barf ka gola ” , which roughly translates to snowballs .
And these aren’t the typical snowballs that you might make on a hill station using snow lying on the ground .
These snowballs are made by crushers which have blades rotating at speeds higher than those in a food processor .
To these street vendors , if you were to say , “ Use a food processor ” , they would probably think you’re joking .
But not all of us have the need to crush ice from dawn till dusk .
For most of us it’s 3 – 4 pieces of ice cubes that need to be crushed at once . So what do we need to in a food processor to crush the ice ?
Not a lot of things actually .
A food processor which is strong enough and the correct technique should do the trick for you .
That being said , I’d still suggest you to not use your food processor to crush ice . It might affect your blades or even the body of the processor . How does it affect your blades ? It might affect it in a couple of ways :
Reducing it’s sharpness :
Using your food processor makes your blades blunt and helps you spoil it gradually . You might not notice it the first time or the second , but sooner or later you are bound to see the decrease in quality yourself .
Wrecking it :
If the size of the ice cubes are bigger than the usual or cross the “ fill till here ” mark , it might cause serious damage to your blades or the device as a whole .
We might need to crush ice for a variety of reasons . If I were to do it , it would probably be for making some frozen yogurt , but a cocktail or a slushie ( if you have no idea what this is , google it , you do not want to miss out on it . ) are equally acceptable choices .
If you also own a blender , it would be a good idea to use it to crush ice . For this purpose , a blender should be your alpha choice and you need to make sure that it has blades strong enough for the purpose .
Steps to follow while crushing ice :
- Put in a sensible amount of ice in the food processor since this activity will be overwhelming on the engine . When you’ve stacked the food processor , the following activity is to grind it .
- For squashed ice reasonable for mixed drinks, you possibly need to pulse 3- 5 times .
- On the off chance that you are going for a better consistency like shaved ice, start off by pulsing until you separate the ice into tiny pieces before allowing it to run and pound the ice further if you want little crumbles ( used in the aforesaid ” barf ka gola ” .
Which food processors to use ?
- Food processors that don’t make a lot of sound . Crushing ice is painfully loud. Like putting silverware in the disposer. it will make you cringe. Platini Food processor by Bajaj have the best reputations for low noise levels.
- Food processors that are easy to clean . While most of them are easy to clean , make sure you have the best of the best . It is chaotic , crushing ice really is . The ice won’t wait . It kind of flies moving around the compartment, working its way into the work bowl and different territories where it can really break the security tabs as you attempt to clear it out – trust me on this , please !
- Food processors that have strong blades . Philips HR series is one of the best suited food processors for you to crush ice !
Final Comments?
I have always believed it best to do things in a particular way . If something is meant for a certain purpose ,
I prefer to keep it that way.
For an example , most households would chop vegetables with a knife and then use the same to spread butter on bread . I am a bit more selective and would prefer butter knives for the said purpose.
Similarly , I would not crush ice in a food processor , I would use an ice crusher ( available in markets for a fair price ) .