It would be quite amazing if you could enjoy a snow cone treat topped with your favorite syrups right at your home. That’s why choosing the best snow cone maker is crucial. Your chosen product should have features to fulfill all your requirements with ease. But if you are confused and don’t want to make a bad investment, you can get help from our fully explained buying guide.
How Does a Snow Cone Maker Work?
Ice is the solid, crystalline form of water, while snow is the amorphous form. So, when you put the ice cubes or ice blocks inside the crusher compartment, the blades scrape or shave the ice’s surface to form a powdered form of ice, or snow. The internal crusher constantly rotates so that the blades can come in contact with all the surfaces of the ice cubes. Its rotation is controlled by the motor housing that generates mechanical power once you switch on the electric supply and press down the top cover or handle.
Key Factors to Look for in a Snow Cone Maker
Snow container size
Not all snow cone makers come with the same-sized container. In some products, you will have a small container that can hold less than 6 ounces of snow. This is enough to prepare at least 10 to 12 snow cones with a standard dome. However, if your kids like to have large-sized domes or you want to make more snow cones at a time, go for a product with a container capacity of 8 ounces or more.
Blades
The fluffiness and softness of the produced snow will depend on the blades of the machine. That’s why most products are equipped with razor blades that can easily shave the ice cubes and produce fluffy, white snow. You also need to consider the number of blades in the snow cone maker. If a product has one blade only, it will take more time to produce snow. Therefore, go for a product with three to four sharp blades in the crusher so that you can have shaved ice within seconds.
Portability
The portability of the snow cone maker depends on two main factors: size and weight. You cannot transport a bulky, large-sized product, which is why you should look for a machine that has a small and compact structure. Apart from this, make sure your chosen product isn’t heavy so you don’t have to struggle during transportation. Usually, the snow cone makers have weights ranging from 2 pounds to 7 pounds. Therefore, you should look for a snow cone maker weighing between 2 to 4 pounds for carrying the appliance with you.
Material
The outer body is made from BPA-free plastics in most snow cone makers. It's not the regular plastic with which bottles and other items are manufactured. Rather, the products are manufactured using a high-density polymer that can withstand the continuous crushing of ice without getting damaged. The snow cone makers' blades are made from stainless steel because it is durable, sturdy, robust, and can be filed to form razor-sharp edges.
Motor power
Since the snow cone makers are equipped with motors, you must ensure that your chosen product has a powerful motor inside. If it cannot generate enough mechanical power, the blades won’t rotate at full speed. Thus, it will take more time to produce snow, and also the texture won’t be soft, fluffy, and smooth.
Noise and vibration
Ice is a solid form and quite hard. Therefore, as the blades will shave inside the crusher, the snow cone maker is bound to make noises and vibrate. But you have to make sure that your chosen product does not make too much noise as that can disturb you and others in the house. The noise level should be tolerable, within 60 dB at most. Another factor you should consider is the vibration of the appliance. Keeping it stable on the countertop or tabletop will become very difficult if it vibrates too much.
Cones
Most snow cone makers come with cones so that you won’t have to make paper cones or buy them separately from the market. There are two types of cones: paper cones that are use-and-throw and BPA-free, reusable, plastic cones. They usually differ in size, capacity to hold the snow, and number of other items. For example, you might have 10 paper cones in one product, while another snowmaker can come with 12 paper cones and 4 BPA-free plastic cones.
How To Prepare the Best Snow Cone With a Snow Cone Maker
Preparing the snow cones using the shaved ice machine is pretty easy. You can follow the below-mentioned points to avoid making any mistakes.
- Assemble all the parts of the snow cone maker.
- Put the snow cubes inside the crusher or ice block inside the container.
- Now, close the appliance using the top lid and switch it on.
- Apply pressure by pressing down the lid or the handle to produce snow.
- Once enough snow is produced, use the scooper to scoop out the snow from its container.
- If your snow cone maker doesn’t have a container, you need to place the cone or a bowl under the spout.
