In this article, we’ve looked at various factors like design, capacity, and other additional features to find the best shaved ice machine. While you can use a blender to grind ice for frozen treats, there’s nothing that compares to a shaved ice machine. These machines grind ice uniformly and are convenient to use. With this occasion, you’ll get to learn more about popular appliances by Hawaiian, Cuisinart, Little Snowie, and others.
1. Hawaiian Shaved Ice
The Hawaiian Shaved Ice is the best shaved ice machine for its price. It’s an entry-level machine that’s compact and has a simple design. The blades for the machine are adjustable so that you can get more coarser or finer ice. It isn’t a high-end machine, so you won’t get the finest snow-like shave. Nonetheless, it is a machine that you can count on for a small budget. This model is perfect for personal use and small gatherings.
- Easy, compact design makes it perfect for small kitchens. The parts are detachable for easy storage.
- Great price for a machine that does its job as advertised.
- You have to press on the top for a while to get a perfect shave which can be tedious.
2. ZENY Ice Shaver
At first glance, the ZENY Ice Shaver looks like a meat grinder of some sort, but it’s actually a stainless steel ice shaver. This is the best shaved ice machine in the middle price range if you’re looking for a more powerful machine. It can shave 145 lbs of ice per hour and has a design that can stand out on kitchen countertops. It also has several safety features to prevent accidents which will provide peace of mind if you’re letting your kids use the machine.
- Powerful machine that can tackle larger gatherings. Very dependable and quick.
- Works with ice cubes and does not require a large block of frozen ice.
- The shaved ice comes out quite fine but some complain that it doesn’t come out fluffy enough.
- It can create quite a bit of mess as the bowl to catch the ice is small and the melting ice will drip towards the bottom of the machine.
3. Cuisinart SCM-10 Snow Cone Maker
The Cuisinart Snow Cone Maker is a bit different from the ZENY. It is primarily designed for snow cones, slushies, and other frozen drinks. Many say it’s the best shaved ice machine for this purpose. It’s an automated and efficient machine that can create 4-5 snow cones in a minute’s time. However, if you’re looking for fine and fluffy ice for Asian-styled frozen deserts, you should look elsewhere.
- Convenient machine that cranks out snow cones quickly. The design is also very attractive and looks like those machines you’d find in the movie theaters.
- Stores a lot of ice so that you don’t have to keep refilling it manually.
- It is designed for snow cones and frozen drinks, so don’t expect super fine and fluffy shaved ice.
- Doesn’t always produce uniform ice flakes. Sometimes, you’ll get a few chunky pieces.
4. Koval Inc. Stainless Steel Ice Shaver
This ice shaving machine is very similar to the ZENY. The design is almost the same, but there are difference in the small details. First, it is completely made of stainless steel which is uncommon when it comes to shaved ice machines. Second, it has a powerful 200W motor and a higher capacity 250W motor model which can produce 140 or 440 lbs of ice per hour.
- It is all stainless steel, so you won’t have to worry about plastic parts wearing out over time.
- The machine shuts off when the hopper handles are open which is a very handy safety feature.
- The heavy-duty and high-powered motor makes it dependable for large gatherings.
- Like the ZENY, the collecting lid is a bit too small. You’ll be scrambling to remove the ice as it fills up.
5. Little Snowie 2 Ice Shaver
We are now moving into higher-end machines. A loftier price point doesn’t necessarily mean you are getting best shaved ice machine, but other ice shavers really have their work cut out for them compared to the Little Snowie 2. This ice shaver has a design that makes it convenient to use. It has an ice hopper that holds 64 oz of ice and a top shaper to control where the ice exits. Many customers love the fact that it creates fluffy ice even when you’re making a snow cone.
- High-quality blades and strong motors result in fluffy ice.
- Great design for ice storage. The top shaper makes it so that you can place bowls and cups of your choosing to collect the ice.
- Doesn’t give you much control on how fine or coarse you want the ice to be.
- It doesn’t produce the finest ice possible but it does get pretty close.
6. Great Northern Premium Quality Commercial Ice Shaver
The first look of this machine will remind you of the products you’ll find in those old ice cream stores, sweet shops, and diners. It has a vibrant design but a strong motor under the hood. The motor operates and 1725 RPM and can produce 350 lbs of ice in one hour. The big drawback that we’ve found is that you need to create an ice block which may be inconvenient. It will not produce the kind of ice you want with ice cubes.
- Produces some of the finest ice you can possibly shave.
- Powerful motor results in high output of shaved ice.
- It’s a huge machine, so it may not be suitable for every kitchen.
- You need to rely on ice blocks and it doesn’t work well with ice cubes.
You Might Also Be Interested in:
- An in-depth review on hOmeLabs Portable Ice Maker.
- What’s so special about Igloo ICE108 Ice Maker.
Conclusion
As you can see, we’ve covered everything from low-end, middle tier, to the high-end machines in our search for the best shaved ice machine. Which one you go with will ultimately depend on how much you want to spend, which features are important to you, and how efficient of a machine you need.
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