Santa brought the family a Ninja Slushi maker this year for Christmas and let me tell you it is a game changer. This device allows you to make professional grade slushies in under an hour depending on the size of the batch. I can’t wait to host a get together to really put this thing through it’s paces.
So you might be asking yourself why do I need this? You can make something like a slushie in a blender, but to do so you need to add ice. This machine operates by churning the liquid around a drum that reaches freezing temperatures. An augur keeps the liquid turning and it will thicken giving you the slushie, milkshake, frappe texture that you desire without diluting the flavor like a blended slushie. A slushie can be made in 15 to 45 minutes and the machine will keep churning for up to 12 hours if you are playing host for a party. You can do a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to include margaritas, milkshakes, frappes, etc. The standard machine has 5 settings and has a capacity of 88 oz. Walmart sells a similar machine, but it is a little smaller and only has 3 settings.
My favorite recipe so far is a clone of the famous Wendy’s Frosty
1/2 Gallon of Chocolate Milk
14 Oz Condensed Milk
1 container of Cool Whip.
Combine together and then pour into the Slushi maker. Hit milkshake and you will be good to go in about 45 minutes. I like to bump up the freeze level a couple of notches to make it a little firmer. Others have reported that the omitted the Cool Whip and the recipe was just fine.
On the healthier side, I really like using Raspberry Lemonade. Just pour enough in to hit the minimum fill line and then press slush, in about 15 minutes you will a delcious fruity slushi. You have to watch this one a little more because the sugar and fat content are lower, so it will start to ice up on the barrel.
I find the machine easy to clean. You just pour hot water into the tank and hit the rinse button. Drain the tank using the spigot, remove the tank, clean tank and auger with a soft cloth, wipe down drum, and clean condensation drawer and drip tray. I can do the whole thing in about 5 minutes.
These have proven to be very hard to find, I bought mine at 3 in the morning when they went back in stock. If you are interested don’t sleep on this one.