“Summer is coming” slushes

The weather today has been beautiful.  We’re barely in to March but today I could actually pretend that we’re on the doorstep to summer, sipping and scooping ice cold slush.

Here comes a little anecdote. See, as a child I always wanted a Mr Frosty and despite it making my Birthday and Christmas list most years I never got one. Mum, if you’re reading; I haven’t forgotten. By all accounts they weren’t as awesome as the adverts made out and really were just a gaudy contraption to grate ice cubes. All is not lost though, I’ve found Mr Frosty’s cooler, more sophisticated brother and I’ve been really impressed with my creations.

Take these three for example:

Tonic slush with raspberry cordial | Freshly squeezed orange | Tonic slush with blackcurrant liqueur

The gadget to thank for these is the Zoku Slush Maker, which is effectively an insulated cup. The cup lives in the freezer and when you want to make a slush you take it out and pop it in to an outer layer (to save your hands from getting cold) then pour in your desired liquid. You then use the spoon that comes with it to scrape down the sides of the cup every minute or so until it’s the consistency you like. You can go anywhere between a shake and ice chips in about seven minutes.

I was a bit worried that the product was over promising but it is ridiculously simple. Here’s the geekery: it works because the inner layer holds salt water which is used as the refrigerant liquid. The salt water freezes at a much lower temperature than most non salted liquids so is able to bring the temperature of your chosen slush down rapidly.

There are plenty of kid friendly things to try in it; fruit juice, chocolate milk, cordial, fruit puree, cola etc. For more adult uses though it makes excellent iced coffees and frozen cocktails, something I’m sure will go down well at summer barbecues.

I got mine from Hobby Craft– I didn’t know until last month that the arts and crafts folk do kitchen equipment too. Unfortunately they don’t seem to stock the slush maker anymore but it’s available from Amazon for £19.99. It isn’t super cheap but they’re a fun addition, particularly for those with kids and I know a few of my friends that love the slushes at the cinema and would enjoy having one at home.