What is the Best Shaved Ice Machine for Home? [Snow Cone Maker]

I’m interested in getting a shaved ice machine for my home and want to know what the best machine is and what is the best kid-friendly shaved ice machine.

I did some analysis on the different options available and created a shortlist of the best-shaven ice machines or Snow Cone Maker for home based on a range of factors.

Here’s which one is the best.

There is one other shaved ice machine that is very similar to the Nostalgia, however, it has a slightly worse review rating and about 20% fewer reviews than the Nostalgia.

Shaved ice is finer than snow cone ice, and there are a few tricks to make it more fluffy.

[amalinkspro type=”showcase” asin=”B004UBMRKG” apilink=”https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UBMRKG?tag=sodapop08-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1″ new-window=”true” addtocart=”true” nofollow=”true” sc-id=”4″ img-sizes=”500:500″ imgs=”https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31M2SVPl2eL._SL500_.jpg” link-imgs=”false” specs=”INCLUDES: Home-use electric S900A shaved ice and snow cone machine [3-piece design – easy to assemble], 2 round block ice molds, a non-slipmat, and 1-year manufacturer’s warranty~~~USAGE: Great for making shaved ice, snow cones, snowballs, slushies, margaritas and much more~~~SIMPLE-TO-USE: Prepare cool treats quickly at sleepovers, small pool parties, birthday parties, and other family and friend get-togethers~~~COMPACT: 5.5” wide, 8” diameter, and 12” tall – which makes it easy to tuck under the counter or in a cabinet~~~INSTRUCTIONS: Always remember to read and follow the instructions in the owner’s manual for use and operation” btn-color=”#ff9900″ btn-text=”Buy on Amazon” alignment=”alignnone” hide-prime=”0″ hide-image=”0″ hide-price=”0″ hide-button=”0″ width=”750″]Hawaiian Shaved Ice S900A Shaved Ice and Snow Cone Machine, 120V, White[/amalinkspro]

In this article, I will provide the top 3 best-shaved ice machines or ice cone makers, how I chose them, the best ice to use for making shaved ice, how to make shaved ice more fluffy, how to smooth your shaved ice, and whether shaved ice is healthy.

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How I Selected the Best Shaved Ice Machine for Home?

I based my recommendation for which shaved ice machine for home is best based on:

• The number of reviews it has
• The average review rating
• The price

Here are some tables showing the top 3 shaved ice machines or ice cone makers for home based on the different criteria:

As you can see based on the average review rating Nostalgia wins.

However, it isn’t by much, only a 0.1-point difference.

As you can see though, they are all quite similar and have an average of around 4.5 out of 5, or 9 out of 10.

The number of people who purchased a particular shaved ice machine was also a key factor I used.

To work this out I looked at the number of reviews that people left, shown in the table below.

Amazon has stated (source: link), that about 10% to 20% of people who bought a product on Amazon will leave a review.

Based on that, here’s a table that shows how many people bought each shaved regular ice cubes machine 

As a side note, at the time of writing all of the shaved ice machines or ice shaving machines below have the highest number of reviews out of any of the shaved ice machines on Amazon.

Based on this info the Nostalgia SCM525BL is the best-selling shaved ice machine on Amazon.

But, the difference between the number one and number two shaved ice machines is only slight.

And the Nostalgia SCM525BL has sold roughly 10% more units than the Hawaiian Shaved Ice S900A.

Next, I looked at the average price of each shaved ice machine, shown in the table below:

You can see that the shaved ice machine or ice shaving machine that I rated as the best is $10 more expensive than the other options.

Therefore, it is up to your personal preference whether you prefer the cheaper price of the Hawaiian Shaved Ice S900A.

Since, the difference in the number of reviews, and review ratings is quite small

Based on all of this data I concluded that the overall best-shaven ice machine for home is the Nostalgia SCM525BL because it has the highest review rating, the highest number of reviews, and is very reasonably priced.

If you’re interested in getting this shaved ice machine you can get it here on Amazon

However, if you like the look of the other models – which are also extremely good based on the number of reviews, price, and review rating:

Click here to check out the Hawaiian Shaved Ice S900A on Amazon, or here to see the Hawaiian Shaved Ice Kid-Friendly Snow Cone Machine. 

Shaved ice is finer and more fluffy than snow cone ice, so you may be curious about what kind of ice works best for shaved ice. Here’s what I found.

Block ice is considered to make the finest-grained and fluffiest shaved ice in a shaved ice machine.

However, if you’re using a blender instead, then cube ice is better because a blender can’t handle a solid block of ice.

Interestingly, using a different liquid other than water is known to create more fluffy shaved ice, however, it does change the flavor of the shaved ice.

Below is a recipe to make even more fluffy shaved ice.

Shaved ice is supposed to be quite fluffy, and you may be wondering how to make it more fluffy.

Here’s a recipe to make very fluffy shaved ice compared to using regular ice made from water.

The major difference is that the shaved ice has a milky and sweet taste to it.

Here’s a short video that shows the process of making it from start to finish.

Other than that, the main thing that controls how fluffy the ice is, is how finely it is shaved.

Therefore, if you have different settings on your shaved ice machine, use the finer setting.

And if you’re making it by using a cheese grater use one that has smaller holes.

Another tip is to press the ice more gently on the cheese grater.

That way it will shave off less ice each time, and the resulting ice will be finer-grained, and not as chunky.

Shaved ice has a different consistency from a snow cone and is generally smoother and fluffier.

But, how do you improve how smooth shaved ice is?

Smooth shaved ice gives shaved ice a nicer appearance and texture. The best way to do that is get a snow cone machine for home that you can use by yourself.

Another thing you can do is smooth out the surface of your shave iced using what’s called a dome shaper.

A dome shaper is a suction cup-shaped device that you press down onto the top of the shaved ice to get a smooth and round appearance.

You may have seen a person use one of these at a snow cone stand to shape the snow cone in ice maker once they fill up a snow cone cup.

You can also buy a dome shaper that has a handle.

A dome shaper with a handle can be used to scoop up the shaved ice to put it in a cup or bowl and smooth off the surface of the shaved ice at the same time.

Shaved ice is delicious and refreshing on a hot summer’s day, but is it healthy for you?

As you may know, you can also use soda syrup used in machines like a SodaStream, and a Drinkmate.

I wrote about this in an article about using Sodastream syrup on a snow cone.

Read it [here, link: Can you use SodaStream syrup for snow cones?]. Sodas and soda syrup typically have about 10g of sugar per 3.4 fl oz (100 mL).

Medical professionals generally agree that the recommended daily intake of sugar for an adult male is 37g, and 25g for an adult female (source: link).

The amount of syrup you’ll use on shaved ice is about the same as what’s found in one 12 oz (355 mL) can of soda.

Which is about 30g of sugar.

Therefore, if you consume one serving of shaved ice made by Electric Snow Cone Machine you’ll have already consumed the recommended daily amount of sugar which is better if you have home use snow cone machines.

Also, you’ll generally consume sugar in other foods and drinks that you eat and drink on a regular day, such as cereal, candy, coffee/tea, and sodas.

Therefore, it isn’t recommended to eat more than one serving of shaved ice a day for an extended period of time.