What is Chewy Ice?
Chewy ice is the soft and crunchy ice that is more commonly known as nugget ice. Actually, this type of ice goes by many different names, such as sonic ice, pellet ice, the good ice, pebble ice, and hospital ice.
Why it has so many different names is unclear. What is clear, is that it has become one of the most popular types of ice in recent years. It has amassed a cult-like following over the years with people creating online communities and forums to share their love for it.
Many people love the soft and chewy texture of nugget ice. Due to its airy composition, it lets the beverage penetrate the ice which enables you to fully enjoy the flavour of the drink while chewing on it.
The texture of nugget ice is unique as the process of creating this type of ice has been refined over the years. The process involves all kinds of complicated and sophisticated mechanics, which is why most quality nugget ice makers come with a higher price tag than most normal ice makers.
When you look at a high-quality nugget ice maker when it’s running, you can actually hear the complex mechanics working together to create the crunchy ice we all love (most nugget ice makers are a bit noisy due to the vibrations of all the sophisticated moving parts within the machine).
How is nugget ice made?
In order to get the original soft and crunchy texture of chewy ice a.k.a. nugget ice, the only way to make it is with a pellet ice maker. As I said before, the technology to create nugget ice is quite sophisticated, that is why it’s impossible to create it by hand.
When you look at the steps of creating nugget ice, you can see why it would be so difficult to recreate it by hand. First, the water is frozen in a metal cylinder with an auger in its center. When the water starts to freeze, the auger will start to spin which results in the creation of flake ice.
The flake ice is then forced up into a storage compartment where the flake ice will be compressed. Here, the compressed ice will be chopped off into little nuggets. As you can see, the process is very refined.
You can just keep your portable nugget ice maker powered on and create ice at the press of a button whenever you want.
When you try to do this by hand, things get very complicated. However, it is possible to create something that comes close to nugget ice, by hand. It’s called pebble ice. You can create pebble ice at home with the aid of 2 simple tools. You can either use a pebble ice – ice tray or an ice crusher. Check my DIY-Nugget ice article under “extra info” to learn more.
Conclusion
There you have it! Chewy ice goes by many different names. Whether you want to call it nugget ice, sonic ice, pellet ice or any other type, it all comes down to the same thing, and that’s the soft and crunchy ice that we all love!
If you’re looking to buy a nugget ice maker, make sure to check out my homepage for the latest reviews, ratings and buying guides!
If you have any questions feel free to let me know in the comments below!
