Literally no good reason – which is the best possible reason!
It’s a fun, silly technique and when the time is right, it’s just the best. When you’re in the heat and humidity or just dreaming of being somewhere tropical, frozen drinks are the best damn thing to pour down your throat! So yes, you should definitely know how to make blended and frozen cocktails.
Frozen cocktails, although a very simple concept, it’s more difficult than you might think to perfect.
Add liquid ingredients to a blender cup and no, you can’t use a hand blender…that really won’t work here!
Now add any solid ingredients that will turn to liquid when blended such as fresh fruit. You need these ingredients to be at the bottom of the blender cup, next to the blades so that they are blitzed into liquid immediately, and not sat on top of the ice. Without enough liquid, your blender won’t be able to pull the ice and ingredients onto the blades and turn them into a delicious frozen cocktail!
Finally add ice and turn the blender on. Adding the correct amount of ice is vital to the success of this drink. Read more about ice below.
Low speed to start, then turn up the speed as the ingredients start to break down. Keep blending until you reach a perfectly smooth texture. If you have the option, crushed ice is always easier to blend than cubed.
Taste to check the drink’s balance while it’s still in the blender cup. Adjust if necessary then pulse the blender again to combine the added ingredient(s).
Pour into your glass, garnish and serve.
The dilemma here is that it’s not as simple as adding as much ice as you can fit into the blender cup. The amount of ice you need relates directly to the amount of liquid you use.
If you add too much ice for the amount of liquid, then the ingredients and ice won’t be able to circulate and fold into the blades to break them down into the smooth consistency we want. Instead, you’ll be left with a blender cup full of chipped ice cubes at the top, and a miserable puddle of liquid at the bottom…and that’s just sad!
However, if you add too little ice, your drink won’t become that thick, smooth, ice-cold glass of deliciousness that we all want! Yes, the ice will get broken down into the liquid, but it won’t get thick, the ice will melt and the drink won’t be cold enough. Thin, warm and watery…NOOOOOOOOOO!
