Smooth operators: Swetha Sivakumar on blenders, ice and the age of the smoothie
How did ice get into all our drinks? How did it get so much better? It all began with one man’s health quest, leading to the Vitamix.
Adding ice to milky drinks used to be a bit of a nightmare. The temperature differences caused the fats to solidify and drift about unappetisingly. As the cubes melted, the beverage itself flattened in flavour to a weak, watery muddle.
Today, there is ice in our lattes and smoothies, our bobas and shakes. Except, it’s shaved, chipped, tiny, and actually improves the texture of the drink. How did this happen?
Well, in 1937, health-food entrepreneur William Barnard built a mixer with blunt blades but higher speeds that didn’t slice fruits and vegetables and discard the fibre but rather pulverised all of it to retain more nutrients. He called it the Vitamix.
By the 1970s, his machines had become popular with restaurants and cafes that included Starbucks and McDonald’s. By the 1990s, many of these clients suddenly needed a lot more blended ice — because of a new coffee a young man named Andrew Frank invented and sold to Starbucks: the Frappuccino. Vitamix launched a line of machines with a range of speed settings and higher rpms. Vitamix also began making smaller, cheaper models for use in the home.
The segment has evolved dramatically since then.
Today’s smoothie-makers have blunt blades made of aircraft-grade stainless steel and can reach speeds in excess of 25,000 rpm. This is how ice gets broken down into soft crystals with that snow-like texture. In creamy drinks, the milk fats coat these crystals, actually improving the mouthfeel.
If you’re wondering why the smoothies made at home still don’t have quite the consistency of the store-bought ones, especially as they warm, that’s because commercial ice-blended drinks account for dilution and know customers don’t like it. They compensate in advance, with far higher levels of sugar or fat, which helps preserve texture and mouthfeel.
There are hacks to get around this more healthily at home. Frozen fruit, for instance, can chill a smoothie and keep it cool without diluting it. The low temperature also slows enzymatic browning activity in fruit, making for a vibrant visual effect as blueberries turn a brighter blue and strawberries, a more-vibrant red.
As the temperature rises, though, the water will start to separate from the ingredients and rise to the surface (one of the least-appetising things to see in a beverage). Commercial smoothie-makers address this by mixing in stabilising agents such as xanthan gum or gellan gum. At home, a little nut butter or roasted chana dal can help. Or, just don’t let the drink sit too long.
For those without a high-speed blender, don’t fret. There are ways in which ice can help here too. The average mixer-grinder (the kind with an rpm of under 10,000) tends to overheat as a result of how long it has to be run. This warms up whatever one is blending, which isn’t a problem when it’s nuts, spices or coconut for a chutney. But the heat can really change the game when the mix in question is, for instance, the rice and dal for an idli or vada batter.
Raise the temperature too much here and the batter won’t ferment successfully. To skirt this issue, add a little ice to the blender before turning it on. This keeps the batter cool and preserves the live cultures needed for a proper rise. (You can just leave the ice in to melt when done; it will do no harm.)
A cool batter leads to fluffier foods too, since it retains air bubbles more effectively. A little ice at the blending stage can help make medu vadas crisp outside and fluffy inside when fried. Ice added at the blending stage can give hummus and other purees a silkier texture too.
Do you have a secret kitchen hack that involves ice? Write in. I’d love to know.
(To reach Swetha Sivakumar with questions or feedback, email upgrademyfood@gmail.com)
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