The 1970s Kitchen Appliance That Was A Luxury For Ice-Cold Drinks

Wowing guests was a top priority for 1970s hostesses, and serving restaurant-quality bites and beverages was the best way to one-up the neighbors. Before most modern fridges came with a built-in ice maker, ice was as much of a luxury as the plated hor d'oeuvres. Cubed ice would get the job done, but crushed ice made even a simple soda exciting. Hand-cranked ice crushers had been available for decades, but the introduction of electric ice crushers in the '70s changed happy hour forever.

Folks have been breaking down ice one way or another for centuries, whether by saw or horse-drawn plow, but the first ice crusher wasn't patented until 1880. Other variations of ice-cutting machines continued popping up for decades, but they rarely differed until the Ice-O-Mat debuted in 1938. This ice-crusher was compact and designed with the home entertainer in mind. It could easily be stored on kitchen counters and helped normalize icy specialty drinks at home. Magazine spreads in the 1970s often depicted soirées and home gatherings with home bars and cocktail hour in the living room. 

Favorites such as Moscow Mules and mint juleps are traditionally served over crushed ice, and they wouldn't be the same with big, boring cubes. Slivers of ice almost instantly chill any liquid, becoming part of the drink right down to its texture. The itty-bitty shards of ice dilute cocktails faster than the slower-melting cubes, helping balance stiffer or sweeter drinks.

Plenty of simple (now forgotten) disco-era cocktails were served over crushed ice and instantly declared fancy, like brandy stingers and swizzles. Folks would mix or shake the ingredients with ice before straining over crushed ice, resulting in the frostiest glass imaginable. The pulverized ice made for the perfect '70s cocktail, and was also an exemplary bed for a decadent raw bar or anything else that needed presentable chilling. 

Hand-cranked crushers were popular in 1950s and '60s homes, with styles from brands like Swing-A-Way, Dazey, and Rival. The mechanism was incredibly simple, typically with cranking options for both coarsely and finely crushed ice. Some older houses even have these trusty gadgets built right into the kitchen, either bolted to the counter or the wall. As efficient as these manual versions were, though, electric household ice-crushers set a new standard. Running on an incredibly loud motor, the electric ones did all the work for you. 

Oster made a multi-function kitchen tool in the '50s, the "electric power unit," with a variety of attachments, one being the ice crusher. Later, Oster created one of the era's more popular designs, the "Snoflake." Other brands like Sears and Panasonic followed the trend into the '70s, with some selling blender attachments so folks could crush ice without having to buy a whole new machine. The trend of crushed ice didn't disappear, but as modern fridges incorporated dispensers, ice crushers seemed to, becoming yet another dormant vintage kitchen gadget.