The sudden firing of two high-ranking antitrust officials this week is signaling upheaval at an agency responsible for arguing some of the biggest tech monopoly cases in decades.
Two top deputies to Department of Justice Antitrust Division chief Gail Slater were fired earlier this week for what a DOJ official would only explain as “insubordination” in an unattributed statement. Antitrust trade publication MLex reported that termination letters for Roger Alford and Bill Rinner, who also served in the first Trump administration, did not mention the reason for their firing. (Alford later posted a copy of his letter, which he said he framed and hung in his University of Notre Dame office.) But accounts from multiple publications including CBS News have detailed internal turmoil over a merger that Attorney General Pam Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle reportedly helped usher through over objections from the Antitrust Division’s leadership, after close allies of President Donald Trump’s got involved.
The ordeal fuels concerns that Trump’s penchant for granting political favors to his allies will overrule any true bipartisan enthusiasm for antitrust crackdowns, including in some of the most consequential actions involving the tech industry. Slater, who worked for Vice President JD Vance in the Senate, is widely seen as a respected and serious figure in antitrust circles. She’s been critical of Big Tech and has continued some of the Biden administration’s most aggressive antitrust pushes, albeit with changes reflecting a distinct “America First” flavor. But the firing of two close colleagues she relied on to carry out her vision — which Slater reportedly opposed — calls into question whether such policy ideals can survive an administration with a history of rooting out dissenters.
Personnel decisions at the DOJ have always ultimately fallen to the president, but the Antitrust Division has traditionally operated with a degree of distance. “There’s no pretense that that custom exists anymore,” says Bill Kovacic, a former chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). “To outsiders, an episode like this shows that political intervention works, and then if you can hire the right people to get to the White House or to the DOJ front office with the right arguments, you can override the preferences of the Antitrust Division.”
“An episode like this shows that political intervention works”
The merger settlement involved Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks. The DOJ filed a lawsuit in January seeking to block the merger, which it alleged would reduce competition in the market for enterprise-grade wireless networking equipment. But this week, the parties said they “reached a settlement that resolves the government’s competitive concerns.” Unnamed Trump administration officials told Axios that national security aims were a big factor behind the ultimate settlement, including strengthening US competitiveness against China’s Huawei. But other reports suggest political influence might have played a bigger role. HPE disclosed in a legal filing that Mike Davis, an influential Trump ally, was among the company’s advisors who had met with DOJ representatives leading up to the settlement agreement.
Though Davis has called Slater a friend, the antitrust chief did not engage with him during the settlement negotiations, The Wall Street Journal reported, and members of her team took issue with politically-connected lawyers like Davis being brought in to influence the talks. Slater resisted the HPE agreement, according to the WSJ, and in the DOJ press release, her statement simply thanked the “hardworking men and women of the Antitrust Division for their work on this case,” without mention of the settlement itself.
In a letter to the judge overseeing the merger case, four Senate Democrats charge that the proposed settlement actually wouldn’t resolve the antitrust concerns with the deal, in part because it would require HPE to sell a business that the lawmakers say doesn’t directly compete with Juniper’s offerings anyway. Alongside reports about potential procedural issues in reaching the settlement, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote, “These reports raise concerns regarding whether the settlement advances the interests of the public or a well-connected, well-paid group of insiders. At a minimum, it’s unclear whether the settlement even addresses the Justice Department’s original antitrust concerns.”
“This is a massive change from how the Justice Department has operated for the last 50 years,” Bill Baer, who previously led antitrust enforcement at both the DOJ and FTC, said about the reported events. “Since Watergate, there has been something of a firewall between White House personnel and the Justice Department on how to handle individual investigations and cases. The events of the last two weeks suggest that that firewall no longer exists.”
The Antitrust Division still has many major tech matters on its plate: a promised appeal of its Google search monopolization case and likely one for its Google ad tech case, an Apple monopolization trial, and a Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly case. The high-profile nature of many of these cases, and the fact that they align with other interests of the administration, makes it less likely they’ll see a “cheap settlement,” Kovacic says. Even so, he adds, “this episode shows that it’s a matter of coming up with a deal that would be pleasing.”
“If the court starts to think that something other than your professional judgment is guiding your decisions, there’s nothing to respect”
In the meantime, the loss of Alford and Rinner is a blow to the agency’s tech expertise and external credibility. Alford advised the Texas attorney general’s office on its monopolization investigation into Google and led international antitrust policy under the first Trump administration, while Rinner was a respected figure leading the agency’s merger enforcement. “Your ability to prevail in court depends a lot on persuading courts to trust you, and the main basis for trust is not just your technical legal arguments, but your demonstrated strong professional judgment,” Kovacic says. “If the court starts to think that something other than your professional judgment is guiding your decisions, there’s nothing to respect.”
We might learn more about how the HPE-Juniper deal got approved and what occurred around Alford and Rinner’s firings if the judge overseeing the case decides to probe further under a transparency law known as the Tunney Act. While experts say it would be difficult to reverse the DOJ decision, hearing from those involved in the negotiations may at least shed light on what kind of dealmaking occurred.
“This creates the image that everything that happens in the US is subject to a political fix,” Kovacic says. “It’s the kind of scenario that the US in the past has warned against and said countries ought not to allow themselves to succumb to this kind of decision-making.”
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Lauren Feiner
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#enforcer #break #Apple #Google #facing #upheaval
Rockstar Games has confirmed several new combat features for GTA 6, making the game’s weapon system more detailed than ever before. Official trailers and promotional material have already revealed more than 30 weapons across different categories, including pistols, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, launchers, melee weapons, and throwables. This guide covers all the GTA 6 weapons revealed so far and highlights the new gameplay features that make combat more immersive.
GTA 6 Handguns List
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Handguns play an important role in GTA 6, offering a balance of speed, accuracy, and convenience. Rockstar has already showcased multiple sidearms through official trailers and screenshots, including both pistols and revolvers. Here’s a complete list of the confirmed handguns in GTA 6.
GTA 6 includes powerful shotguns for close-quarters combat. These weapons are useful during indoor fights and high-action missions. Rockstar has already showcased two shotguns in official trailers and screenshots. Below are the confirmed shotgun weapons in GTA 6.
Assault rifles are among the most versatile weapons in GTA 6. They perform well in both close- and long-range combat. Rockstar has confirmed several rifles through trailers and screenshots. Here’s every confirmed assault rifle in the game.
GTA 6 includes several SMGs and machine guns for intense firefights. These weapons are useful during missions, chases, and vehicle combat. Rockstar has already showcased multiple models in official trailers and screenshots. Below are all the confirmed weapons.
SMG / Machine Gun
Real-World Inspiration
Notable Customization
Heckler & Koch SMG (MP5)
HK MP5
Scope, suppressor, foregrip
Compact SMG
Scorpion Mini SMG
Suppressor, extended magazine
Micro SMG
Mini Uzi
Drum magazine, weapon skins
Combat MG (Heavy MG)
M249 SAW
Box magazine, optics, barrel upgrades
GTA 6 Sniper Rifles List
Players who prefer long-range combat will find several sniper rifles in GTA 6. These weapons are designed for precision and serious damage. Official gameplay footage has showcased multiple sniper rifle models. Here’s every confirmed sniper rifle revealed so far.
Sniper Rifle
Real-World Inspiration
Notable Customization
Bolt Action Sniper
Remington 700
Heavy barrel, bipod, camouflage skins
Assault Sniper (L129A1)
L129A1
Variable zoom scope, suppressor
Ruger-inspired Rifle
Ruger 10/22
Lightweight attachments
GTA 6 Launchers List
Launchers deliver the most serious explosive damage in GTA 6. They are the best choice for destroying vehicles and heavily armored targets. Players can also use them during large-scale combat. Below are all the confirmed launchers in GTA 6.
Launcher
Real-World Inspiration
Notable Customization
Grenade Launcher
Milkor MGL
Alternative ammunition types
RPG (Rocket Launcher)
RPG-7
Cosmetic finishes
GTA 6 Throwable Weapons List
Not every combat situation requires a gun in GTA 6. Throwables give players another way to attack enemies or create an opening. Each weapon has its own strengths and uses. Below are all the confirmed throwable weapons in GTA 6.
Thrown Weapon
Primary Use
Fire Bottle
Fire damage
Flashbang
Crowd control
Golf Ball
Improvised weapon
Grenade
Explosive damage
Molotov
Area denial
Smoke Grenade
Smoke cover
Speargun
Underwater combat
GTA 6 Melee Weapons List
Melee weapons remain an important part of combat in GTA 6. They offer a quiet and reliable way to deal with nearby enemies. Different weapons suit different combat styles. Here’s every confirmed melee weapon revealed so far.
Baseball Bat
Crowbar
Golf Club
Hammer
Knife
Pool Cue
Fists (Unarmed)
GTA 6 Equipment and Utility Item List
GTA 6 includes more than just guns and melee weapons. Players can use different equipment to complete missions in creative ways. These items add more flexibility to gameplay. Here’s the complete list of confirmed equipment.
Rockstar Games has confirmed several new combat features for GTA 6, making the game’s weapon system more detailed than ever before. Official trailers and promotional material have already revealed more than 30 weapons across different categories, including pistols, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, launchers, melee weapons, and throwables. This guide covers all the GTA 6 weapons revealed so far and highlights the new gameplay features that make combat more immersive.
GTA 6 Handguns List
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Handguns play an important role in GTA 6, offering a balance of speed, accuracy, and convenience. Rockstar has already showcased multiple sidearms through official trailers and screenshots, including both pistols and revolvers. Here’s a complete list of the confirmed handguns in GTA 6.
GTA 6 includes powerful shotguns for close-quarters combat. These weapons are useful during indoor fights and high-action missions. Rockstar has already showcased two shotguns in official trailers and screenshots. Below are the confirmed shotgun weapons in GTA 6.
Assault rifles are among the most versatile weapons in GTA 6. They perform well in both close- and long-range combat. Rockstar has confirmed several rifles through trailers and screenshots. Here’s every confirmed assault rifle in the game.
GTA 6 includes several SMGs and machine guns for intense firefights. These weapons are useful during missions, chases, and vehicle combat. Rockstar has already showcased multiple models in official trailers and screenshots. Below are all the confirmed weapons.
SMG / Machine Gun
Real-World Inspiration
Notable Customization
Heckler & Koch SMG (MP5)
HK MP5
Scope, suppressor, foregrip
Compact SMG
Scorpion Mini SMG
Suppressor, extended magazine
Micro SMG
Mini Uzi
Drum magazine, weapon skins
Combat MG (Heavy MG)
M249 SAW
Box magazine, optics, barrel upgrades
GTA 6 Sniper Rifles List
Players who prefer long-range combat will find several sniper rifles in GTA 6. These weapons are designed for precision and serious damage. Official gameplay footage has showcased multiple sniper rifle models. Here’s every confirmed sniper rifle revealed so far.
Sniper Rifle
Real-World Inspiration
Notable Customization
Bolt Action Sniper
Remington 700
Heavy barrel, bipod, camouflage skins
Assault Sniper (L129A1)
L129A1
Variable zoom scope, suppressor
Ruger-inspired Rifle
Ruger 10/22
Lightweight attachments
GTA 6 Launchers List
Launchers deliver the most serious explosive damage in GTA 6. They are the best choice for destroying vehicles and heavily armored targets. Players can also use them during large-scale combat. Below are all the confirmed launchers in GTA 6.
Launcher
Real-World Inspiration
Notable Customization
Grenade Launcher
Milkor MGL
Alternative ammunition types
RPG (Rocket Launcher)
RPG-7
Cosmetic finishes
GTA 6 Throwable Weapons List
Not every combat situation requires a gun in GTA 6. Throwables give players another way to attack enemies or create an opening. Each weapon has its own strengths and uses. Below are all the confirmed throwable weapons in GTA 6.
Thrown Weapon
Primary Use
Fire Bottle
Fire damage
Flashbang
Crowd control
Golf Ball
Improvised weapon
Grenade
Explosive damage
Molotov
Area denial
Smoke Grenade
Smoke cover
Speargun
Underwater combat
GTA 6 Melee Weapons List
Melee weapons remain an important part of combat in GTA 6. They offer a quiet and reliable way to deal with nearby enemies. Different weapons suit different combat styles. Here’s every confirmed melee weapon revealed so far.
Baseball Bat
Crowbar
Golf Club
Hammer
Knife
Pool Cue
Fists (Unarmed)
GTA 6 Equipment and Utility Item List
GTA 6 includes more than just guns and melee weapons. Players can use different equipment to complete missions in creative ways. These items add more flexibility to gameplay. Here’s the complete list of confirmed equipment.
Auto Dialer
Backpack
Binoculars
Body Armor
Cigarettes
Cut-off Tool
Flashlight
Food & Drinks
Immobilizer Bypass
Lock Pick
Loot Bag / Duffel Bag
Painkillers
Slim Jim
Soda
Taser
Torch Flashlight
Tracker Jammer
Trauma Kit
USB Drive
Wine
Zipties
#GTA #Weapons #Guide #Guns #Weapons #RevealedGTA 6">GTA 6 Weapons Guide: All Guns and Weapons Revealed
Rockstar Games has confirmed several new combat features for GTA 6, making the game’s weapon system more detailed than ever before. Official trailers and promotional material have already revealed more than 30 weapons across different categories, including pistols, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, launchers, melee weapons, and throwables. This guide covers all the GTA 6 weapons revealed so far and highlights the new gameplay features that make combat more immersive.
GTA 6 Handguns List
Image Credit: Rockstar Games
Handguns play an important role in GTA 6, offering a balance of speed, accuracy, and convenience. Rockstar has already showcased multiple sidearms through official trailers and screenshots, including both pistols and revolvers. Here’s a complete list of the confirmed handguns in GTA 6.
GTA 6 includes powerful shotguns for close-quarters combat. These weapons are useful during indoor fights and high-action missions. Rockstar has already showcased two shotguns in official trailers and screenshots. Below are the confirmed shotgun weapons in GTA 6.
Assault rifles are among the most versatile weapons in GTA 6. They perform well in both close- and long-range combat. Rockstar has confirmed several rifles through trailers and screenshots. Here’s every confirmed assault rifle in the game.
GTA 6 includes several SMGs and machine guns for intense firefights. These weapons are useful during missions, chases, and vehicle combat. Rockstar has already showcased multiple models in official trailers and screenshots. Below are all the confirmed weapons.
SMG / Machine Gun
Real-World Inspiration
Notable Customization
Heckler & Koch SMG (MP5)
HK MP5
Scope, suppressor, foregrip
Compact SMG
Scorpion Mini SMG
Suppressor, extended magazine
Micro SMG
Mini Uzi
Drum magazine, weapon skins
Combat MG (Heavy MG)
M249 SAW
Box magazine, optics, barrel upgrades
GTA 6 Sniper Rifles List
Players who prefer long-range combat will find several sniper rifles in GTA 6. These weapons are designed for precision and serious damage. Official gameplay footage has showcased multiple sniper rifle models. Here’s every confirmed sniper rifle revealed so far.
Sniper Rifle
Real-World Inspiration
Notable Customization
Bolt Action Sniper
Remington 700
Heavy barrel, bipod, camouflage skins
Assault Sniper (L129A1)
L129A1
Variable zoom scope, suppressor
Ruger-inspired Rifle
Ruger 10/22
Lightweight attachments
GTA 6 Launchers List
Launchers deliver the most serious explosive damage in GTA 6. They are the best choice for destroying vehicles and heavily armored targets. Players can also use them during large-scale combat. Below are all the confirmed launchers in GTA 6.
Launcher
Real-World Inspiration
Notable Customization
Grenade Launcher
Milkor MGL
Alternative ammunition types
RPG (Rocket Launcher)
RPG-7
Cosmetic finishes
GTA 6 Throwable Weapons List
Not every combat situation requires a gun in GTA 6. Throwables give players another way to attack enemies or create an opening. Each weapon has its own strengths and uses. Below are all the confirmed throwable weapons in GTA 6.
Thrown Weapon
Primary Use
Fire Bottle
Fire damage
Flashbang
Crowd control
Golf Ball
Improvised weapon
Grenade
Explosive damage
Molotov
Area denial
Smoke Grenade
Smoke cover
Speargun
Underwater combat
GTA 6 Melee Weapons List
Melee weapons remain an important part of combat in GTA 6. They offer a quiet and reliable way to deal with nearby enemies. Different weapons suit different combat styles. Here’s every confirmed melee weapon revealed so far.
Baseball Bat
Crowbar
Golf Club
Hammer
Knife
Pool Cue
Fists (Unarmed)
GTA 6 Equipment and Utility Item List
GTA 6 includes more than just guns and melee weapons. Players can use different equipment to complete missions in creative ways. These items add more flexibility to gameplay. Here’s the complete list of confirmed equipment.
Beef jerky can be a delicious treat. But a recent report illustrates why you should be cautious about biting into a piece of homemade jerky made from wild bear meat—it just might be teeming with parasitic worms.
Last week, federal and local health officials in North Carolina detailed an unusual outbreak of Trichinella roundworms in 2024 traced back to undercooked jerky from the same infected bear. At least three people were likely sickened by the cursed jerky, one of whom ended up hospitalized with severe illness. Though such cases are rare, they can be entirely prevented by cooking bear and other game meat to the recommended internal temperature, the authors say.
“Low-cost safety measures and prevention efforts regarding safe wild game preparation are needed to avoid future outbreaks,” they wrote in their paper, published June 24 in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
A bear of a time
The outbreak was first detected in November 2024 by a clinician who treated the hospitalized patient and notified health officials. The Graham County Health Department and North Carolina Division of Public Health then conducted an investigation.
The patient had killed a bear at the start of the hunting season in October. The person froze half of the meat as various cuts and prepared the rest into jerky; they then shared the jerky with five other people.
By the time officials began probing, no jerky was left, but four remaining pieces of the frozen bear meat were sent off for testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; all the meat subsequently came back positive for Trichinella larvae. It’s likely the person’s jerky preparation, which only involved a marinade and drying, did not heat the meat sufficiently to kill off the worms nestled inside.
Of the six people who ate the jerky, three developed symptoms characteristic of Trichinellainfection. The hospitalized patient developed severe symptoms, including muscle weakness, swelling around the eyes, and eosinophilia (a high level of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell). The hospitalized case eventually tested positive for antibodies to the infection, but the other two cases declined testing because they lacked health insurance and balked at the out-of-pocket costs for such a test (roughly $200). All three were given a standard deworming medication and made a full recovery.
A growing trend?
Trichinellosis used to be commonly caused by undercooked pork but is now very rare in the U.S. due to better food safety. Most cases these days are instead tied to infected game meat, including bears. According to the CDC, only about 15 cases on average are reported annually.
Still, there are some signs this disease could become more common in some places like North Carolina. In November 2023, 10 people were likely infected by eating the undercooked meat of a wild bear hunted in western North Carolina; it was the first major outbreak recorded in the state since 1991, with only three isolated cases reported during that same time period.
Officials weren’t able to test the meat implicated in the 2023 outbreak and identify the specific species that caused it. This time around, testing identified a species known as Trichinella spiralis. That’s a potentially worrying discovery, the report authors note, since T. spiralis is rarely ever found in bears. So it’s possible that infection patterns might be changing among the wildlife in North Carolina and elsewhere.
“Wildlife disease surveillance is needed to update our knowledge of Trichinella prevalence, host affinities, and associated public health risks,” the researchers wrote.
That said, human trichinellosis is easily preventable with some proactive measures. However it’s prepared, officials say, game meat should always be cooked to an internal temperature above 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) to ensure all larvae are killed off. Freezing meat prior to making it into jerky might help as well, though some Trichinella species are known to be freeze-resistant. Other safe food handling practices, like keeping raw or undercooked meat away from other foods, can also prevent cross-contamination.
Beef jerky can be a delicious treat. But a recent report illustrates why you should be cautious about biting into a piece of homemade jerky made from wild bear meat—it just might be teeming with parasitic worms.
Last week, federal and local health officials in North Carolina detailed an unusual outbreak of Trichinella roundworms in 2024 traced back to undercooked jerky from the same infected bear. At least three people were likely sickened by the cursed jerky, one of whom ended up hospitalized with severe illness. Though such cases are rare, they can be entirely prevented by cooking bear and other game meat to the recommended internal temperature, the authors say.
“Low-cost safety measures and prevention efforts regarding safe wild game preparation are needed to avoid future outbreaks,” they wrote in their paper, published June 24 in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
A bear of a time
The outbreak was first detected in November 2024 by a clinician who treated the hospitalized patient and notified health officials. The Graham County Health Department and North Carolina Division of Public Health then conducted an investigation.
The patient had killed a bear at the start of the hunting season in October. The person froze half of the meat as various cuts and prepared the rest into jerky; they then shared the jerky with five other people.
By the time officials began probing, no jerky was left, but four remaining pieces of the frozen bear meat were sent off for testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; all the meat subsequently came back positive for Trichinella larvae. It’s likely the person’s jerky preparation, which only involved a marinade and drying, did not heat the meat sufficiently to kill off the worms nestled inside.
Of the six people who ate the jerky, three developed symptoms characteristic of Trichinellainfection. The hospitalized patient developed severe symptoms, including muscle weakness, swelling around the eyes, and eosinophilia (a high level of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell). The hospitalized case eventually tested positive for antibodies to the infection, but the other two cases declined testing because they lacked health insurance and balked at the out-of-pocket costs for such a test (roughly $200). All three were given a standard deworming medication and made a full recovery.
A growing trend?
Trichinellosis used to be commonly caused by undercooked pork but is now very rare in the U.S. due to better food safety. Most cases these days are instead tied to infected game meat, including bears. According to the CDC, only about 15 cases on average are reported annually.
Still, there are some signs this disease could become more common in some places like North Carolina. In November 2023, 10 people were likely infected by eating the undercooked meat of a wild bear hunted in western North Carolina; it was the first major outbreak recorded in the state since 1991, with only three isolated cases reported during that same time period.
Officials weren’t able to test the meat implicated in the 2023 outbreak and identify the specific species that caused it. This time around, testing identified a species known as Trichinella spiralis. That’s a potentially worrying discovery, the report authors note, since T. spiralis is rarely ever found in bears. So it’s possible that infection patterns might be changing among the wildlife in North Carolina and elsewhere.
“Wildlife disease surveillance is needed to update our knowledge of Trichinella prevalence, host affinities, and associated public health risks,” the researchers wrote.
That said, human trichinellosis is easily preventable with some proactive measures. However it’s prepared, officials say, game meat should always be cooked to an internal temperature above 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) to ensure all larvae are killed off. Freezing meat prior to making it into jerky might help as well, though some Trichinella species are known to be freeze-resistant. Other safe food handling practices, like keeping raw or undercooked meat away from other foods, can also prevent cross-contamination.
#Tainted #Beef #Jerky #Caused #Outbreak #Bear #Wormsbears,foodborne illnesses,Parasites,Weird medicine">Tainted Beef Jerky Caused an Outbreak of Bear Worms
Beef jerky can be a delicious treat. But a recent report illustrates why you should be cautious about biting into a piece of homemade jerky made from wild bear meat—it just might be teeming with parasitic worms.
Last week, federal and local health officials in North Carolina detailed an unusual outbreak of Trichinella roundworms in 2024 traced back to undercooked jerky from the same infected bear. At least three people were likely sickened by the cursed jerky, one of whom ended up hospitalized with severe illness. Though such cases are rare, they can be entirely prevented by cooking bear and other game meat to the recommended internal temperature, the authors say.
“Low-cost safety measures and prevention efforts regarding safe wild game preparation are needed to avoid future outbreaks,” they wrote in their paper, published June 24 in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
A bear of a time
The outbreak was first detected in November 2024 by a clinician who treated the hospitalized patient and notified health officials. The Graham County Health Department and North Carolina Division of Public Health then conducted an investigation.
The patient had killed a bear at the start of the hunting season in October. The person froze half of the meat as various cuts and prepared the rest into jerky; they then shared the jerky with five other people.
By the time officials began probing, no jerky was left, but four remaining pieces of the frozen bear meat were sent off for testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; all the meat subsequently came back positive for Trichinella larvae. It’s likely the person’s jerky preparation, which only involved a marinade and drying, did not heat the meat sufficiently to kill off the worms nestled inside.
Of the six people who ate the jerky, three developed symptoms characteristic of Trichinellainfection. The hospitalized patient developed severe symptoms, including muscle weakness, swelling around the eyes, and eosinophilia (a high level of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell). The hospitalized case eventually tested positive for antibodies to the infection, but the other two cases declined testing because they lacked health insurance and balked at the out-of-pocket costs for such a test (roughly $200). All three were given a standard deworming medication and made a full recovery.
A growing trend?
Trichinellosis used to be commonly caused by undercooked pork but is now very rare in the U.S. due to better food safety. Most cases these days are instead tied to infected game meat, including bears. According to the CDC, only about 15 cases on average are reported annually.
Still, there are some signs this disease could become more common in some places like North Carolina. In November 2023, 10 people were likely infected by eating the undercooked meat of a wild bear hunted in western North Carolina; it was the first major outbreak recorded in the state since 1991, with only three isolated cases reported during that same time period.
Officials weren’t able to test the meat implicated in the 2023 outbreak and identify the specific species that caused it. This time around, testing identified a species known as Trichinella spiralis. That’s a potentially worrying discovery, the report authors note, since T. spiralis is rarely ever found in bears. So it’s possible that infection patterns might be changing among the wildlife in North Carolina and elsewhere.
“Wildlife disease surveillance is needed to update our knowledge of Trichinella prevalence, host affinities, and associated public health risks,” the researchers wrote.
That said, human trichinellosis is easily preventable with some proactive measures. However it’s prepared, officials say, game meat should always be cooked to an internal temperature above 165 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) to ensure all larvae are killed off. Freezing meat prior to making it into jerky might help as well, though some Trichinella species are known to be freeze-resistant. Other safe food handling practices, like keeping raw or undercooked meat away from other foods, can also prevent cross-contamination.
#Tainted #Beef #Jerky #Caused #Outbreak #Bear #Wormsbears,foodborne illnesses,Parasites,Weird medicine
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
GreenPan
Frost Slushie Machine
The slushie machine from Belgian-founded wellness brand GreenPan is maybe the only slushie machine I’d describe as being even slightly attractive, or pleasant on a countertop—available in a trendy pistachio color scheme that a 21-year-old co-tester called “cute.” The slush produced by this device also had quite a nice consistency, perhaps due to a tighter auger around the cylinder that roiled the slush a little more. My colleague Martin Cizmar, who also tested this device, was able to recreate a Philly recipe for Italian-style water ice with Meyer lemons, and declared himself an unending fan.
The GreenPan slushed admirably, making a full chamber’s worth of spiked slush in about 25 minutes. This is nowhere near as fast as the XL or the Twist on slushing speeds, alas. The fill chamber is a little shallow, which means you have to pour slowly or you’ll make a mess. If you accidentally leave the handle down, you’ll also make a mess. Some reports online of cracks in the cylinder over use are also reason for pause. But if aesthetics are a prime consideration, this will slush handily. And look a little better while doing it.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
The original Ninja Slushi was quite simply a triumph of industrial design when it arrived in 2024—the machine that managed to bring the cocktail bar or convenience-store slushie to the home kitchen countertop. Among many imitators, Ninja’s original design remained the most user-friendly and reliable until the next-generation Ninjas supplanted it.
I’ve made coconut-lime daiquiris for a family of visiting Brazilians, who joked that they planned to take the machine back with them on the airplane. I’ve entertained a party full of children with the nonalcoholic version of slushie. And I’ve made silly frozen cocktails at home, whether lime Jarritos slushies or tamarind michelada slushies. Everything frozen is better, it turns out. Freezing a cocktail adds fun and removes shame.
But it’s been replaced. I consider the original Slushi a good value model, but it’s no longer the top of the market. The original Slushi doesn’t slush as well on higher-alcohol slushies as the newer XL and Twist, even for ABV below 16 percent. (Really, with an OG Ninja Slushi, the sweet spot is around 10 to 12 percent ABV if you want good consistency.) Milkshakes/soft-serve are not really feasible on the original Ninja either, always either foamy or ice-gritty.
Which is all to say, buy the Slushi when it’s on a good sale at $250 or less—or when it’s updated with a compressor as good as the one on the XL or Twist.
Other Slushie Machines Tested
Ever since Ninja took slushies to the home market, the Amazon directories have filled with newer brands you’ve likely never heard of and whose names sometimes seem subject to a randomizer engine: Inoviva, Chivalz, Vibofrost, Friwest, Aekda, Syintao, Vischic, Ranvaira, Rinvotio, and the list goes on. Most are available at discounts compared to Ninja or other more recognizable brands.
I’ve tested three such brands: Chivalz, Invoviva, and Vibofrost. All three have had one form of reliability issue or another: basic design defects, inconsistency of performance, or simply disappearing from the market.
Chivalz Slushie Machine (no longer in stock): This was previously WIRED’s budget pick, which my co-tester Kat Merck called, without insult, “a quite respectable Ninja Slushi knockoff.” The device arrived with a welcome digital temp readout and a removable back panel that made cleaning easier on the slush chamber. Performance was comparable to the original Ninja, though the user interface was a bit janky. But since last year, the brand’s slushie machines seem to have disappeared, as the brand’s focus moved to air purifiers and humidifiers.
Vibofrost Slushie Machine ($235, sold out after Prime Day): This Vibofrost, like the Chivalz, freezes slushies comparably to the original Ninja Slushi. And like the Chivalz, it has a somewhat irritating child-lock feature, and a timed feature that seems of limited utility. Though it will slush within around 20 to 30 minutes, the oddly designed spout can spray wildly if there’s any liquid in the machine, the drip tray does not attach securely, and it kinda moans like a dying tauntaun while in operation.
Inoviva Slushie Machine for $120: I tested this Inoviva slushie machine twice. The first time, the device registered much louder than competitors, the drip tray arrived stuck to the machine, and the compressor began to fail after a week’s testing. The second time, it was still loud, and the user interface had a difficult-to-navigate locking feature, but freezing was indeed more consistent. The inconsistency in quality control makes this device difficult to recommend. But maybe you’re willing to brave this for a steeply discounted price. The Inoviva also has one terrific feature: The ability to adjust thickness for each drink setting.
My co-tester Kat Merck (on the now-discontinued Chivalz) and I made so very many slushies with each machine, from dairy to nondairy to coffee slushies to straight-up bottles of wine. Specifically, we tested every version of slush that a machine advertised. If Ninja or GreenPan says a machine can make frappés and milkshakes and frozen juices, we made frappés and milkshakes and frozen juices, tinkering where necessary. I froze orange juice and strawberry juice, slushed a bouquet’s worth of rosé, and made slushies from daiquiri to margarita to whiskey Coke. I slushed tamarind micheladas (an excellent idea) and Twisted Tea (a terrible idea).
Photograph: Kat Merck
I also raced the freezing capabilities of all three machines by pouring a 16-ounce can of delicious Mango Mike’s Harder Lemonade in each, then seeing which machine was fastest. (For the XL, I used a 24-ounce can.) And I made smooth and dense coconut-lime daiquiris with coconut milk, according to Ninja’s recipe, to test how well each machine’s dispenser handled a genuine dense-textured challenge.
How Do Home Slushie Machines Work?
The tech is pretty simple, almost ingeniously so: A beefy cylindrical freezing core in the center of the drink chamber continually cools any liquid in contact with it. It’s encircled by a plastic spiral auger attached to a motor. The auger mixes the drink, keeps it slushing instead of freezing solid, and also pushes the resulting slush toward the dispenser nozzle so you can have some. The resolute simplicity of this design allowed Ninja and others to scale down the commercial slushie maker for home consumers thirsty for frozen treats.
The main requirement is that the frozen beverage have more than 4 percent sugar—or between 3 percent and 16 percent alcohol—in order to lower the freezing point of the resulting concoction and make slushing possible. Some slushie machine vendors recommend percentages more like 15 percent sugar, for perfect consistency. But I often balk at this. Coca-Cola and orange juice are each around 11 percent sugar—so that’s very sweet. Some hero of the internet has made a slush calculator for easy reference.
A minimum of 16 ounces of liquid is required for most 88-ounce home machines, for simple reasons: The liquid needs to be in physical contact with the core in order to slush up and also to keep ice from forming on the central cylinder’s surface. The Slushi XL requires a 24-ounce minimum, because it’s bigger.
Can You Put Diet Soda in a Slushie Machine?
No and yes. Slushies rely on a helpful property of water: Sugar (or salt) dissolved in water lowers its freezing point below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Why? Solubles like sugar are chaos agents. Sugar molecules move randomly, refuse to dissolve into ice, and interfere with water’s ability to form hydrogen bonds and turn crystalline. Some water molecules freeze, but sugar water doesn’t. Tada! Slush.
If you try to make a slushie out of sugar-free soda, or sugar-free anything, ice crystals will instead form easily. The stainless steel freezing core will ice over and scrape on the auger, and ice cubes or hunks will gather mass in the slushie machine. The cylinder will start to shake, then the machine will clunk, then eventually you’ll probably break your machine: Low-sugar fail-safes on these devices have not been overly reliable, alas. So don’t try this at home!
This doesn’t mean you’re doomed to massive calories if you want to make a slushie. Not every artificial sweetener lowers the freezing point appropriately, but the one that Ninja recommends for diet slushies is allulose, a rare but naturally occurring sugar that’s 70 percent as sweet as basic sugar but is not metabolized effectively by the human digestive system. This means it’s low in calories and doesn’t cause insulin spikes—but as with a lot of indigestibles, note that side effects can include bloating or GI distress for some.
For easiest use in a slushie, buy liquid allulose. Powdered versions also exist, but to use them, you’ll need to make a simple syrup by heating up the powder in water to help it dissolve, then let it cool. If you just try to drop the allulose powder into your machine with some Diet Coke, it might not dissolve, and you might still get ice formation. Or at least, I definitely still got ice formation when I tried this on the OG Ninja, and had to stop my machine.
How Can You Stop Milkshakes From Getting Foamy in a Slushie Machine?
Bet you didn’t expect a lesson in milk proteins today! But here’s the deal: Milk proteins start to separate when agitated. Churning milk is, in fact, how butter gets made. Proteins separate out, and you get butter on the one side and buttermilk on the other. Both are delicious, but neither is wanted in a milkshake.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
If you try to make a milkshake in a churning slushie machine using just milk, you’ll eventually start to see the effects of these milk proteins separating out from buttermilk—which will manifest first as an undesirable foaminess. To avoid this, Ninja recommends also adding heavy cream or half-and-half to any milkshake recipe. The higher fat content will keep things smoother.
Note it’s easiest to use fruit syrups, rather than just juice, and add vanillin, or it’ll be a bit boring: The heavy fat tends to overwhelm any subtle fruit flavors. Another deep secret of the tasty milkshake? Salt. Add a tiiiinny pinch; it’ll help bring out flavor. A 16-ounce McDonald’s milkshake has 260 milligrams of sodium—about 1/16th of a teaspoon of table salt, or approximately the amount that fits between your index finger and your thumb.
But temper your expectations here. None of the slushie machines we tested made a texture comparable to a classic milkshake. On most machines, which don’t have compressors as powerful as the new-model Ninjas that are now our top picks, the texture is often a little ice-gritty and not as richly textured or integrated as the milkshake you’ll get from your local burger joint, let alone the soft serve from the famously broken ice cream machines at McDonald’s. Slushie machines also can’t handle chunks of frozen fruit, often the best part of a milkshake.
On the newer Ninjas, with their more powerful freezing power, I was able to get the smoothness and freeze I wanted. But because most recipes call for a high-fat mix of 2:1 milk and heavy cream in order ot avoid churning foam and butter, the results still weren’t quite a light milkshake. It was more like a dense, rich, quite tasty soft serve.
Now, do I like being able to make 20-minute soft-serve in my home? From milk and heavy cream and sugar and a dash of vanilla? Heck yes, I do.
#Ninja #Quietly #Drastically #Improved #Slushie #Machineskitchen,shopping,household,food and drink,amazon">
The slushie machine from Belgian-founded wellness brand GreenPan is maybe the only slushie machine I’d describe as being even slightly attractive, or pleasant on a countertop—available in a trendy pistachio color scheme that a 21-year-old co-tester called “cute.” The slush produced by this device also had quite a nice consistency, perhaps due to a tighter auger around the cylinder that roiled the slush a little more. My colleague Martin Cizmar, who also tested this device, was able to recreate a Philly recipe for Italian-style water ice with Meyer lemons, and declared himself an unending fan.
The GreenPan slushed admirably, making a full chamber’s worth of spiked slush in about 25 minutes. This is nowhere near as fast as the XL or the Twist on slushing speeds, alas. The fill chamber is a little shallow, which means you have to pour slowly or you’ll make a mess. If you accidentally leave the handle down, you’ll also make a mess. Some reports online of cracks in the cylinder over use are also reason for pause. But if aesthetics are a prime consideration, this will slush handily. And look a little better while doing it.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
The original Ninja Slushi was quite simply a triumph of industrial design when it arrived in 2024—the machine that managed to bring the cocktail bar or convenience-store slushie to the home kitchen countertop. Among many imitators, Ninja’s original design remained the most user-friendly and reliable until the next-generation Ninjas supplanted it.
I’ve made coconut-lime daiquiris for a family of visiting Brazilians, who joked that they planned to take the machine back with them on the airplane. I’ve entertained a party full of children with the nonalcoholic version of slushie. And I’ve made silly frozen cocktails at home, whether lime Jarritos slushies or tamarind michelada slushies. Everything frozen is better, it turns out. Freezing a cocktail adds fun and removes shame.
But it’s been replaced. I consider the original Slushi a good value model, but it’s no longer the top of the market. The original Slushi doesn’t slush as well on higher-alcohol slushies as the newer XL and Twist, even for ABV below 16 percent. (Really, with an OG Ninja Slushi, the sweet spot is around 10 to 12 percent ABV if you want good consistency.) Milkshakes/soft-serve are not really feasible on the original Ninja either, always either foamy or ice-gritty.
Which is all to say, buy the Slushi when it’s on a good sale at $250 or less—or when it’s updated with a compressor as good as the one on the XL or Twist.
Other Slushie Machines Tested
Ever since Ninja took slushies to the home market, the Amazon directories have filled with newer brands you’ve likely never heard of and whose names sometimes seem subject to a randomizer engine: Inoviva, Chivalz, Vibofrost, Friwest, Aekda, Syintao, Vischic, Ranvaira, Rinvotio, and the list goes on. Most are available at discounts compared to Ninja or other more recognizable brands.
I’ve tested three such brands: Chivalz, Invoviva, and Vibofrost. All three have had one form of reliability issue or another: basic design defects, inconsistency of performance, or simply disappearing from the market.
Chivalz Slushie Machine (no longer in stock): This was previously WIRED’s budget pick, which my co-tester Kat Merck called, without insult, “a quite respectable Ninja Slushi knockoff.” The device arrived with a welcome digital temp readout and a removable back panel that made cleaning easier on the slush chamber. Performance was comparable to the original Ninja, though the user interface was a bit janky. But since last year, the brand’s slushie machines seem to have disappeared, as the brand’s focus moved to air purifiers and humidifiers.
Vibofrost Slushie Machine ($235, sold out after Prime Day): This Vibofrost, like the Chivalz, freezes slushies comparably to the original Ninja Slushi. And like the Chivalz, it has a somewhat irritating child-lock feature, and a timed feature that seems of limited utility. Though it will slush within around 20 to 30 minutes, the oddly designed spout can spray wildly if there’s any liquid in the machine, the drip tray does not attach securely, and it kinda moans like a dying tauntaun while in operation.
Inoviva Slushie Machine for $120: I tested this Inoviva slushie machine twice. The first time, the device registered much louder than competitors, the drip tray arrived stuck to the machine, and the compressor began to fail after a week’s testing. The second time, it was still loud, and the user interface had a difficult-to-navigate locking feature, but freezing was indeed more consistent. The inconsistency in quality control makes this device difficult to recommend. But maybe you’re willing to brave this for a steeply discounted price. The Inoviva also has one terrific feature: The ability to adjust thickness for each drink setting.
My co-tester Kat Merck (on the now-discontinued Chivalz) and I made so very many slushies with each machine, from dairy to nondairy to coffee slushies to straight-up bottles of wine. Specifically, we tested every version of slush that a machine advertised. If Ninja or GreenPan says a machine can make frappés and milkshakes and frozen juices, we made frappés and milkshakes and frozen juices, tinkering where necessary. I froze orange juice and strawberry juice, slushed a bouquet’s worth of rosé, and made slushies from daiquiri to margarita to whiskey Coke. I slushed tamarind micheladas (an excellent idea) and Twisted Tea (a terrible idea).
Photograph: Kat Merck
I also raced the freezing capabilities of all three machines by pouring a 16-ounce can of delicious Mango Mike’s Harder Lemonade in each, then seeing which machine was fastest. (For the XL, I used a 24-ounce can.) And I made smooth and dense coconut-lime daiquiris with coconut milk, according to Ninja’s recipe, to test how well each machine’s dispenser handled a genuine dense-textured challenge.
How Do Home Slushie Machines Work?
The tech is pretty simple, almost ingeniously so: A beefy cylindrical freezing core in the center of the drink chamber continually cools any liquid in contact with it. It’s encircled by a plastic spiral auger attached to a motor. The auger mixes the drink, keeps it slushing instead of freezing solid, and also pushes the resulting slush toward the dispenser nozzle so you can have some. The resolute simplicity of this design allowed Ninja and others to scale down the commercial slushie maker for home consumers thirsty for frozen treats.
The main requirement is that the frozen beverage have more than 4 percent sugar—or between 3 percent and 16 percent alcohol—in order to lower the freezing point of the resulting concoction and make slushing possible. Some slushie machine vendors recommend percentages more like 15 percent sugar, for perfect consistency. But I often balk at this. Coca-Cola and orange juice are each around 11 percent sugar—so that’s very sweet. Some hero of the internet has made a slush calculator for easy reference.
A minimum of 16 ounces of liquid is required for most 88-ounce home machines, for simple reasons: The liquid needs to be in physical contact with the core in order to slush up and also to keep ice from forming on the central cylinder’s surface. The Slushi XL requires a 24-ounce minimum, because it’s bigger.
Can You Put Diet Soda in a Slushie Machine?
No and yes. Slushies rely on a helpful property of water: Sugar (or salt) dissolved in water lowers its freezing point below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Why? Solubles like sugar are chaos agents. Sugar molecules move randomly, refuse to dissolve into ice, and interfere with water’s ability to form hydrogen bonds and turn crystalline. Some water molecules freeze, but sugar water doesn’t. Tada! Slush.
If you try to make a slushie out of sugar-free soda, or sugar-free anything, ice crystals will instead form easily. The stainless steel freezing core will ice over and scrape on the auger, and ice cubes or hunks will gather mass in the slushie machine. The cylinder will start to shake, then the machine will clunk, then eventually you’ll probably break your machine: Low-sugar fail-safes on these devices have not been overly reliable, alas. So don’t try this at home!
This doesn’t mean you’re doomed to massive calories if you want to make a slushie. Not every artificial sweetener lowers the freezing point appropriately, but the one that Ninja recommends for diet slushies is allulose, a rare but naturally occurring sugar that’s 70 percent as sweet as basic sugar but is not metabolized effectively by the human digestive system. This means it’s low in calories and doesn’t cause insulin spikes—but as with a lot of indigestibles, note that side effects can include bloating or GI distress for some.
For easiest use in a slushie, buy liquid allulose. Powdered versions also exist, but to use them, you’ll need to make a simple syrup by heating up the powder in water to help it dissolve, then let it cool. If you just try to drop the allulose powder into your machine with some Diet Coke, it might not dissolve, and you might still get ice formation. Or at least, I definitely still got ice formation when I tried this on the OG Ninja, and had to stop my machine.
How Can You Stop Milkshakes From Getting Foamy in a Slushie Machine?
Bet you didn’t expect a lesson in milk proteins today! But here’s the deal: Milk proteins start to separate when agitated. Churning milk is, in fact, how butter gets made. Proteins separate out, and you get butter on the one side and buttermilk on the other. Both are delicious, but neither is wanted in a milkshake.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
If you try to make a milkshake in a churning slushie machine using just milk, you’ll eventually start to see the effects of these milk proteins separating out from buttermilk—which will manifest first as an undesirable foaminess. To avoid this, Ninja recommends also adding heavy cream or half-and-half to any milkshake recipe. The higher fat content will keep things smoother.
Note it’s easiest to use fruit syrups, rather than just juice, and add vanillin, or it’ll be a bit boring: The heavy fat tends to overwhelm any subtle fruit flavors. Another deep secret of the tasty milkshake? Salt. Add a tiiiinny pinch; it’ll help bring out flavor. A 16-ounce McDonald’s milkshake has 260 milligrams of sodium—about 1/16th of a teaspoon of table salt, or approximately the amount that fits between your index finger and your thumb.
But temper your expectations here. None of the slushie machines we tested made a texture comparable to a classic milkshake. On most machines, which don’t have compressors as powerful as the new-model Ninjas that are now our top picks, the texture is often a little ice-gritty and not as richly textured or integrated as the milkshake you’ll get from your local burger joint, let alone the soft serve from the famously broken ice cream machines at McDonald’s. Slushie machines also can’t handle chunks of frozen fruit, often the best part of a milkshake.
On the newer Ninjas, with their more powerful freezing power, I was able to get the smoothness and freeze I wanted. But because most recipes call for a high-fat mix of 2:1 milk and heavy cream in order ot avoid churning foam and butter, the results still weren’t quite a light milkshake. It was more like a dense, rich, quite tasty soft serve.
Now, do I like being able to make 20-minute soft-serve in my home? From milk and heavy cream and sugar and a dash of vanilla? Heck yes, I do.
#Ninja #Quietly #Drastically #Improved #Slushie #Machineskitchen,shopping,household,food and drink,amazon">Ninja Quietly but Drastically Improved Its Slushie Machines
Other Slushie Machines I Liked
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
GreenPan
Frost Slushie Machine
The slushie machine from Belgian-founded wellness brand GreenPan is maybe the only slushie machine I’d describe as being even slightly attractive, or pleasant on a countertop—available in a trendy pistachio color scheme that a 21-year-old co-tester called “cute.” The slush produced by this device also had quite a nice consistency, perhaps due to a tighter auger around the cylinder that roiled the slush a little more. My colleague Martin Cizmar, who also tested this device, was able to recreate a Philly recipe for Italian-style water ice with Meyer lemons, and declared himself an unending fan.
The GreenPan slushed admirably, making a full chamber’s worth of spiked slush in about 25 minutes. This is nowhere near as fast as the XL or the Twist on slushing speeds, alas. The fill chamber is a little shallow, which means you have to pour slowly or you’ll make a mess. If you accidentally leave the handle down, you’ll also make a mess. Some reports online of cracks in the cylinder over use are also reason for pause. But if aesthetics are a prime consideration, this will slush handily. And look a little better while doing it.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
The original Ninja Slushi was quite simply a triumph of industrial design when it arrived in 2024—the machine that managed to bring the cocktail bar or convenience-store slushie to the home kitchen countertop. Among many imitators, Ninja’s original design remained the most user-friendly and reliable until the next-generation Ninjas supplanted it.
I’ve made coconut-lime daiquiris for a family of visiting Brazilians, who joked that they planned to take the machine back with them on the airplane. I’ve entertained a party full of children with the nonalcoholic version of slushie. And I’ve made silly frozen cocktails at home, whether lime Jarritos slushies or tamarind michelada slushies. Everything frozen is better, it turns out. Freezing a cocktail adds fun and removes shame.
But it’s been replaced. I consider the original Slushi a good value model, but it’s no longer the top of the market. The original Slushi doesn’t slush as well on higher-alcohol slushies as the newer XL and Twist, even for ABV below 16 percent. (Really, with an OG Ninja Slushi, the sweet spot is around 10 to 12 percent ABV if you want good consistency.) Milkshakes/soft-serve are not really feasible on the original Ninja either, always either foamy or ice-gritty.
Which is all to say, buy the Slushi when it’s on a good sale at $250 or less—or when it’s updated with a compressor as good as the one on the XL or Twist.
Other Slushie Machines Tested
Ever since Ninja took slushies to the home market, the Amazon directories have filled with newer brands you’ve likely never heard of and whose names sometimes seem subject to a randomizer engine: Inoviva, Chivalz, Vibofrost, Friwest, Aekda, Syintao, Vischic, Ranvaira, Rinvotio, and the list goes on. Most are available at discounts compared to Ninja or other more recognizable brands.
I’ve tested three such brands: Chivalz, Invoviva, and Vibofrost. All three have had one form of reliability issue or another: basic design defects, inconsistency of performance, or simply disappearing from the market.
Chivalz Slushie Machine (no longer in stock): This was previously WIRED’s budget pick, which my co-tester Kat Merck called, without insult, “a quite respectable Ninja Slushi knockoff.” The device arrived with a welcome digital temp readout and a removable back panel that made cleaning easier on the slush chamber. Performance was comparable to the original Ninja, though the user interface was a bit janky. But since last year, the brand’s slushie machines seem to have disappeared, as the brand’s focus moved to air purifiers and humidifiers.
Vibofrost Slushie Machine ($235, sold out after Prime Day): This Vibofrost, like the Chivalz, freezes slushies comparably to the original Ninja Slushi. And like the Chivalz, it has a somewhat irritating child-lock feature, and a timed feature that seems of limited utility. Though it will slush within around 20 to 30 minutes, the oddly designed spout can spray wildly if there’s any liquid in the machine, the drip tray does not attach securely, and it kinda moans like a dying tauntaun while in operation.
Inoviva Slushie Machine for $120: I tested this Inoviva slushie machine twice. The first time, the device registered much louder than competitors, the drip tray arrived stuck to the machine, and the compressor began to fail after a week’s testing. The second time, it was still loud, and the user interface had a difficult-to-navigate locking feature, but freezing was indeed more consistent. The inconsistency in quality control makes this device difficult to recommend. But maybe you’re willing to brave this for a steeply discounted price. The Inoviva also has one terrific feature: The ability to adjust thickness for each drink setting.
My co-tester Kat Merck (on the now-discontinued Chivalz) and I made so very many slushies with each machine, from dairy to nondairy to coffee slushies to straight-up bottles of wine. Specifically, we tested every version of slush that a machine advertised. If Ninja or GreenPan says a machine can make frappés and milkshakes and frozen juices, we made frappés and milkshakes and frozen juices, tinkering where necessary. I froze orange juice and strawberry juice, slushed a bouquet’s worth of rosé, and made slushies from daiquiri to margarita to whiskey Coke. I slushed tamarind micheladas (an excellent idea) and Twisted Tea (a terrible idea).
Photograph: Kat Merck
I also raced the freezing capabilities of all three machines by pouring a 16-ounce can of delicious Mango Mike’s Harder Lemonade in each, then seeing which machine was fastest. (For the XL, I used a 24-ounce can.) And I made smooth and dense coconut-lime daiquiris with coconut milk, according to Ninja’s recipe, to test how well each machine’s dispenser handled a genuine dense-textured challenge.
How Do Home Slushie Machines Work?
The tech is pretty simple, almost ingeniously so: A beefy cylindrical freezing core in the center of the drink chamber continually cools any liquid in contact with it. It’s encircled by a plastic spiral auger attached to a motor. The auger mixes the drink, keeps it slushing instead of freezing solid, and also pushes the resulting slush toward the dispenser nozzle so you can have some. The resolute simplicity of this design allowed Ninja and others to scale down the commercial slushie maker for home consumers thirsty for frozen treats.
The main requirement is that the frozen beverage have more than 4 percent sugar—or between 3 percent and 16 percent alcohol—in order to lower the freezing point of the resulting concoction and make slushing possible. Some slushie machine vendors recommend percentages more like 15 percent sugar, for perfect consistency. But I often balk at this. Coca-Cola and orange juice are each around 11 percent sugar—so that’s very sweet. Some hero of the internet has made a slush calculator for easy reference.
A minimum of 16 ounces of liquid is required for most 88-ounce home machines, for simple reasons: The liquid needs to be in physical contact with the core in order to slush up and also to keep ice from forming on the central cylinder’s surface. The Slushi XL requires a 24-ounce minimum, because it’s bigger.
Can You Put Diet Soda in a Slushie Machine?
No and yes. Slushies rely on a helpful property of water: Sugar (or salt) dissolved in water lowers its freezing point below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Why? Solubles like sugar are chaos agents. Sugar molecules move randomly, refuse to dissolve into ice, and interfere with water’s ability to form hydrogen bonds and turn crystalline. Some water molecules freeze, but sugar water doesn’t. Tada! Slush.
If you try to make a slushie out of sugar-free soda, or sugar-free anything, ice crystals will instead form easily. The stainless steel freezing core will ice over and scrape on the auger, and ice cubes or hunks will gather mass in the slushie machine. The cylinder will start to shake, then the machine will clunk, then eventually you’ll probably break your machine: Low-sugar fail-safes on these devices have not been overly reliable, alas. So don’t try this at home!
This doesn’t mean you’re doomed to massive calories if you want to make a slushie. Not every artificial sweetener lowers the freezing point appropriately, but the one that Ninja recommends for diet slushies is allulose, a rare but naturally occurring sugar that’s 70 percent as sweet as basic sugar but is not metabolized effectively by the human digestive system. This means it’s low in calories and doesn’t cause insulin spikes—but as with a lot of indigestibles, note that side effects can include bloating or GI distress for some.
For easiest use in a slushie, buy liquid allulose. Powdered versions also exist, but to use them, you’ll need to make a simple syrup by heating up the powder in water to help it dissolve, then let it cool. If you just try to drop the allulose powder into your machine with some Diet Coke, it might not dissolve, and you might still get ice formation. Or at least, I definitely still got ice formation when I tried this on the OG Ninja, and had to stop my machine.
How Can You Stop Milkshakes From Getting Foamy in a Slushie Machine?
Bet you didn’t expect a lesson in milk proteins today! But here’s the deal: Milk proteins start to separate when agitated. Churning milk is, in fact, how butter gets made. Proteins separate out, and you get butter on the one side and buttermilk on the other. Both are delicious, but neither is wanted in a milkshake.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
If you try to make a milkshake in a churning slushie machine using just milk, you’ll eventually start to see the effects of these milk proteins separating out from buttermilk—which will manifest first as an undesirable foaminess. To avoid this, Ninja recommends also adding heavy cream or half-and-half to any milkshake recipe. The higher fat content will keep things smoother.
Note it’s easiest to use fruit syrups, rather than just juice, and add vanillin, or it’ll be a bit boring: The heavy fat tends to overwhelm any subtle fruit flavors. Another deep secret of the tasty milkshake? Salt. Add a tiiiinny pinch; it’ll help bring out flavor. A 16-ounce McDonald’s milkshake has 260 milligrams of sodium—about 1/16th of a teaspoon of table salt, or approximately the amount that fits between your index finger and your thumb.
But temper your expectations here. None of the slushie machines we tested made a texture comparable to a classic milkshake. On most machines, which don’t have compressors as powerful as the new-model Ninjas that are now our top picks, the texture is often a little ice-gritty and not as richly textured or integrated as the milkshake you’ll get from your local burger joint, let alone the soft serve from the famously broken ice cream machines at McDonald’s. Slushie machines also can’t handle chunks of frozen fruit, often the best part of a milkshake.
On the newer Ninjas, with their more powerful freezing power, I was able to get the smoothness and freeze I wanted. But because most recipes call for a high-fat mix of 2:1 milk and heavy cream in order ot avoid churning foam and butter, the results still weren’t quite a light milkshake. It was more like a dense, rich, quite tasty soft serve.
Now, do I like being able to make 20-minute soft-serve in my home? From milk and heavy cream and sugar and a dash of vanilla? Heck yes, I do.
#Ninja #Quietly #Drastically #Improved #Slushie #Machineskitchen,shopping,household,food and drink,amazon
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