GE Profile Opal 2.0 Extremely Nugget Ice Maker evaluate: The best new good kitchen gadget

Some good residence devices might be thought-about important. A wise thermostat can prevent cash, and a sensible door lock can stop you from getting locked out. However, not like these devices, it’s laborious to argue you want the good GE Profile Opal Extremely 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker ($579, or $629 with the aspect tank). Nevertheless, you might need this gadget — as a result of it makes The Good Ice.

Sure, $630 is some huge cash for any countertop gadget, not to mention one which simply freezes water. Spending this a lot on a linked gadget whose smarts are largely restricted to scheduling and asking Alexa to make extra ice seems like an excellent larger stretch. However nugget ice is a hill many will die on — my household included. It simply makes drinks style higher, they cry. Something that encourages my youngsters to hydrate is a giant win in my e book.

In case you’re unfamiliar with nugget ice (aka chewable ice, Sonic ice, pellet ice, or, as my household calls it, “the great ice”), it’s small items of ice made out of layers of flaked ice frozen collectively. It’s actually fairly addictive and goes nicely in the whole lot from a tall glass of water to iced tea and lemonade. It’s virtually required for those who’re making Tiki cocktails.

Nugget ice can flip a room-temperature drink into a chilly drink in seconds and doesn’t soften as shortly as crushed ice. It’s additionally actually enjoyable to chew on. My daughter likes to get a glass filled with ice and chow down.

Sadly, there isn’t a fridge that may make true nugget ice. Samsung makes one that produces “ice bites,” that are small ice cubes, however these are apparently not the identical factor. So, it’s go countertop or go to the drive-in.

Within the week I’ve had the Opal on my kitchen counter, it has change into my household’s favourite kitchen gadget. They love scooping its nuggety goodness right into a tall glass of lemonade or filling up their Tervis cup earlier than tackling the summer time warmth.

The Opal is tremendous straightforward to arrange, easy to make use of, and makes ice very quick — as much as 38 kilos a day. It does not require plumbing, simply energy, however you will have the elective water tank if you’d like a continuous move of ice. We solely must refill that each different day on common and have greater than sufficient ice for all 4 of us.

The largest draw back up to now is the Opal Extremely is noisy. The tubing makes a high-pitched whining noise because the water filters by way of, and the ice manufacturing clunks gently. However right here’s the place these smarts do turn out to be useful — you’ll be able to schedule when it is making ice within the Good HQ app to keep away from interfering with film time — or simply inform Alexa or Google to show it off.

The Opal was first launched in 2015, and the Extremely is the fourth model of GE Profile’s well-liked nugget ice machine. It comes with some behind-the-scenes enhancements to make cleansing the unit simpler. These embody a brand new scale-inhibiting water filter, a reusable air filter, and alerts that inform you when it is time to sanitize or descale (on the machine and within the app).

All of those enhancements add as much as — in principle — extra time between cleansing / descaling and may preserve the ice tasting higher for longer. (The excellent news for present Opal homeowners is that the brand new water filter is suitable with current fashions).

The cleansing / descaling course of is prolonged. It requires a particular resolution (or vinegar, for those who choose) and as much as a day of downtime because the stuff does its work. And you must sustain with it if you’d like it to maintain producing recent ice. In my brief time testing the unit, I’ve not had a descale alert seem, however the sanitize one did, which occurs after 25 hours of ice-making.

The sanitizing course of was largely painless and took about half-hour. Nevertheless, mixed with descaling — which you’ll must do as soon as each 2 weeks to 4 months based mostly in your water hardness — this gadget requires a whole lot of upkeep. (GE Profile notes that for those who use distilled water within the Opal, you in all probability received’t must descale it, however you’ll nonetheless must sanitize and clear.)

Different updates with the Extremely from the present Opal 2.0 mannequin embody new colours (white or black along with stainless-steel) and an upgraded contact show for powering on/off, connecting to Wi-Fi, and checking standing. Plus, there’s now a magnetic scoop holder and stainless-steel scoop — which makes it simpler to retailer the news on the aspect of the unit and may assist with cleanliness.

If you will get the Opal 2.0 on sale that’s in all probability the way in which to go. General, the Extremely’s upgrades really feel like aesthetic and quality-of-life tweaks. You continue to must manually clear the machine, even when probably not as typically. Plus, you should purchase the brand new water filter and the brand new scoop with holder individually beginning in August and use them with the Opal 2.0, though that will cancel out most of your financial savings.

The Opal 2.0 Extremely could be very costly, requires a whole lot of work to keep up, and takes up a sizeable chunk of my kitchen counter. However it does a superb job of manufacturing recent, chewable, crunchable ice that makes any drink style higher. It’s additionally one of many few good devices I’ve introduced into my residence that everybody in my household loves — which says rather a lot.

If you happen to, too, crave good ice and go into this understanding the struggles you’ll must endure to maintain getting it, then you definately’ll be very happy with this gadget.

Pictures by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge