With the continuous escalation of commercial competition, adapting to the consumer needs has become a keyword in various industries.
In the catering industry, ice, as an important component of drinks, are not only related to the taste experience, but also directly affect the appearance display. When choosing an commercial ice maker, it is crucial to choose the right ice type and model for different business scenarios and needs.
This article will explain in detail from a professional perspective the types of ice ice, applicable altar scenes, how to calculate the amount of ice used, how to choose the right model, and whether the ice maker should be air-cooled or water-cooled.
1. Introducing the Most Popular Ice Types
Cube Ice
Cube ice is one of the most common types of ice, and it is also the most widely used type of ice cube. This type of ice is generally used in large quantities when making drinks.
A good quality square ice cube has a smooth surface without burrs, is hard and not easy to melt, has high transparency, and is dotted with marble cracks inside to increase the visual effect. It can meet all the needs of ice cubes in daily drink making.
Nugget Ice
If you want to quickly drink a cold drink at a lower temperature, then adding crushed ice is definitely the best choice.
Nugget ice is small in size and has average hardness. It contains about 10% water and can quickly cool down the food. It is especially suitable for restaurants, bars, food displays, and other places where ingredients or drinks need to be quickly cooled.
Snow Ice
Snowflake ice is small and soft. They are relatively moist, with a water content of 15% to 30%. They are slightly below zero degrees Celsius, have good plasticity, and are easy to use and stack. They are also widely used, such as making shaved ice products, arranging dishes, and quickly cooling food or drinks.
2. How to Choose the Right Ice Shape Under Different Conditions?
Tea Shops: Cube Ice
Cubed ice is a common choice, and some quality-conscious tea shops also use crescent-shaped ice. Cubed ice can keep the tea refreshing, while crescent-shaped ice gives the tea a longer cold and fresh experience.
Tea, Coffee shops, and Smoothie shops: Cube Ice or Half-cube Ice
Cube ice or half-cube ice is recommended for smoothie drinks. This type of cube ice melts quickly, the ice cubes are relatively soft, and the individual ice cubes are relatively light, so they are easy to stir into smoothies, which will have a dense taste.
Restaurants and Hotels: Nugget Ice and Snowflake Ice
For stores that need to display ingredients, such as sashimi in Japanese restaurants and chilled ingredients in hot pot restaurants, crushed ice and shaved ice are your best choices. These ice cubes can quickly cool down and provide the best display effect. If you have higher requirements for the shape of ice cubes, it is recommended to use shaved ice, which has good plasticity and is easy to stack.
3. How to Choose the Suitable Daily Ice Production?
In the process of selecting an ice making machine, it is crucial to have a deep understanding of the daily ice usage. This step will ensure that the ice machine you purchase can meet the needs of busy periods and maintain efficient operations. Let’s take an example: suppose a coffee shop with smoothie drinks is open 12 hours a day and sells 400 drinks a day. Including 5% iced Americano (20 cups) and 25% smoothie drinks (100 cups). Ice usage for iced Americano = 20 cups x 200g ice/cup = 4kg Ice usage for smoothie drinks = 100 cups x 300g ice/cup = 30kg: Daily ice usage is about 34kg.
Some stores use more ice during peak hours, and it is recommended that the ice machine model should use 5 times the daily ice usage. The above case recommends purchasing a 400-pound ice machine.
4. Water Cooling Ice Maker or Air Cooling Ice Maker?
If the store’s ambient temperature is relatively moderate-≤30°C, you can choose an air cooling ice maker. If the store’s ambient temperature is relatively high and the amount of ice used is large->30°C, a water cooling ice machine is recommended.
Compared to air-cooling, water-cooled ice making machines have relatively low noise and stable performance: they will not be greatly affected by the ambient temperature. If the environment is very hot, the ice-discharging efficiency of air-cooled ice machines is much lower than that of water-cooled ice machines: the power consumption is low, but the cooling method is water-cooled, so the water consumption will be high; compared to air-cooled ice machines, water-cooled ice machines have slightly higher operating costs, but stable performance and are almost unaffected by the environment.