During summer time many individuals and businesses find the need to replace their Ice Machine, picking the right machine can cause confusion. This blog aims to explain the terminology to you; in the hope of helping you make the correct choice with your next Ice Maker.
This ice is often found in drinks, dice ice is ideal for high volume quantity, due to the method of production which this uses. Therefore, making this ideal for fast food restaurants/ takeaways, pubs, bistros and clubs. Due to the density and style of Ice, dice ice has become more popular in the coffee shops & milkshake bars, due to the ease of blending, thus making it convenient for use in; milkshakes, frozen coffee beverages & smoothies.
Dice ice is produced using a vertical evaporator, what this means for you, is that this will produce high volumes of Ice. Dice ice is highly efficient, achieving nearly a 100% ice to water ratio, whilst ensuring a smooth neat appearance of the ice. Leading ice manufactures include; Polar, Hoshizaki & Scotsman. Since its entry Cater-Ice has offered a competitive alternative.
To find out more or to view our wide range of ice machines which produce dice ice please click here.
Thimble ice is sometimes referred to as Top Hat ice, is designed with the aim of preventing the ice sticking to the machine, therefore floating freely in the glass, thus providing maximum cooling. Market leading ice machines in thimble ice include: Blizzard, Parry, Manitowoc and Hoshizaki. Due to the melting point of thimble shaped ice, this is often used in the commercial sector in Bars & Nightclubs for drinks such as Whisky, G&T, Vodka and in other Cocktails asthis resists diluting the drink.
To find out more or to view our wide range of ice machines which produce thimble shaped ice please click here.
Ice flakers is a term given to a particular type of machine which produces flake ice like snow. This type of machine can produce the ice shown in the below image:
Ice flakers are particularly beneficial for fisheries, laboratories and pharmaceutical environments. Whilst recent times Bars & Nightclubs have seen considerable demand for this type of Ice in cocktails.
Market leaders in Ice Flakers include: Hoshizaki, Scotsman & Manitowoc. To view Caterkwik’s Ice Flakers please click here.
As the name suggests this type of ice is shaped in a bullet shape, this is particularly useful in high volume environments. Bullet ice is particularly popular in; Nightclubs, Pubs, Bar’s, Restaurants, Fast Food Restaurants & Takeaways.
Leading ice makers include: Hoshizaki-IM-65LE, IM240DNE & Polar G620. To view the market leading commercial Ice Machines, which produce Bullet ice please click here. 
Refers to the shape of the ice produced, this is a smaller version of the traditional cubed ice, the small size means its chewable & light thus making it useful for many purposes. Due to the dynamics of cubelet ice, this is perfect for making cocktails. However, these are also very popular in fast paced environments such as Nightclubs, Bars & Pubs, due to the fast rate of production.
Hoshizaki & Scotsman produces the leading ice machines in this ice shape. Their most popular machines are: IM-21, IM-30, IM45, IM65 & IM240.
Crescent shaped ice is half-moon shaped as seen below, this type of ice is particularly beneficial for those establishments which need to take advantage of maximum storage capacity. Primary examples of this include kitchens in Restaurant’s & Cafes. However, this is very popular in clubs, cocktail-lounges & dinners where space is often limited.
To view our Crescent Shaped Ice Machine’s please click here.
We also have a number of Ice makers available with the potential to shop by brand, ice shape, and output, to browse this please click here.