Why Use Flake Ice?

Ice has been harvested to preserve food for more than 3,000 years. From the earliest days, ice was a rare commodity that only the wealthy could afford, but as technology advanced, it became more and more available. Frederic Tudor was instrumental in developing the ice industry in the United States. He went across the country marketing the idea that ice could be collected from frozen lakes, then stored and insulated with sawdust to be shipped all over the world.¹

Tudor and his partners harvested ice in large, solid blocks, which customers stored in an ice box, the refrigerator's predecessor. This development dramatically altered the foodservice industry, making it possible for people to eat food not grown in their local area.¹

Block ice stayed frozen for a long time, but its small surface area-to-volume ratio made it ineffective at cooling food. Over the years, advancement in engineering has led to easily accessible ice in a variety of shapes and designs, each with its own uses and purpose.

Flake ice is a unique shape of ice with a long, thin design almost resembling frozen corn flakes. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on how they are made, but are all made with a similar process. Flake ice is not just another type of ice shape—it has some very specific uses that go beyond the simplicity of just keeping drinks cold like other ices; flake ice has advantages in food presentation, preservation, and preparation.

The Uses of Flake Ice

• Food Preservation: Because it has such a large surface area-to-volume ratio, flake ice can be used to quickly cool down whatever it contacts. Although this causes ice to melt faster, commercial flake ice makers are available that can produce more than 2,500 pounds of ice over a 24-hour period. Additionally, the ice cube's small size allows it to be packed tightly around any produce or meats being stored. During transportation, the tightly packed ice acts as a preservative while also offering impact protection.


• Food Presentation: Many foodservice providers use flake ice in their product displays, which makes it a popular choice for buffets, salad bars, fish markets, or other settings where product needs to be chilled while also being marketed and available to customers. The cube's small size makes it easy to nestle items into the ice for maximum cooling; it's also common to see drinks placed in flake ice baths during catered parties or events.


• Food Preparation: One of the more unique roles of flake ice is in the food and drink prep itself. Though not traditionally used to cool drinks, many restaurants use flake ice for certain cocktails or frozen drinks, and it also works great as a base for shaved ice.


• Bakery Production: In large mixers, friction heats up the dough, cooking it prematurely, so bakers add ice to cool it down. Flake ice's efficient heat transfer and small size is the best option for maintaining dough quality and preventing damage to the mixer that a large cube might cause. Flake ice is superior to other ice types for cooling dough because larger ice cubes melt unevenly. This can create lumps in the mix, which then become air pockets in the bread.²


• Medical Protection: Another common use for ice is to help patients hydrate. While larger forms of ice can pose a choking hazard, Flake ice melts quickly and slides down the throat. Many hospitals feed this form of ice to patients who have difficulty swallowing. By chewing the ice, they can swallow small bits of water at a time. Medical professionals also use this type of ice to make cold compresses or to cool temperature-sensitive medications.⁴

How is Flake Ice Made?

Flake ice can be made in a few ways. Some industrial ice makers use drum machines, which utilize a chilled drum partially submerged in water that forms a thin layer of ice. This is then removed and separated into flakes by a blade or through quickly heating the drum. This method makes subcooled ice (ice cooled several degrees below 0 degrees F), which is very dry and fits industrial purposes.

Other methods use pressing screw devices or spindle machines , which flood a tube with water and remove the ice that forms there. The spindle machine method works best for operations like fish storage because it's a little less cold and dry, preventing ice burns and abrasions to the fish's skin.³

References

^{1. The Chilling History of Ice Reddy Ice. Accessed October 2024.}

^{2. How Can a Flake Ice Machine Benefit My Business Ice Systems. Accessed October 2024.}

^{3. Meet the Advantages of Flake Ice ITV. Accessed October 2024.}

^{4. The Different Uses for Hospital Ice Easy Ice. Accessed October 2024.}