Ice Caddies

Many vendors may have trouble obtaining blocks of ice for use with block ice shavers. Anticipating this, manufacturers of shaved ice machines developed models that take cubed ice, producing shaved ice that is almost as finely shaved as that from block ice shavers. Regardless of the type of ice that you use, you should always prepare your ice properly before using it to make shaved ice.

In order to temper, or warm up, the ice, it should be taken out of the freezer half an hour before it is going to be used. Depending on where you are serving shaved ice, it can be difficult to anticipate daily demand and therefore strictly adhering to this rule may not be possible. However, if you would like to get the best performance out of your machine and produce the highest quality snow, you should strive to temper all ice before using it.

Tempering Ice in Ice Caddies

The most common method is to leave ice in a large picnic cooler until it starts to melt (about half an hour), and then close the lid. However, if a picnic cooler does not give you enough space, you can consider using an ice caddy. Ice caddies can provide enough storage for you to temper a large quantity of ice without fearing that you will run out any time soon.

If you have not yet purchased all your shaved ice equipment, be careful in selecting your cart. Some carts double as ice caddies, as they have built in storage areas for ice. if you are not going to purchase an integrated unit, however, realize that you will have to move not only the cart, but also the ice caddy at the end of the day if you have set up a mobile operation.