Refreshing. Fun. Memorable.

What is Italian Ice?

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Italian Ice is what you’ve always wanted in a summer time treat, you just never knew it. Let me tell you why!

But before I do, I’ll answer the questions I get asked all the time. Is it like crushed ice? Not at all. Shaved ice? Nope. Ice Cream? Custard? No. No. How much ice do you use to make it? None.

I’ll tell you exactly what it is and how we make it.

The truth is that each of these products has a lot of similarities to Italian Ice. Crushed ice and shaved ice use flavored syrups and ice. They’re both very refreshing! Ice cream and custard are both made similar to each other. I won’t get into all the technical details behind it, but it all comes down to the amount of fat, egg yolk, and air content. Most products are called what they are in part because of how much cream they use. Ever wonder why you can eat a bowl of ice cream from one place, feel full and thirsty and eat the same size serving at another place and not feel as full or thirsty? A lot of that has to do with the amount of cream and in a way, air content. Think about it, if you go out for frozen yogurt, you could eat a lot more without feeling so full. Frozen Yogurt has a lot less cream than ice cream.

So how do these compare with Italian Ice? An Italian Ice is prepared the same way that ice cream is made. The main difference is that instead of cream, it is completely water-based. Maybe that doesn’t sound appealing, but this is exactly why it is so refreshing! What’s the drink that people often wish for on a hot summer day? A nice cold glass of lemonade (or water)! You know what lemonade is? It’s pretty much melted Italian Ice.

One of our most commonly ordered flavors is rainbow. It has three flavors to make up the three colors: lemon, cherry, and blue raspberry. The lemon is made with freshly squeezed lemons, the cherry has frozen cherries and the blue raspberry is a Torani syrup. Unfortunately, no fruit naturally makes that color of blue, so we’ve found the best blue flavor that we could get. Add water and sugar to each of those ingredients and that’s all we put into our rainbow. The result is not crunchy like shaved ice, but a smooth almost creamy-like texture. Side note: the blue raspberry is our only flavor that doesn’t come from the natural colors of our ingredients. 
  

If you have not ever tried an Italian Ice, we can’t wait to be your first! If you’ve had Italian Ice before, you know how good it is and we’ll see you soon!

4 thoughts on “What is Italian Ice?”

  1. Danielle B.

    I have loved Italian ice since my childhood and I never knew this! Thanks for sharing. Can’t wait to try the Rainbow!

    1. scottys.italianice

      Danielle, Rainbow was always my favorite growing up. It’s still up there, but I can never really decide which is my favorite now. Probably coconut, but there are so many. We hope you find out over time. Next week we are going to be doing a Blueberry Mojito which is unbelievable!

  2. Sundas A

    Coconut is my favorite so far but I hope I can make it out next week to try blueberry mojito! Sounds so refreshing!

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