Italian Ice – What’s in a name?

In Philadelphia it’s called Italian Water Ice,

In New York- Italian Ice,

In Alabama- Greek Ice,

In Massachusetts- Slush,

In Hawaii - Shaved Ice

In fancy restaurants- sorbet,

In Amusement Theme Parks- Frozen Lemonade (even if it's a different flavor).

There are 3 Types of Italian Ice:

1- Basic recipe PLUS fresh fruit. Just throw frozen fruit into your batch machine with your other ingredients. Be careful because the higher liquid content from certain fruits may demand recipe adjustments. You may also need to add an additional flavoring depending on the type of fruit used.

2 - Basic recipe using a Flavor Base. Bases provide more stability in the consistency of the final product, and are great for hard-to-produce flavors like the popular Mango. Bases also provide dependable flavor without a lot of fuss.

3 - Basic recipe using only an Extract or flavor Concentrate. Extracts are usually reserved for fruit flavors like Watermelon or Honey Dew, or produced flavors like Cotton Candy or Bubble Gum.

The demand for certain Italian Ice flavors varies based on neighborhoods. Let’s use New York as an example. In NYC Little Italy, the most demanded flavor is Lemon, in Harlem the list includes Grape & Cherry, at the Hispanic Day Parade on 5th Avenue, coconut based ices are the hottest, in the Jewish community in Riverdale the choice would be Chocolate. This example can apply anywhere.

Business Tip - Know your customers before you turn on your batch freezers!

Gil's Wholesale Distributors

322 W Oak Lane Glenolden PA 19036

GilsWholesale.com IceCreamSupplesWholesale.com

610-237-6500

Gil’s Wholesale Distributors is a family owned Pennsylvania based full service distributor with over 40 years of providing personalized service & product expertise for wholesale tobacco, cigars, cigarettes & tobacco related products, ice cream, Italian Ice & Gelato manufacturing supplies, convenience store supplies, paper & plastic items, candy, concession, automotive and janitorial products.

Located 10 minutes from the Philadelphia International Airport, our delivery area is PA, NJ, and DE and we ship throughout the U.S. and abroad by common carrier, as well as offer convenient Pick Up services at our customer-friendly showroom.

One Stop Shopping. Free parking. Convenient delivery.

Call us today!