Supermarket ice from ZIEGRA

Which ice for your product display?

Choosing the right ice is crucial for the presentation of fresh products such as fish and seafood.

It all depends on your goods:

• The ice serves to
• create the right background - a white, slightly textured layer of ice accentuates the colors and shape of fillets, whole fish or shellfish.
• a slope of the display towards the customer and a modeling of the presentation surface to keep the fish fresh, i.e. cold, moist and undamaged.

The required ice cream must therefore have a number of characteristics:

• the individual pieces should have an appealing color and shape
• it should be suitable for modeling the display, i.e. it should not slip
• it should release sufficient moisture to keep the fish fresh and wash away any secretions
• it must not be too cold so that it does not freeze to the fish and cause frostbite
• it must be gentle and without sharp edges so as not to injure the fillets
• it should keep for a long time, i.e. the pieces must be large and thick enough so that they do not have to be re-iced too often
• it should remain loose without freezing together, so that the appearance is retained for a long time and injury to the fish is avoided when it is removed from the ice.

Don't forget: you have to create a new bed of ice every morning. This means that the essential quantity of ice must be available in the morning; it is produced overnight and stored in a storage facility. It is therefore particularly important that the ice does not freeze together during storage.

Both crushed ice and flake ice are often used for product displays in supermarkets. However, crushed ice has more of the required properties: with its temperature of -0.5°C and the various possible grain sizes, it combines shelf life, smoothness, moldability and long shelf life.
And the appearance of the crushed ice for product presentation is outstanding

Amount of ice required

The first step is to calculate the amount of ice you need for your display. The surface area of the display and the desired height of the ice are decisive here (normally: 10-15 cm). On the right you will find a calculator to help you determine the right ice machine for your ice requirements.

The result of the calculator offers you the choice between ice production on 1 or 2 machines (standard or double) and, if possible, between the 20° and 35°C version (explanation).

It takes into account that the ice is renewed every day, as well as a certain amount needed for re-icing and at night for fish storage.
 

Storage and ice transportation

In the morning, a large quantity of ice must be available for the display's ice bed.To achieve this, the machine should produce ice day and night, which must be stored in a suitable storage facility (or ice cream cart).In order to guarantee the quality of the ice even after prolonged storage, the shelf life should be taken into account.Due to the ideal temperature of -0.5° C, crushed ice can be stored for a longer period of time without freezing together. 
Flake ice, on the other hand, freezes together over a longer period of time. This means that a larger machine is required to produce the same amount of ice in the shortest possible time.

The ice must reach the display in the morning. The more ice is needed, the more attention should be paid to ice transportation. Talk to us, we will be happy to advise you.
 

Important points for choosing the right storage and transportation solutions are:

• How much ice is needed?
• Under what conditions will the ice be stored (cold room)?
• How far is the distance from the storage location to the display?
• How much space is available?
• How do the investment costs compare with the handling costs?

Heat dissipation and cooling

• Ice machines generate heat, which is dissipated via the condenser.
• The following options can be considered for this:
• Compact air-cooled: Provided the room is ventilated
• Air-cooled remote: condenser separate, installation e.g. on the roof
• Water-cooled compact: for connection to a cooling water circuit
• Ice maker: for connection to an existing refrigeration system

Installation location of the ice machine

The following points must be clarified before deciding on the installation location:

• The environment of the diplay
• Desired storage and handling system
• Ventilation
• Space restrictions
• Accessibility for installation and service, including cleaning

Avoid installing your ice machine in cold rooms, as it emits heat that heats up the cold room. This also applies to ice makers with a separate condenser. In a cold room, even if the temperature is above 0°C, the cold room evaporator emits cooled air below 0°C. If this air hits the ice machine or the ice ejector, the ice machine can freeze, which can lead to production downtime and machine defects. 

The costs

The total annual costs for the ice  in your ice  display are made up of various items:

• Capital costs for the ice machine / investment (approx. 25%)
• Operating costs, e.g. for electricity and water (approx. 30%)
• Operating costs, e.g. for scooping, transporting and distributing the ice in the display (approx. 40%)
• Maintenance costs (approx. 5%)

With a share of 40% of total annual costs, the cost reduction potential of operating costs is particularly high. With suitable ice distribution systems, you can save up to 50 or even 75%. By saving on working time for the ice bed, your employees can concentrate fully on designing the product presentation.

Capacity and operating temperatures

The production capacity of an ice machine depends heavily on the ambient and water temperatures.

Each machine has a rated capacity for certain specified temperatures. For example, the capacity is sometimes specified at an ambient temperature of 10°C and a water temperature of 10°C, sometimes at 20°C / 15°C or even at 35°C / 25°C.

• The higher the rated temperatures of the ice machine, the more powerful it is.
• Compared to the nominal temperatures, the ice output decreases by approx:
• 1% for every 1°C increase in ambient temperature
• 1.5% for every 1°C increase in water temperature

Example:

An ice machine with 1,000 kg/24h will produce the following quantities at actual 35°C ambient and 25°C water temperature:

   1,000 kg if it is specified with a rated output at 35° ambient / 25° water
   700-800 kg if it is specified with a nominal capacity at 20° ambient / 15° water
   500-600 kg if it is specified with a rated capacity at 10° environment / 10° water

In addition, the ice quality decreases significantly above the nominal temperatures. The ice becomes watery, slushy and melts very quickly.

When selecting your ice machine, make sure that the rated temperatures correspond to the ambient temperatures during the warmest period. Experience has shown that this is when you need the best quality ice.

Hygiene

The hygienic quality of the ice cream should correspond to that of the water used. More and more bacteriological controls by veterinarians ensure the hygienic standard in the supermarket industry.
Our ice machines are suitable for this.

The following rules must be observed by the user:

• Choose an ice machine with a hygienic design, accessories included
• Clean the ice machine and storage bin regularly (ensure accessibility to the machine and storage bin)
• Follow the manufacturer's recommendations and have an expert carry out timely cleaning and maintenance

Replacing the ice

For reasons of hygiene and appearance, the ice should be replaced daily. The evening is a good time to do this so that a fresh bed of ice can be set up in the morning.

Here are some suggestions for removing ice from the display:

• Melt the ice overnight, remove the rest in the morning. Simple, but cleaning the display must be done in the morning
• Look for a display with a hot water cleaning system; hardly any operating costs, but energy costs
• Manual removal (optional: into a container)