Short answer

The main commercial ice types are full and half cube (hard, slow-melting, for drinks), crescent and bullet (fast-cooling, dispenser-friendly), nugget or pebble (soft, chewable), flake (dry flakes for food display and processing), snow ice (frozen flavoured milk for desserts) and sphere/ball ice for premium cocktails.

The main ice types at a glance

Ice typeHow it is madeFeelBest for
Full cubeWater runs over a grid evaporator plateHard, clear, slow meltingBars, restaurants, hotels
Half cubeSame, with half-size cellsHard, packs tightlySoft drinks, dispensers
CrescentFreezes on cooled cups, released by warm gasHard, curvedBeverage dispensers, cups
BulletFreezes around chilled fingers dipped in waterHollow, quick to coolFast food, convenience stores
Nugget / pebbleAuger scrapes flakes and compresses themSoft, chewableHealthcare, smoothies, fast food
FlakeThin layer frozen on a drum and scraped offDry, soft flakesFish and meat display, processing
Snow iceFlavoured milk or juice frozen on a drum and shavedFluffy ribbonsBingsu and dessert cafés
Sphere / large cubeMoulds or cut from clear block iceVery slow meltingCocktail and whisky bars

Cube ice machines

Cube machines run water over a cold evaporator grid. Minerals stay in the circulating water instead of freezing into the cube, so the ice is clear and hard. At the end of the cycle hot gas warms the plate and the slab of cubes drops into the bin. Full cubes (around 22 × 22 mm or 29 × 29 mm) melt slowly; half cubes pack more tightly into glasses.

Nugget (pebble) ice machines

An auger inside a refrigerated cylinder scrapes off ice as it forms and pushes it through a die, compressing the flakes into soft pellets. Production is continuous rather than in batches. Nugget ice is easy to chew, absorbs flavour and is often preferred in hospitals and fast food.

Flake ice machines

Water is sprayed onto the inside or outside of a cold drum, freezes into a thin sheet and is scraped off as flakes about 1.5–2.2 mm thick and below 0 °C. Because flakes are dry and flat, they mould around product and cool it fast. Flake ice is the standard for fish markets, supermarket seafood counters, meat processing and concrete cooling.

Snow ice (bingsu) machines

Instead of water, a snow ice machine freezes milk, juice or tea on a drum and shaves it into fine ribbons. The flavour is inside the ice, giving the creamy texture of Korean bingsu and Taiwanese snow ice.

How to choose

  • Drinks and cocktails: full or half cube; add a sphere mould or clear block for premium spirits.
  • Self-service and dispensers: half cube, crescent or nugget.
  • Healthcare: nugget ice.
  • Food display and processing: flake ice.
  • Desserts: snow ice machine for bingsu; shaved ice machine for syrup-topped shaved ice.

Then size the machine for your daily demand with our ice machine calculator.

Further reading

Quick answers

What is the difference between pebble ice and nugget ice?
None in practice. Pebble, nugget, pellet and chewable ice all describe the same compressed-flake ice made by an auger machine.
What ice does a bar need?
Full or half cube ice for most drinks, plus large cubes or spheres for spirits and cocktails served on the rocks.
Which ice is best for seafood display?
Flake ice. It is dry, sub-cooled and has no sharp edges, so it wraps around fish without bruising it.
What is bullet ice?
Hollow, cylindrical ice formed on cold fingers. It freezes quickly and cools drinks fast, so it is common in fast food and convenience stores.
What is bullet ice?
Bullet ice is a hollow, cylindrical ice shape with one rounded end, made by freezing water around chilled metal fingers that dip into a water tray. It is softer and cools drinks quickly, and its small size suits cups and fountain drinks. Bullet ice machines from Be There make about 25–200 kg (55–440 lb) per day.
What are the different types of ice cubes?
The main commercial ice cube types are full cube (dice), about 22 × 22 mm or 29 × 29 mm, which is hard and slow-melting; half cube or cubelet, which packs tightly in glasses; crescent ice with a half-moon shape for dispensers; bullet and cylinder ice; and large square or sphere ice for whisky and cocktails. Nugget and flake ice are separate, non-cube types.
What is crescent ice used for?
Crescent ice is a half-moon shaped cube with a flat back and curved front, made by freezing water on a heated, segmented evaporator plate. It flows smoothly through beverage dispensers, lets liquid pour around it and splashes less than square cubes. Restaurants, cafés and quick-service outlets use it for soft drinks and iced tea; machines typically make about 50–450 kg per day.
What is the difference between full cube and half cube ice?
Full cube (dice) ice is a near-square cube about 22–29 mm (7/8–1 1/8 in), with the slowest melt rate, best for spirits, cocktails and bagged ice. Half cube ice is half the thickness, so it packs more tightly, displaces more drink and cools faster, which suits soft drinks, blended drinks and dispensers. Many cube machines can be ordered in either size.
What is an ice cuber?
An ice cuber is a machine that makes cube ice on a refrigerated evaporator, then warms it slightly to release the cubes into a storage bin. Modular cubers are heads of about 200–1,000 kg (440–2,200 lb) per day that sit on separate bins; undercounter cubers combine the machine and a 15–60 kg bin in one cabinet.
What ice is best for whisky?
Large, clear, slow-melting ice is best for whisky: a big square cube about 5 cm (2 in) or a sphere of 45–60 mm. The low surface area dilutes the spirit slowly. Full cube ice is the everyday option. Bars making large formats use dedicated large-cube machines or ball-ice molds rather than standard cubers.