When I attended an event at Manila Hotel, (Read: Celebrating Young Heroes), this were the yummy food that were served to us;

Turnip & Carrot Salad: I’m not really a fan of cold shrimp,so for this one, I passed the Shrimp but enjoyed the crunchyness of Turnip and the Carrots and the few slices of red bell pepper,it’s really yummy!

Oven Roasted Chicken W/ Sauted String Beans & Squash: Just like cold Shrimp, I’m not fond of eating squash either,but I did like the Chicken stuffed with rice and of course, the String Beans too;

Egg Custard w/ Caramel and  Macapuno: With all the foods that were served, this is the only one where I ate every single thing on the plate. Don’t blame me,it’s my favorite!

It was indeed a great event and a nice priviledge to be a part of it,and most of all, foods were great too!!!!

In the past, getting a supply of ice can be a very costly endeavor. You need to order huge blocks of ice or large plastic bags of tube ice from ice plants. Thankfully, commercial ice machines for business and compact ice makers for the home have been developed so that families and businesses alike will always have their much needed share of ice.

Of course, we everyday folks are accustomed to making ice by just filling water in ice trays and placing them inside the freezers of our fridges. You are probably wondering how ice makers work.

There are two types of ice makers. The components of the first type include a solenoid electromagnetic valve, a freezing system, a heating coil, blades and/or crushers, and a collection bin. Electricity flows through the solenoid valve and activates it, allowing it to open so that water fills the water for 7 to 8 seconds. When the ice maker is filled with water, the valve automatically shuts off. The refrigeration system then activates to freeze the water inside the ice machine.

Once the temperature reaches 9 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezing system shuts off. To eject the ice, the heating coil starts to hit up so that the surface of the ice melts partially, allowing it to slip down toward the cutters. Depending upon the type of ice you need, you will need to flick switches to activate the blades or crushers.

The ice blades will chop the ice into cubes while the crushers will turn it into flaked ice. A spinning gear finally ejects the ice into the collection bin. This type of apparatus can be found in most commercial and industrial ice machines.

The second type of ice maker contains metal rods or prongs, a water receptacle and a collection. The receptacle is filled with water through a connecting tap or by pouring water into it with a pitcher. The metal rods are submerged in the water. As electricity flows through the prongs, the water surrounding it starts to freeze, forming ice cubes with a hollow center. Once the particular size of ice has been achieved, the rods automatically switch to producing heat, causing the ice to partially melt and to fall into the collection bin.

This type of apparatus is most common in compact and portable ice makers. While most of these compact ice makers can only produce ice cubes of different sizes, there are some brands that can churn out flaked ice with just a flick of the switch. However, because these ice machines use chopping blades, they can be very noisy.

Most home ice makers have a start up time of 5 minutes with ice production already starting at 10 to 15 minutes. With commercial ice machines, you can expect ice production within 60 to 75 minutes from start up.

Learn more about how ice machines work today!