News
Scaling the Ice at the Fish Counter
Scale ice has long been the ice of choice for the fish industry, and is used everywhere from point of catch - in deep-sea trawlers, for example - to fish factories and wet fish transport, where the product must be kept chilled rather than frozen. But until recently scale ice hadn't reached the point of sale, where customers can select their fresh fish individually and see the quality as they buy. The reason was originally cost and practicality.
However, more retail fish sites are now installing Hubbard's MAR range of scale ice machines. So why switch to scale ice?
Hubbard shows Ice Cool Beauty
Hubbard Ice Systems is showing the ice-cool beauty of its stylish new Scotsman MV range of ice makers at Hotelympia 2002. The company also plans to show new 'ground-breaking' ice maker technology, developed by Scotsman, which allows much more flexibility in terms of where the ice makers can be installed. This technology, believes Hubbard, will open up new opportunities for bar design, overcoming what is seen as the major limitation in the market today. Details of this exciting innovation will be unveiled at the Show.
The new Scotsman MV range makes dice (square-shaped) cubes and the MV450, the first to be available in the UK, will be centre-stage on the stand. The design delivers a very high production rate from a compact footprint, while its dice ice cubes are hard and crystal-clear, looking good in the glass and chilling effectively.
Bass choose Scotsman - Again!
Scotsman is the icemaker of choice in many of the UK's leading hospitality brands, including All Bar One, Harvester, and Vintage Inns. And Browns, Toby, Edwards, and O'Neills. Oh, and Goose, Bar Coast, It's a Scream and Hollywood Bowl. As well as being familiar names from the high street, they have something else in common: they're all part of Bass.
In fact, Scotsman is the preferred icemaker in every single one of the (more than) 2,000 bars, pubs and restaurants that make up the Bass Leisure Retail estate.
Hubbard tips the Scales for Safeway
Safeway has introduced Scale icemakers to two of its stores. The machines are Scotsman MAR71 models, producing up to 510kg of Scale ice per day. This is the first time that Scale icemakers have been used in the UK mainland.
Scale ice has several benefits compared to flake, particularly in the context of food display. For one thing, Scale ice is "sub-cooled" to -8c, which means it lasts longer, so it doesn't need replenishing as often. It's extremely fine, so that more ice comes into contact with the food, ensuring a more even cooling rate. This fineness also makes the ice highly suitable for the treatment of fragile products such as wet fish.
Hubbard has also supplied Safeway's MAR71 machines with a special ice transport system, the Follet ITS500, an efficient and easily manoeuvrable ice storage bin on wheels.
OOH Matron!
Ice for drinks is fast becoming a necessity in the hospital environment. And not just in the hospital cafeteria, but right down to ward level. Hubbard Ice Systems CD-40 "Ice Station" is the new breed of icemaker/dispenser that offers ice on demand, hygienically dispensing it in "hands-free" mode and avoiding potential contamination by hands or ice scoop.
Chelsea Hospital's Thomas Macauley ward has been using a CD-40 for some months, and it has really been appreciated says ward nurse Carole Duff.
"Like most NHS wards, ours can get overheated at times", she says, "and we make sure all patients have a jug of drinking water by their beds. When the water comes out of the tap, even in winter, it can be warm, and it needs to be changed twice a day. The CD-40 makes it very easy for us to dispense ice automatically into the jugs in a moment, and their drinking water is cooler for longer."
Bartenders do it with Flair
The things you can do with ice! When Scotsman came up with eight different types, we thought that was the most creative bit, and the rest was simply making them the basis of good cocktail. But we reckoned without those who have turned serving cocktails into a performance art.
In recent years you can hardly have missed the sight of bartenders demonstrating spectacular juggling, gymnastic and entertainment feats that a hundred years ago would have been seen on stage or at the circus. The sight of ice cubes dancing in wide arcs from glass to glass, or bottles seemingly suspended in mid-air as they pour their contents in yard-long streams, is known as "flairing", and it's bartending as sheer entertainment.
The flair bartender first came to prominence with the 1980s Tom Cruise movie "Cocktail". But not everyone was happy with the consequent publicity.
"That film is a millstone around our necks" sniffed a leading US flair bartender recently. "Every time I tell people what I do, they say 'what like Tom Cruise?' Those tricks he did I could teach to anyone in 30 minutes. We've moved on since then".
Nowadays flair bartending can be a stunning demonstration of dexterity, as bottles, glasses, liquids of every hue, and (of course) ice perform gymnastics. And more, too - a good flairer has conjuring tricks and even practical jokes up his sleeve.
Scotsman even invented a new type of ice - Contour Cubes - with this art form in mind. Shaped like cushion or pillows, Contour Cubes are designed to minimise splashback when pouring from a height, and also to be easy to blend in mixed drinks.
Crystal Clear Choice
Hubbard Ice Systems has launched a range of Scotsman water filters specifically designed for icemakers. The filters, manufactured by Everpure to Scotsman's specifications, feature a special 'SSM' filtration system that ensures crystal-clear and 'healthier' ice, whilst increasing the working life of the icemaker.
Water is the only ingredient used to make ice, so the quality of your ice depends on the quality of your water. The new Scotsman filters offer one-half micron filtration, removing any odours and tastes as well as 99% of chlorine from the mains supply. The SSM filter also traps minute particles of dirt and rust, significantly reducing the build up of limescale, the Number One cause of maintenance problems in all icemakers.
Style and Ice
Following the success of the original Scotsman TC180 ice and water dispenser, Scotsman has launched an "ice only" version in the UK. Unlike traditional icemakers, the TC180 is a strikingly attractive model, ideal for front of house use. Despite its small footprint it has giant performance - producing up to 150kg of ice every day.
The new model has the same attractive 'art deco' fascia as the original TC180 and has made the model a hit with fashion conscious operators in every sector, including bars, leisure centres, fast food outlets, motorway service areas and hotels.
Scottish and Newcastle choose Scotsman - Again!
Scottish and Newcastle has chosen Scotsman as the company's preferred Icemaker brand. This means that over the next two years Hubbard will supply the entire S&N estate with all the Icemakers it requires.
S&N is one of the UK's top brewery groups, and puts suppliers through a rigorous selection process. So Hubbard's Sales Director, Chris Davis, was understandably delighted when the contract was confirmed.
Scotsman of the Antarctic
A Scotsman Ice machine is on it's way to the Antarctic! Hubbard Ice Systems have supplied an ACM45 'SuperCube' icemaker for installation aboard the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research vessel RRS James Clark Ross.
The ACM45 is a compact icemaker ideal for use in restricted spaces such as back bar situations or aboard a ship, and is being used to provide Ice for drinks and refreshment while the 7,000 tonne vessel is at sea.
