611190 Sat Apr 11 04:49:18 -0700 2009 13 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4586603 Does anyone know a good site or place that sells and ships italian ice nation wide or water ice. I find some places but they say oh you have to buy a thing with like 40 2.5 galon containers. All i want is to try them out not start a shop so if anyone knows a good place i can find that sells and ships italian ice anywere in the USA then id really appreciate it thanks :) Sat Apr 11 04:49:18 -0700 2009 281834 Mider999 1 4586739 Where do you live? Most Italian grocery stores carry Italian ice in their freezer sections. I don't think I've ever heard of a company that ships ice cream mail order. Sat Apr 11 06:24:34 -0700 2009 4586603 11914 monku 2 4587268 Texas well i know that places ship gelato and sobet i guess italian ice is far more delicate i dont even know what it looks like just wanna try it. Sat Apr 11 10:42:39 -0700 2009 4586739 281834 Mider999 3 4587625 Someone will jump in and flame me, but I think sorbet is very similar to Italian ice, except sorbet may be made with better ingredients than Italian ice. There have got to be Italian markets in Texas. Sat Apr 11 13:36:44 -0700 2009 4587268 11914 monku 4 4588708 http://laceysniceice.com/gpage1.html is the only place ive found who you can mail in your order in quarts and they will give you whatever you want all the others said you have to buy a cart of 40 2.5 gallon things (insane) Sun Apr 12 01:52:24 -0700 2009 4587625 281834 Mider999 4 4588765 Nope, sorry, sorbet doesn't taste like Italian ice any more than ice cubes taste like Italian ice because they are frozen. Sun Apr 12 04:50:58 -0700 2009 4587625 249664 kattyeyes 5 4588959 Educate me please..... tell me the difference between sorbet & Italian ice. Tell me how a lemon sorbet isn't going to "taste" like a lemon Italian ice. My understanding is both are made with water and both are batch freezed like ice cream. Ingredients can be from fruit juices or flavorings. Sun Apr 12 07:14:14 -0700 2009 4588765 11914 monku 6 4589057 Well, I'm educating myself as well as educating you in this case. I live in Middletown, CT, home of Vecchitto's Italian Ice. I've been eating it since the lemon ice truck used to roll through my neighborhood along with Mister Softee and Good Humor when I was a kid. In my neck of the woods, lemon ice is lemon juice, sugar and water. It isn't creamy, it's just pure, smooth, frozen goodness. It comes in other flavors such as chocolate, almond, watermelon and grape. There are no discernable chunks of pieces of fruit in the ice and doesn't have a texture that suggests any egg is present. It's one of my favorite summer treats. I was under the impression--and from searching around, apparently this varies--that sorbet is made from actual blended fruit and eggs a la this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Simply-Strawberry-Sorbet-232355 But I did see other recipes that seemed to be more of the juice, sugar and water formula. So I can only tell you that, while I'm not an expert, I do love lemon ice and it doesn't taste at all like lemon sorbet or any other sorbet I've tried. I suspect this is because sorbets I've tried have included eggs and/or dairy and Italian ice does not. Howzat? Sun Apr 12 08:06:05 -0700 2009 4588959 249664 kattyeyes 7 4589467 My Italian ice experiences date back many years ago on Mulberry Street. The sorbet recipe you quote the egg is optional. Quick look at other sorbet recipes-they don't use eggs and definitely no recipe has dairy as an ingredient. Sherbet has dairy. Recipes and ingredients for Italian lemon ice and lemon sorbet are very similar if not exactly the same. If there's any difference at all between Italian ice and sorbet it isn't from your description. Sun Apr 12 11:43:19 -0700 2009 4589057 11914 monku 8 4589582 Quoting myself here: <<So I can only tell you that, while I'm not an expert, I do love lemon ice and it doesn't taste at all like lemon sorbet or any other sorbet I've tried.>> We used to buy Dole sorbet in the supermarket. It does not taste like Italian ice--the texture is different. I suspect this is because (again quoting myself): << I was under the impression--and from searching around, apparently this varies--that sorbet is made from actual blended fruit and eggs a la this recipe>> Even barring eggs, blended fruit--as in the pint of fresh strawberries in the recipe I found above and this one from Dole, which contains a pint of raspberries or blackberries--is not the same as lemon juice, sugar and water : http://www.dolefil.com/Recipes/Recipes_Detail.jsp?ID=280 Again, quoting myself: <<But I did see other recipes that seemed to be more of the juice, sugar and water formula. >> Which is to say, it appears that going by some recipes I found online for sorbet and lemon ice, they do sure appear to be the same--but those I have tasted in real life--i.e., Dole sorbet vs. Italian ice--taste quite different. Hope this clarifies. Sun Apr 12 12:49:58 -0700 2009 4589467 249664 kattyeyes 9 4589634 Maybe we should compare lemons to lemons. You keep showing me recipes with "other" ingredients---of course the Dole recipe is different because you're showing me a berry fruit sorbet that also has preserves in it. I'll show you a lemon sorbet recipe (from Emeril Lagasse) and you take your best shot at showing me an Italian lemon ice recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/lemon-sorbet-recipe/index.html Then tell me if they "might" taste the same. Then tell me........ "Nope, sorry, sorbet doesn't taste like Italian ice" Sun Apr 12 13:25:12 -0700 2009 4589582 11914 monku 10 4589659 I'm not attempting to enter a contest or an argument with you. I was trying to explain what my experience has been in eating sorbet vs. Italian ice. It doesn't appear to be going well. Even the picture in the recipe you just posted doesn't look like Italian ice I've had. Lemon ice in my local establishments is white--not yellow. I don't think they are the same animal, but feel free to make some and see if it doesn't bring you back to Mulberry Street. I'm sure it's tasty, but I'll keep going to Vecchitto's when I need a fix. Have a good one! Sun Apr 12 13:32:14 -0700 2009 4589634 249664 kattyeyes 11 4589843 My basic point was they're the same ingredients and same process, so how could they be different. I don't know if you were getting caught up on the actual "taste" which you're used to at Vecchitto's Italian Ice, but I'm sure the "taste" of Italian ice will vary from one vendor to another. Wouldn't surprise me if some are using HFCS and not cane sugar. Last time I had Italian ice on Mulberry Street there was no such thing as HFCS. You're right, any lemon Italian ice I've ever had is always white, but the bottle of lemon juice I have in my refrigerator is a little yellow. I don't have an ice cream maker, but this discussion has raised my awareness to the possibilities of some great summer treats. Maybe Vecchitto's Italian Ice can give you a better explanation and get back some time. Ciao ! Sun Apr 12 15:38:43 -0700 2009 4589659 11914 monku 1 4589937 Look up Richie's Slush, which is big in Boston. They sell a lot of the Italian ices around NE - and it doesn't at all taste or feel like sorbet. If you want something really, really, really good - IMHO - look up Del's Frozen Lemonade. They're a Rhode Island piece of culture, so embedded they have their own stores. I don't know if these guys ship. Sun Apr 12 16:37:50 -0700 2009 4586603 71350 lergnom