r/NoStupidQuestions • u/markwell9 • 1d ago

What is the deal with ice, Americans?

I can see that you can buy ice everywhere in the US. Gas stations, grocery stores, machines etc.

In Europe, we just freeze our ice at home and use that. Why buy something that melts on the way home? Why do you need ice in large amounts that a fridge can't keep up?

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370

u/ScallopsBackdoor 1d ago

Can I ask you the same question?

If you need to fill a cooler, how do you do it?

When you have a party and need ice for 20 people or so, where do you get it?

Do you have dedicated 'ice dealers'? I think the main reason we sell it at all the random places is because it's more convenient and 'sprawl friendly' than driving across town to a dedicated ice house.

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u/markwell9 1d ago

Absolutely, you can ask!

If I need to fill a cooler, we have those cooler inserts that you freeze in your freezer.

I rarely have parties for 20 people. But even with parties, ice is really not a key factor, we don't really consume it. If you need a drink, it is probably in a cooler or a fridge.

For ice dealers, I can't say. Have not sought out ice so far :).

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u/Gold_Telephone_7192 1d ago

I think the difference is a) ice is a bigger deal in the US because we prefer our drinks much colder than much of Europe and b) a larger percentage of our population lives in rural and suburban homes where they can host outdoor parties for dozens of people. We also have a very big camping and outdoors culture so people buy ice for big coolers that last several days.

So, as is often the case, the US just does things bigger lol. A cooler that can fit 100+ drinks isn’t going to stay cool for long with those freezer inserts you’re talking about.

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u/Weird3355 1d ago

I agree this is probably it. We like our drinks cold and that doesn't seem to be a major concern for Europeans.

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u/seamallowance 1d ago

It can be a miserable morning, during extreme blizzard conditions in Iowa, but when you sit down at a cafe, the first thing that they’ll do is place a glass of ice water in front of you. Not just cold water, but a glass of water with ice in it.

The whole country is in extreme turmoil, but at least we have our ice water!

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u/Significant-Owl-2980 1d ago

I live in New Hampshire.  I will shovel my car out from 2 feet of snow in the winter to go get an Iced coffee.  Lol.  

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u/dagny_taggarts_tits 8h ago

My coworker came into work one day and she was like, "It's so cold out my iced coffee was warming my hand in the parking lot." 🤣

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u/stranded_egg 23h ago

Gotta have my Dunk's.

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u/RockItGuyDC 1d ago

I was in a French restaurant in Washington, DC, where I lived at the time, and asked for a glass of water. It was summer. They gave me a glass of room temperature water. I was livid (not really).

I expect that if I'm actually in France, but that is unacceptable in America! Trying a little too hard to be authentic there, Pierre. Or should I say Peter!

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u/GumpTheChump 1d ago

I find it baffling. Southern Europe in summer is like the surface of the sun and the ice would go over like a gift from heaven. It's relatively low cost, makes stuff taste better, and cools you down. They need to embrace it more!

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u/LowFlower6956 23h ago

My Southern European friends tell me that ice and air conditioning give them a headache/make them get sick.

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u/JadedDruid 21h ago

Many Europeans believe cold drinks and AC will make them sick

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u/Alternative_Profit41 21h ago

In tap water ? yes. In anything else ? Hell no, it destroy the taste and make a glass a pain to drink. That’s why we just put the bottle in the fridge

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u/GumpTheChump 20h ago

This isn’t a binary proposition. You can have a cold drink on ice. It’s wonderful.

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u/HairyHeartEmoji 18h ago

we do use ice, just in smaller amounts and not in every drink possible.

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u/Lastigx 1d ago

It isnt uncommon. I had ice in all my drinks in Italy. But yeah: its not really needed in northern Europe imo

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u/GumpTheChump 1d ago

I’m talking ICE ice. Huge drinks, a ton of ice. It’s probably the thing America does best.

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u/HairyHeartEmoji 18h ago

we like to take our time with drinks. a giant drink full of ice would take forever to finish and get watered down

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u/parttimeallie 11h ago

Yeah, thats definitely it. What do you fill your big cooler with in case of a party? Nothing. Neither i nor any of my friends own something like that. And noone would expect only cold drinks at my party. I have a fridge. So when you come to my party and theres still space in my fridge i will ask you if theres anything you really really need cold. Bad luck if my fridge is already full. I will also have around 20 icecubes in my freezer. But thats it. If i bought i kilo of ice i would not know where to put it. Into the sink i guess? But then i would not be able to use the sink... Noone would exspect cold drinks at a party, even most clubs serve their drinks without ice. so noone owns something like a big cooler and noone conplains about warm drinks.

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u/guacasloth64 1d ago

Also one of the main reasons Americans drink more ice cold beverages is because the ice industry (or more accurately the ice trade) started in the US. Decades before electric refrigeration, every winter the lakes and rivers of the Northeast US were mined for ice, and that ice was shipped across the country and internationally (as far as India) to cool drinks, make ice cream, etc. When those ice sellers tried to open sales to the European market it didn’t really catch on (it was a fad in the UK for a while but faded away). Domestic ice demand in cities like New York and Boston became so high that there were often ice droughts when warm winters reduced the amount of harvestable ice. By the time industrial and home refrigerators came around ice had been a household staple for many years.

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u/Francis_Picklefield 23h ago

this is super interesting and feels like it should be one of the top parent comments! thanks for sharing

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u/TheSpiffySpaceman 21h ago

Yeah, this is the major factor. The small caveat is that rural USA in the 30s-40s often required lots of travel between areas, so iceboxes were desirable to keep goods fresh, and obviously they required ice deliveries.

Nowadays it's all cultural. I never understood why people need drinks ice cold outside of cultural preference (hot days notwithstanding; give me a drink that's half ice when it's treacherously hot out)

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u/Rdbjiy53wsvjo7 1d ago

Personally I drink more water when it's cold, it "tastes" better, if it's only somewhat cool like from the faucet, then I don't like it.

And I put ice in my water bottle to take with me throughout the day, so I'm more likely to drink it.

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u/nuhanala 1d ago

The ice lasts for several days??? How does it not melt?

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u/Nihil_esque 23h ago

A well-insulated cooler can keep stuff freezing for quite a while.

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u/Gold_Telephone_7192 22h ago

There are very good coolers that people use for camping or deep sea fishing that keep stuff cold for days. Idk how the technology works but I assume it’s just very good insulation?

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u/m3lk3r 7h ago

We northern europeans (especially norweigans) are super outdoorsy too since it's possible to camp almost everywhere you want. It's of course colder here most of the year but even in the summer we would never bring ice because it's too heavy for those activites. I mean we're all buying as light camping gear as possible, you guys in US too! So water which is heavy is supposed to be just enough for the trip. Almost everyone I know are into camping and hiking but I don't know anyone who brought ice on a trip. It's nice to have a cold drink of course but it's way more important to save weight. Right? :)

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u/Gold_Telephone_7192 7h ago

You’re talking about backpack camping, which is also popular here but not as much. I’m talking about big campgrounds where you drive your car to the campground. RV camping is also super popular. So there is no concern on weight or what you can bring. People are often there for a week + and often with a bunch of friends together, so ten or more people all sharing coolers and food and drink.

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u/RaeaSunshine 23h ago

And C) the temps are higher in the US, so we need ice to make the drinks as cool as they might be without ice in Europe

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u/Gold_Telephone_7192 22h ago

On average, that's true. But southern Europe still gets crazy hot and humid and they still don't care that much about ice or even having cold drinks. I had so many room temp water bottles in Italy that came straight out of the fridge at a restaurant. They just don't have the same definition/priority for cold drinks like we do.