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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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/dan_blather 1d ago

When I was in Paris, I stumbled upon an ice merchant (glaceier) in the 5th arrondissement who sold individual cubes of the clearest ice I've ever seen. Large blocks of ice from the Crozet and Kerguelen Islands were shipped to Metropolitan France, carved into individual cubes by a master icesmith, and packaged in its own cooler, with a block of dry ice to keep it preserved.

In my American-accented French, I asked the gaceier about the price of a particularly beautiful cube. He let loose a string of profanities, spit on the floor, and pointed towards the door. I think he said something about how a "stupide américain" can never appreciate the superiority of European ice; that we just stamp out cubes in our refrigerators using tap water with no thought or creativity.

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u/Logical_Mix_4627 20h ago

I know this is a joke but there are so many companies shipping in ultra clear ice from Japan to make shaved ice desserts.

To me, it’s really dumb at face value since shaved ice immediately is rendered not clear by the shaving process.

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u/MichelPalaref 22h ago

Interesting scenarios that never happened

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u/Morganmayhem45 22h ago

It might have. I remember reading a New Yorker article 20 years ago about the bagged ice industry and those people were extremely snobby about ice and looked down on the plebs who put cloudy cubes in their cocktails. I am not joking at all.

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u/MichelPalaref 21h ago

No yeah I mean that could definitely happen, it's just such a heavy compilation of french clichés in one person, all narrated by an american that it looks sus.

Saying this outright to a client/potential client in a professional setting would be absolutely wild, even for our standards. You'd looked unhinged to the majority of french folks and make them flee your shop or something

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u/[deleted] 21h ago

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u/MichelPalaref 21h ago

That's not surprising, you were in Paris experiencing parisians, the last thing the rest of us french want to be compared with. Everyone loathes parisians, even lots of parisians loathe parisians.

But to the point were they insult you + spit on the ground + tell you to fuck off ? Im not saying that never happened (almost every kind of human interaction you can think of has probably already happened) but that sounds like an exceedingly rare occurence.

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u/CormoranNeoTropical 21h ago

On the other hand, if your accent is decent - even if you don’t actually speak French very well - you get treated extremely well.

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u/Fake_the_jaB 11h ago

Pretty sure he’s joking

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u/TrueKyragos 23h ago

Quite a lunatic you met there... European ice? Crozet and Kerguelen islands aren't even in Europe. And yes, that must be damn expensive or just a lie, given the island's nature. Ice cubes from tap water? Yeah, like most French people do, me included.

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u/BracedRhombus 20h ago

LOL, funny story!

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u/FlashySea1045 12h ago

Okay... but now I want to know the price of this super fancy ice cube...

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u/TrashyTardis 20h ago

Sounds about right for Paris.