Ice has been used for cooling for a very long time. The use of ice as a cooling medium offers several advantages over mechanical refrigeration: It has a large cooling capacity for a given weight and involves little or no complication in the design and operation of the storage space.

Ice, in addition to keeping a product cool, also keeps it moist and prevents the drying that may accompany other chilling methods. Ice melts at a fixed temperature, so there is some control over product temperature.