Icy Cold — Cold Neutral Glaze, Ready to Use, 2 kg
Icy Cold is a neutral-flavour glazing gel from Menz & Gasser, supplied ready to use in a 2 kg tub. It needs no heating and no dilution: you stir it vigorously to break the gel structure and spread it with an offset spatula or a brush. It stays clear and glossy even below zero, which is why it is the standard finish for frozen entremets, mousse cakes and mirror-glazed monoportions, as well as for fruit tarts where the glaze protects the fruit from oxidising. LAPA delivers it to pastry shops, ice cream parlours and hotel kitchens across Switzerland.
What a Neutral Glaze Does
A neutral glaze does three jobs at once. It seals the surface, so cut fruit stops oxidising and the dessert holds its colour through the display day. It adds gloss, which is what makes a pastry look finished and professional under counter lights. And it protects mechanically, forming a thin film that limits drying and surface damage during handling and transport. Because it is neutral in flavour, it does none of this at the expense of the recipe underneath.
Cold, Not Hot: the Difference from Novagel
This matters when ordering, because the two products are often confused. Novagel is the hot line: it is diluted with 400 to 600 ml of water per kilo and brought to temperature before use. Icy Cold is the cold line: ready to use straight from the tub, no water, no heat. They are two different products in the same Menz & Gasser gelling range, and using one with the other's method gives a poor result. If a supplier lists this product as Novagel Icy Cold, that is a naming shortcut, not the manufacturer's classification.
How to Apply
Take the quantity needed and stir it vigorously first: the product sets to a gel in the tub and has to be broken back to a spreadable consistency, otherwise it goes on in lumps. Apply with an offset spatula for flat surfaces and mirror finishes, or with a brush for fruit and small pieces. On frozen products, work directly on the item at minus 18 degrees Celsius: the cold surface helps the glaze set evenly and instantly. Work in a single pass wherever possible; going back over a setting surface leaves marks.
Professional Uses
Five applications cover the range. First, mirror glazing of frozen cakes and monoportions, applied on the still-frozen surface for an even film. Second, glazing fruit tarts and tartlets with a brush, which stops apples, pears, bananas and berries from browning. Third, filling and layering: the manufacturer lists it for semifreddi and mousses in tubs, combined with fruit variegates and creams. Fourth, covering fresh fruit on cakes and fruit salads in display counters. Fifth, fixing small sugar-paste decorations onto cakes and cupcakes, where a dot of gel works as an edible adhesive.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Three habits give a poor finish. Heating or diluting the product treats it like the hot line and is simply unnecessary here. Applying it straight from the tub without stirring leaves lumps and an uneven film. Spreading it by hand without an offset spatula on a frozen surface loses the mirror effect, which depends on a single even pass. And do not re-work a surface that has already started to set.
Storage and Shelf Life
Store in a cool, dry place away from heat sources. The shelf life is 730 days, that is 24 months, on an unopened tub. The 2 kg format is deliberately small so an opened tub fits in a standard refrigerator; after opening, keep it cold and closed. Always take out what you need with a clean utensil, because the product has no protective barrier once contaminated.
Distribution and Logistics in Switzerland
LAPA operates from Embrach in the canton of Zurich with its own refrigerated and ambient-temperature fleet, serving Zurich, Winterthur, Basel, Bern, Lucerne, St. Gallen, Zug, Aarau, Schaffhausen, Chur and Lugano. Areas outside the direct delivery rounds are covered through Swiss Post, Planzer, Galliker and Camion Transport. Customers include pastry shops, ice cream parlours, hotels, restaurants, catering companies and Italian food retailers, as well as private customers ordering online.
Who It Is For
Icy Cold is for pastry laboratories and ice cream parlours that finish frozen or refrigerated desserts every day and want a ready-to-use product with no preparation step. Operations doing very large volumes of hot glazing on production lines will look instead at the hot Novagel line in 6 and 12.5 kg tubs, where the cost per kilo of finished glaze is lower.
