Italian ice

Italian ice is a frozen dessert of sweetened fruit juice, puree or flavored water, frozen while being stirred so it stays fine and scoopable rather than icy and hard. It contains no milk, which is what separates it from ice cream and sherbet.

In the United States, federal rules define water ices as foods made from the same ingredients and in the same manner as sherbets, except that the mix need not be pasteurized and it contains no milk-derived ingredients or egg ingredients other than egg white. Products are named for their flavor, such as lemon ice.

It is served in a paper cup with a spoon, smooth and cold, and lemon, cherry and mango are among the favorite flavors.