Importance and How to Make Clear Ice Cubes
Have you ever heard about America’s obsession with ice? Most of the people who like their drinks to be chilled, actually care about the quality, texture, size, and taste of the ice cubes.
Everybody has their own opinion about ice. Some people tend to overreact after being served a glass full of ice while others prefer that way. Americans will agree that for them ice is a simple pleasure.
In this article, you will find out why is it important to have clear ice and how to make it at your home.
“Some say the world will end in fire, and some say in ice”.
Until then let’s talk a little about the ice.
History of Ice Cubes
In the beginning, ice was reserved only for the wealthiest people.
American resident Frederic “The Ice King Tudor launched his ice business in 1806. He grabbed the opportunity and made a fortune by selling ice from Massachusetts lakes and ponds to the tropical regions. He had several failures but he persisted in his idea. Although he spent some time in prison, he kept going.
On his path, Frederic learned that proper storage and better harvesting techniques could minimize expenses. So he gave bartenders free ice after teaching them how to keep it away from melting. His idea was to let them drink chilled drinks to get used to them.
Nathaniel Wyeth, a hotel owner, invented the horse-drawn ice plow that cut ice more efficiently. So, Tudor hired him as a foreman in 1825. After sending ice shipments all the way to India in 1833 which was a fantastic success, he could say that he finally got what he wanted after all these years of trying.
In 1844, American physician John Gorrie built the first-ever refrigerator to make ice and cool the air for his yellow fever patients. In 1914 Fred Wolf’s refrigerator had an ice cube tray which was an innovation that became common for every refrigerator produced later.
Ice Cubes in The Bar
Next time either you are making a cocktail at home or ordering one at a bar, try to pay more attention to ice cubes. Why pay attention? Well, better to pay attention than to have a full glass of melted ice.
Ice cubes are an essential part of your drink and play a key role in drink balance. Demand for high-quality ice is growing every day. The vast majority of high-end bars are ordering ice from a specialist supplier. It’s because of a lack of space or just their commercial ice machines can’t produce as much ice as needed.
For example, Hoshizaki ice machines can produce high volumes of clear ice cubes in various sizes and shapes. But, it all depends on your budget and your needs.
It’s almost impossible that you would order an Old Fashioned or Negroni, which isn’t served on a large, clean ice block. For sure, high-quality ice is always an investment worth making.
Why Are We Putting Ice in Our Drinks? Is It Just to Cool It or Is There More?
Clear ice has technical and aesthetic characteristics on a higher level compared to cloudy ice. Furthermore, it dilutes slower which means less water in your drink and balances the flavors.
More ice in your drink means less energy is required to chill your drink. Which means less diluted ice in your drink.
Is there any way to improve the clearness of your ice cubes at home? Well, yes, there are existing ways out there to freeze perfectly clear ice without using boiled or distilled water.
How to Make A Clear Ice Cube?
Every standard ice cube tray is not insulated on any side. So, the ice freezes from the outside toward the center. Usually, the center part of an ice cube is cloudy while the outside is clear. Camper English explains that when water freezes, it pushes any trapped air and impurities away from the first part to freeze.
Imagine having a clear and nicely shaped ice cube inside your glass, the same one you have in your favorite bar. That would be pretty classy, right?
Instructions for Making Clear Ice Cubes at Your Home
Use pure water
An ice cube is made of crystallized water molecules. Standard ice comes with impurities so gasses in the water get trapped and form cloudy and white ice cubes. Bottled water will work perfectly for you. Pour water into an ice tray or small ice cube mold and it’s ready to be frozen.
Use a small ice cube mold
Likewise, you can put a small ice cube mold or ice cube tray insulated from the bottom and fill it with pure water. As a result of freezing from the top down, you’ll get a crystal-clear ice cube.
Slow freeze and temperature -1 ℃
Clear ice also appreciates slowness during the process of freezing. Slow freezing along with the temperature should force out any impurities. Try to put the temperature as low as possible, around -1 ℃. Despite the temperature, the direction is the next important thing.
Directional freezing
Camper English says that this method will allow the water to freeze into ice from only one direction and the ice will be clear until the very last part freezes. The last part will be cloudy. In other words, if you allow the water to freeze from the top down, it means the last quarter at the bottom of the ice will be cloudy.
Keep in mind one thing, if you take it out before the whole unit freezes solid the ice should be almost 100 % clear.
Basically, you could use only a small cooler filled with water and place it in the freezer.
After a few hours, you will notice small impurities at the bottom. The bottom cloudy part can be cut off.
Whether you are using a small cooler, small ice cube mold, or ice cube tray, simply follow these steps, and your perfectly clear ice cube will be ready.
Give yourself a try, and come back here to tell us about your result.
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Ice Cube Mold
It takes around 16 hours to make clear ice cubes. It is a little tricky to get ice cubes out. So, take your time and be patient. You can use any water in this case. Tap water or distilled water, it provides the same results.
You can make four crystal-clear ice cubes at a time with one silicone mold. The outer part of the product is made out of durable plastic.
As it freezes the dirty water flows through the tiny holes and collects into the basin.
While getting the ice cubes out, you have to work your way around. After, push it out from the bottom with two fingers. It’s easy as that. You’re going to love this Ice cube maker.
