For most of us, drinking and without alcoholic drinks, especially in hot summer weather, it is simply unthinkable without ice cubes. That is why we rarely think about the process of making it; we simply pour water into the molds and put it in the freezer.
In fact, making ice is a real art, as any professional bartender can attest. Before you understand what approach is needed to make ice for drinks, you need to understand what it is.
We know from school that ice is one of the states of aggregation ordinary water. But the formula H 2 O, which we are accustomed to considering as the usual formula for water, is in no way applicable to it. Ice cubes contain a lot of different impurities, which adds other chemical elements and components to the ice. Experts recommend not using ordinary untreated water to make ice. Perfect option- This is boiling water before freezing it.
How to make ice for alcohol? What types of ice for alcoholic drinks are there? And how to effectively make ice at home?
Types of ice for alcoholic drinks
To prepare ice for a drink, you can use ordinary molds that are placed in a regular refrigerator, and to make ice in large quantities use a special unit called an ice maker.
Although few people know this, ice can be made in several categories and varieties:
- Food. This type ice appears in the form of individual pieces of ice, shaped like small cylinders or cubes. Most often made using an ice maker from filtered drinking water. This type of ice is used as a cooler for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks or cocktails.
- Lump. Prepared in the form of pieces with different shapes, and is added both for cooling the liquid and for beauty in alcoholic cocktails. In this category, ice can also be divided into cups, cubes and nuggets.
- Chipped. This type of ice is usually used at presentations and exhibitions to keep drinks and food cool. This ice has the form of crushed pieces that have an irregular shape. This type of ice is also used in bars and restaurants for preparing cocktails in a shaker. You can prepare crushed ice in normal home conditions by breaking lump ice using a kitchen hammer through a cloth to prevent splinters from scattering. Because crushed ice melts much faster than other varieties, it is prepared right before use.
- Ice Frappe. This name is given to finely crushed or shaved ice, which is used to make cocktails with the addition of fruit, cruchons, Mojitos, and other drinks that are usually drunk through a straw.
- Granulated. This type of ice has the shape of small hailstones, approximately 1 cm in diameter. This ice is easy to store, it does not freeze and mixes quickly with the product and never damages its soft tissues. Most often, such ice is used to serve wine, champagne and some types of dishes on an ice bed.
- Ice cubes Fancy . This sonorous name was given to ice cubes in which a variety of candied fruits are frozen. Such cubes can also be made from coffee or tea, and if preparing a cocktail involves using juice, berries or mint leaves, then all this can be frozen in Fancy ice cubes.
- Color. This ice is used not only to cool drinks, but also to create them. original design, design or decorate a glass. Juices, lemonades and cocktails are usually served with this ice, although it can be used for any other purpose at the user’s request. To obtain colored ice use fruit and berry juices who have different colour, and besides this, such ice cubes have a pleasant original taste. In order to give the ice greater originality, layer-by-layer freezing is sometimes used, then each ice cube has an impressive and beautiful appearance.
- Fried. Despite the unusual and controversial name, this ice is quite simple to prepare. For this purpose in freezer freeze small pieces of fruit, then beat egg white and make meringues the diameter of a tennis ball. A piece of ice is pressed into it, after which it is doused with cognac and set on fire. has time to burn before the ice melts, and the meringue turns out toasted, maintaining a cool and refreshing effect, with ice inside.
Today, in order to make any type of ice, you can use it as an ice maker or the most various forms for freezing, which are usually made of plastic or food-grade silicone.
Frozen cubes help fight defects in appearance, rejuvenate, tone and invigorate in the mornings, when it seems that nothing can free you from the embrace of Morpheus.
Rubbing cosmetic ice stimulates blood flow to tissues, which means their oxygen saturation improves. As a result, the elasticity of the skin is restored, enlarged pores are narrowed, the complexion looks fresher, and a light blush appears.
Ice made using healthy ingredients, produces a double effect, since in this case cold therapy is combined with nourishing the skin with healing substances. The cubes are easy to prepare, and washing time will take no more than half a minute.
Rubbing with ice should not be limited to a single procedure per day. You can wash your face up to three times, not forgetting to take care of your neck and décolleté. You need to move the ice cube quickly over the skin, without stopping at one point. When it has completely melted, refrain from wiping it dry. Let useful material absorbed into the skin.
Simple recipes for making ice for your face
The composition of the product depends on the desired effect and skin problems. Herbal decoctions and juices are frozen and alternated when used. It is not recommended to store ice for more than a week. fresh product more useful. I bring to your attention several ways to make frozen beauty cubes.
Cosmetic ice made from mineral water. Still water poured into molds, which are then placed in the freezer.
Cosmetic ice made from fruit and vegetable juices. Freshly prepared drinks will do, but if this is not possible, then store-bought products will replace them. The beneficial effects of vitamins on the skin are multifaceted. This includes nutrition, whitening, and activation of cell regeneration. After washing with fruit ice cubes and allowing the moisture to dry, rinse off any residue with room temperature water.
Cosmetic ice with lemon. Freshly squeezed juice mixed with mineral water in equal proportions and then frozen. Has a brightening effect and improves skin immunity.
Cosmetic ice with green tea. An excellent tonic for all skin types. The main thing is that there should be tea good quality and tightly brewed.
Cosmetic ice with aloe. To prepare the cubes, first keep the cut leaves in the refrigerator for 10 days. So medicinal properties aloe will appear to a greater extent. Then 3 tbsp. l. the juice of a valuable plant is mixed with half a glass of sage infusion. This composition moisturizes the skin, relieves irritation, and helps get rid of acne in complex therapy.
Cosmetic ice with celandine. A frozen decoction of the plant, which has long been used to get rid of skin diseases, will help in the treatment of acne.
Cosmetic ice with chamomile. Rubbing your face with cubes of chamomile infusion is useful for eliminating skin irritation. Ideal tonic For problem skin, especially in the summer.
Cosmetic ice made from rice water. Pour the washed cereal generously with water - its volume should be at least 4 times the size of rice. Prepare a decoction, strain and freeze the liquid. Rice water has rejuvenating, cleansing properties, helps reduce irritation and lighten age spots. In addition, ice cubes from rice water contain minerals and vitamins necessary for the skin.
Cosmetic ice made from watermelon juice. Wipe your face with sweet cubes, and after 15 minutes. wash your face with warm water. This procedure tones and evens out the complexion.
Cosmetic ice made from bay leaf decoction. A valuable product for problematic, porous skin. After regular wiping, the pores become narrower, inflammation and redness on the face disappear or bother less.
Try freezing peeled tangerine slices. Apply an ice cube to your face and after 10 minutes. Wash your face with lukewarm water. It is also recommended to use orange, grapefruit and alternate different slices every morning. Citrus juice is recognized effective means for face whitening.
It is worth noting that wiping with ice cubes is not suitable for everyone. Procedures with cosmetic ice for the face at home are contraindicated for people with inflammatory diseases skin in acute form and violation of its integrity. Perhaps, in this case, it is better for you to visit a cosmetologist.
Well, that’s all, be beautiful and share beauty recipes with your friends!
Before making ice, you need to thoroughly study this process and its nuances. It’s not enough just to pour water into special forms and put them in the freezer. To make a transparent and beautiful product that will decorate cocktails, you will have to work hard. And yet, contrary to popular belief, you do not need to use any special refrigerators for this.
Everything can be done with your own hands with minimal financial and energy costs. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment and not to stop if your first attempts fail.
Secrets of clear ice for drinks
Those who want to learn how to make real ice for drinks with their own hands, and not just cloudy pieces of frozen water, should adopt the following approaches:
- Use of pre-treated water. Pour the liquid into an enamel or steel bowl, bring to a boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. After this, cover with a lid and leave to cool. naturally. We repeat the manipulation and cool the composition again. Then we fill the ice molds and freeze the pieces. With this approach, the cocktail filler becomes transparent due to the removal of air bubbles.
- Slow freezing. You can displace bubbles that make the product cloudy if you freeze the product not quickly, but very slowly. The final version will not only be transparent, but also very smooth. True, the time for preparing ice in this case is at least a day. To carry out manipulations in the freezer, you need to set the temperature no higher and no lower than -1ºС.
- Freezing in salt water. This method also allows you to make clear and beautiful ice without cracks. Ideally you should use sea salt, but in the absence of one, you can make the mixture yourself. To do this, do not completely fill a deep bowl with water, add small table salt and stir well (unfortunately, the concentration of the composition will have to be set empirically). We place the container in the freezer, the temperature in it should not be lower than -2ºС. As soon as the liquid has cooled down greatly, lower the filled ice trays into it and put them back in the freezer until cubes form. If the liquid in the bowl begins to freeze, this indicates an insufficient amount of salt, and the solution will have to be redone.
Advice: In general, no matter what approach to making ice is used, you need to take drinking or filtered water. Otherwise bad smell It will only go away for a while. As soon as the product gets into the drink and begins to melt, the specific aroma returns, which noticeably spoils the taste of the cocktails.
Experienced housewives prefer to prepare ice at home according to the latest instructions. It turns out transparent, smooth, without cracks, and does not crack when adding cocktails and other drinks. The saline solution only needs to be prepared once. It can be poured into a convenient container and kept in the freezer at all times.
How to make ice without special ice molds?
The lack of molds is not a problem if you have imagination. You can make them yourself or even use improvised means. The approach option and the specifics of its implementation depend on the type of drink consumed and what is on hand:
- If you plan to serve not cocktails, but simply pour one-ingredient drinks, you should take care of the dishes in advance. To do this, take the selected glasses (preferably thick glass, it will not crack from exposure to cold air), pour boiled water into them drinking water about 1 cm, wipe thoroughly so that no moisture remains on the surface. Next, carefully place the containers in the freezer (temperature is -1ºC), trying not to spill anything on the walls. The finished ice will not only be beautiful and perform the specified functions, but will also give the spilled drinks an original look.
- It's very easy to make your own ice using plastic or metal lids. For the first ones, it is better to trim them inside in advance so that the thread does not interfere with the extraction of the product. Main secret The process is to ensure that the liquid is poured to the maximum and reaches the very edge. In this case, it will expand, protrude above the surface and the pieces will be easier to get out. You just need to keep them warm for a few minutes room temperature so that they melt.
- One of the easiest options for making ice is to use plastic cups. Pour pre-prepared water onto the bottom, determine the thickness yourself, but remember that the mass will still expand. Freeze the product and carefully remove it. You don’t have to settle on round “cubes”; if you insert homemade plastic dividers inside the cup, the shape can be adjusted.
- It’s worth looking around the kitchen and rooms; in most cases, something can be adapted for making ice. These include parts from children's construction sets, candy inserts, and Silicone forms for baking. Only available products must be thoroughly disinfected before use.
If time is short, and you can’t prepare something worthwhile with your own hands, you need to limit yourself to the most simple option. We take plastic bags, cut them into strips, fill the blanks a small amount water and tie it in a knot. We will get small, neat balls that will look very original in a glass.
With the onset of winter, the suburban area turns into a white desert and is no longer so pleasing to the eye and warms the soul. A transparent sparkling miracle - an ice sculpture - can revive virgin snow. If complex compositions can only be achieved by a master, then simple shapes can be done by a non-specialist amateur inspired by a creative idea.
You walked out of the house onto the street and looked at the figure of the rooster made of ice - a smile and a comfortable New Year’s mood appeared on your face.
Step-by-step steps for creating ice figures
There are 5 main steps in the process of creating an ice sculpture:
Step 1. Preparation of material.
The ice for creating ice figures must be clean, transparent, free of any impurities, that is, one that can transmit light. This ice cannot be created at home from tap water; it turns out cloudy and not sparkling. Suitable ice can only be created by nature; it is cut from the frozen surface of lakes or quiet river backwaters and sent to customers.
Take the advice. Use the services of professional ice makers. These specialists are able to remove ice blocks of various sizes without breaking them.
Step 2. Preparing tools.
Most of the tools that are used to create ice sculptures do not require special manufacturing, these are chainsaws, electric saws, wood chisels various shapes. But each master has an individual set, which he created himself to solve problems that arise during the construction of the sculpture. An example of such tools is a chisel with a semicircular sharpening, for making particularly complex patterns, or a gnawer for removing large masses of ice, reminiscent of a metal comb, which cannot be found in a standard set of tools.
The lack of home-made tools does not mean at all that it is impossible to create glacial splendor on your site with an ordinary tool.
Advice. All tools, and especially chisels, must be perfectly sharpened, since any burr can ruin the intended purpose.
Step 3. Creating an ice figure.
Ice blocks are glued together using water to create a figure. Water acquires this property at temperatures below zero. So the blocks are erected to the required height, the seams are rubbed with wet snow so that they become less noticeable.
Notches and scratches on the surface of the ice can be smoothed out with a warm, but not hot, iron. If the figure is taller than one and a half meters, then it must have a solid base, and if it is an ice slide, then a frame, wooden or metal, is used. The frame is strength. When using a frame, it is possible to create very tall sculptures and slides, but the charm is lost, since the frame is visible through the transparency of the ice.
Your imagination will tell you which ice figures will decorate the site: Christmas trees of various heights, Father Frost and the Snow Maiden, an animal - a sign of the coming year, small slides, an ice table and benches.
Advice. On summer cottage It is best to create low, one and a half or two meters, figures with a solid base - for safety reasons and so as not to complicate the work by making the frame.
You can make ice figures by inviting friends with a New Year's spirit. 
Step 4. Decorating the ice figures.
The patterns on the surface of ice figures can be very different: ornaments, cutting, and spirals - everything that the imagination and skill of the sculptor, and the sculptor, is capable of. it is you. Patterns can be used to decorate both the entire sculpture and its various parts.
The combination of patterns looks effective in different ways manufacturing. One of the methods of decoration is (ice packing): its icy contents are cut out of the figure and dry snow is filled in. A combination of transparent and white in shimmer sun rays- It's unforgettable.
It is better to create patterns with the largest number faces. The more facets, the more beautiful the sculpture will look. There is no need to paint the sculptures; they cease to live and become just a bright spot that hurts the eye.
Imagine goldfish in an uncolored form. And the scales of the fish sparkle in the sun with their scales. The decor will be completely different.
Step 5. Illumination of ice figures.
Ice is a living material, so ice figures live and play in the rays sunlight. The sparkle changes every moment depending on the angle of view. At night, the sun can be replaced by electric lamps, which are installed either behind the sculpture, or in its base, or in special grooves that are drilled into the sculpture.
Advice. Do not use incandescent lamps for illumination - they will melt the figures very quickly.
Broaden your horizons and watch a video about ice figures created by real artists with rich imaginations.
Thus, even a small original figurine made of ice will give your site a unique New Year's flavor.
And if you wish, you can build an entire ice town that will delight the eye until spring. Happy New Year, dear readers of my blog!
For any occasion, you want to surprise your guests and make dishes and drinks not only tasty, but also beautiful. And the simplest and affordable option decorate them - serve original ice. It can be made in different shapes, colors, sizes, but the most important nuance in such a seemingly simple matter is to take high-quality water and prepare it correctly. Then beautiful presentation food and drink will be provided - you can easily surprise guests or just people close to you, and they will thank you with their enthusiastic words of gratitude. How to do transparent ice at home the same as in any bar? Let's look at the options below.
Ice Recipes - Irresistible and Easy Homemade
A practical liquid that can be used for this. Making ice cream at home is no longer uncommon. The fastest or least expensive type of "prep" is to pour yogurt or juice into small ice molds. Before that, another stem and into the freezer. For a short time you have ice on a stick. However, it is probably not ice in that sense. If you have an ice machine, you can make real ice. And at the same time you have every opportunity fresh ingredients, which leave the incomparable taste of any other ready-made ice cream in the shade.
How to get clear ice?
In fact, everything is simple - ordinary physics:
- If there are no air bubbles in frozen water, it will be transparent.
- If there are a lot of bubbles in the water, it will turn cloudy when frozen.
Why is this happening? When freezing, the liquid hardens unevenly, starting from the edge. Therefore, layer by layer, the water accumulates all the air in the center. And when the air has nowhere to escape, and the center begins to freeze, that same cloudy center appears. Therefore, to make ice transparent, you need to remove air from it. There are several options for this.
Even without an ice machine, this is possible at home. You only need 2 bowls, water, salt and ice cubes and some patience, but above all. From then on you should stir every 10 minutes and then refrigerate. How to make ice cream creamy and best and what you should pay attention to, there are many tips and tricks.
As for the variety of ice recipes, there are no longer any prohibitions on bringing something completely unusual for the market. Chili and Parmesan ice cream linseed oil, wasabi ice cream, cucumbers and many other delicious and delicious options Ice creams are found in parlors, restaurants and ice cream recipes. The special thing about homemade ice cream is that you know exactly what ingredients it was made with. Milk from happy cows, fruit from organic or maybe even homegrown.
Ice maker - professional option
You can always buy special device for freezing water, which is used in most bars. Today there are many different options for ice makers - from simple home models to large professional ones.
The essence of how the device works is that the water in it freezes in layers, not giving any chance for air to get inside. But this device is quite expensive
fun, and if you don’t need a lot of ice, you can make do with improvised means.
Herbs, spices, whatever your heart desires, go with it. Those who respect a few important rules forced themselves and their tormentors to be content with this and appreciated his home-style ice cream room. What a blow: while spring is still scratching at the door in Berlin, he is already there in Frankfurt. And the second joyful surprise follows, namely, that today’s workshop is taking place outside its boundaries.
But the afternoon sun simply pushed through the tall construction gangs and is now shining directly onto the star of the day: ice. In large 25cm blocks of edges it sits on a concrete bar in the hotel courtyard. There are also knives, pimples, three-pronged scratches. Today it is obviously rustic.
Home methods
Experienced bartenders know exactly how to make clear ice at home, without the use of special equipment. There are several simple methods for this.
Method one
For this option you will need to prepare:
- clean water, passed through a filter, or purchased in a store, but without gas;
- a boiling container, such as a saucepan;
- forms for freezing.
Making ice using this method involves several steps:
Alessandro Romano heads the workshop. He has been operating his bar in Cologne since it opened more than six years ago. Ice is by far the most overlooked ingredient in cocktails. But mostly they only produced bad and small ice cubes, air filled ice cubes or empty ice cubes which always melt instantly in the guest glass. This has spread into the bar and beyond, even into other types of businesses, today you get good, twice frozen, dry, ice cream sundaes.
However, not as beautiful as On Mor, where you cut it out of a block and carved it out - Romano encountered the ice sculpture during his time at the Burj Al Arab and brought it to his bar. The ice was frozen in an old refrigerator, the hardest part, he tells the seminar participants, was Clarkrigen: "Milk glass" looks stupid, the ice should be clear, like a window after spring cleaning. They tried a lot: filtering, boiling, even with electric current, he moved the water to keep the surface moving to get rid of the dissociative gases that make the ice cloudy.
- Clear water from extra salts and suspension or take already purified.
- Pour the liquid into a container and boil.
- Cool it at .
- Boil the water again - this will remove more air.
- Cool the water and pass it through the filter.
- Pour water that has cooled to room temperature into the molds and freeze.
Important! Ice obtained in this way is more transparent than freezing ordinary water.
You need a styrofoam box and leave the lid on. It then freezes from top to bottom and the gases only go down and are then cut off. But how do you get such a small block? Employer shows how it works: Mark the center of the ice by drawing a line from top to bottom with the brine. In this mild depression, gently hit the pickle or three-pack until the ice breaks from top to bottom. Then crush the piece to have a rough shape almost in glass, from which a large cube is cut, for example with a knife, with great care.
It looks as simple as he does. Now bartenders want to try themselves, work lessons begin, and surprisingly fast beautiful results are available: cubes, spheres, even diamond shapes. According to Romano, 70 diamonds are being prepared for drink specials at Ona More. They are just waiting to be used in the refrigerator. With ice in a large piece not only cold drink, but also very little melt water, and today it is an eye hole. This is an improvement for the guest. “He has something in the glass that won’t go away,” Romano says.
There is also a method that does not require boiling water.
Method two
In order to make clear ice at home without boiling, you will need:
- pure water(it’s better to filter it several times or buy it);
- large capacity for freezing;
- ice molds.
What to do with all this:
- About two liters of clean water are frozen in a large container, after which the frozen block is removed (the easiest way is to dip the bowl in warm water and turn over onto a lint-free towel).
- Then you can chip off the ice from the edges with something sharp, gradually getting to the cloudy middle, which is not needed. There is also an option when the middle with air is washed out with water.
Next, the extracted chopped pieces are again laid out in molds, waited until it melts, and again sent to freeze until ready.
Method three
If the freezer functions allow it, you can use slow freezing. To do this, you need to set the temperature in the chamber to -1, wait until the chamber reaches it, and put the prepared water in the freezer. In this case, it is better to wrap the forms with cling film.
Prototype developed by the creators of the "noble bath", which may be known from bars high class, as "indoor". How could you smoothly point to it at the bar and order a long cliff with this ice. The third ingredient of the drink, which is so important after alcohols and fillers, should often play a leading role.
Here and now he did it anyway. Have you noticed that the ice they serve in restaurants is clear, but the ice cubes you take out of the refrigerator are opaque and white? Regular ice leaves become opaque when dissolved gases in the water are trapped and forced to remain in small bubbles or when the ice freezes in a way that prevents large crystals from forming. Because of these impurities, opaque ice weakens and melts faster than pure, transparent ice. Expert experts have discovered several ways to make "premium" ice without having to go to a restaurant.
Important! This freezing lasts about a day, but all the air will have time to completely leave the water, and the ice will turn out smooth and beautiful.
Method four
This option involves creating a salty environment. First you need to prepare saline solution from sea or regular table salt.
Steps to make clear ice:
Freeze in descending order
Try the following methods to make clear ice cubes at home.
Freezing at temperature
Freezing from below. Unlike the previous methods, this method is a very fast way to create clear ice cubes, except this is your first time using it. It works even if you pour water directly from the tap into the bucket. Air bubbles can be removed by freezing the ice from bottom to top. You can do this by placing the bottom in contact with something very cold. It is advisable that you use liquid for this because this way you can completely cover the bottom of the buckets, which helps release the heat quickly.- Water is poured into the container and salt is added - the required concentration of the solution is achieved experimentally, since freezing conditions are different.
- The salt should completely dissolve in the water.
- Next, the container is placed in the freezer at a temperature of -1 or -2 degrees, but not lower.
- Afterwards, you should wait about ten minutes and place the molds filled with water in the salty solution.
- This freezing will take about 12 hours.
Important! This method is considered the most effective. Another advantage is that salt water You can keep it in the freezer all the time and freeze the ice as needed.
One liquid that can be used to freeze ice cubes is salt water. Of course, sometimes you notice that the ice in your drink is a little cloudy and even white. But that's not good either, is it? The cubes have this aspect because the water used in its development was frozen on the outside. This means that impurities such as dissolved minerals and gases are moved to the center of the tray during the crystallization process.
These cubes not only look worse, but they look much worse than the clear ones because they melt much faster. This is the main reason why clear ice is better than cloudy ice, and it can also turn your whiskey on the rocks into a watery drink in a few seconds. Let's find out how clear ice can help you get the most out of your favorite drink.
The listed methods will help you prepare crystal clear and beautiful ice for drinks, without bubbles. And it will definitely be no worse than in the coolest bars. If you don’t have an ice mold on hand, don’t worry, you can also make it yourself, at home.
Making an ice mold
There are a lot of ways to make ice without a mold, it all depends on your
fantasies. Here are some interesting options:
You may have read that to create clear ice you need to boil water first, or use distilled water, or boil distilled water, even twice just to be safe. The key to formation clear ice is freezing at a slower rate.
If you are from a cold country or have visited some during the winter months, you will see crystalline icebergs forming in pipes and trees. These icebergs are so transparent that they form very slowly. The layers are formed one above the other, and this prevents impurities from getting inside.
- If it is assumed that the drink will be consumed without mixing it in mixes or cocktails, then there is an option to immediately freeze the water in the container for serving the drink. Please note that the dishes must be resistant to temperature changes and compression from cold. Also, its walls must be completely dry. For such freezing, an amount of clean water is required, poured onto the bottom of the dish, and placed in the freezer for a day at a temperature no higher than minus two degrees. Serving drinks in transparent containers, in addition to the necessary cooling, is also very unusual.
- To get frozen water in the form of rounds, you can take plastic glasses various sizes. Water must be poured only to the bottom, 0.5-1 cm high, and frozen. If you line the bottom with plastic in half or into 4 parts, you can get ice in the form of halves or quarters of a circle, respectively.
- Plastic bottle caps or metal lids- also capable of replacing molds for round ice. True, you may have difficulty extracting it from the lids.
- If the same ice is not needed, you can use a base from assorted sweets. Choose substrates that will not wrinkle or leak. As a result, you will succeed interesting shapes sweets.
- There is also the option of using children's construction sets or sand molds as a form. Be sure to rinse, degrease and disinfect any mold thoroughly before use.
- Ordinary plastic bag Easy to turn into a freezer pan. Just pour some water into it, tie a knot, add more water, tie another knot, and so on until the bag is gone. Of course, the shape of freezing in this way will not be even, but if you follow the preparation rules, then transparency and the absence of bubbles are guaranteed.
You can use any of the options you like or come up with your own to make transparent ice and molds for it.
There are now machines that can simulate this process well. But if you don't want to leave your paycheck in a clear ice machine, we're revealing the secret so you can do it at home with things you're sure to have on hand.
The only thing you need to make clear ice at home is to reduce the rate at which the ice freezes. One way to do this is to put a small cooler in the refrigerator. Anything you put inside this cooler will freeze slower, so air bubbles will have a chance to escape before they get trapped in the ice.
To make clear and clean ice, you need very little, but do not forget about these additional recommendations:
- Water absorbs odors well, so when cooking, make sure that there are no strong-smelling foods nearby.
- You can also use a thermal bag for freezing. Just put the molds in the bag and put it in the freezer at a temperature of about minus 8 degrees. The water will freeze in the opposite way - from top to bottom, which means the air will come out of it in a different way. This ice may be a little cloudy on top, but not in the middle. This means that if you leave ice in a bowl at room temperature for a short time, the cloudy water will melt.
- When using boiling, it is better to take stainless steel dishes. Aluminum containers are not suitable for this method.
- Do not pour hot water into plastic molds, and do not put hot water in the freezer. Otherwise, the mold may melt and the refrigerator may leak.
- If you want to surprise your guests, do fruit ice: Blend the fruits with a blender and add juice, sugar or syrup. Afterwards, pour the mixture into molds and freeze.
- When serving ice without drinks, the best option is to use a special bucket - a cooler.
- It is more convenient to take the ice with tongs, so it will not melt ahead of time.
If you want to make your ice clear, follow these instructions. Fill the entire water cooler and pour it into the freezer with or without the lid. Wait until the unit is completely frozen and remove the refrigerator from the freezer. Place the block in a clean plastic ladle and let it soak for an hour or so. Use a saw blade to mark the remaining block between the molds. Using the handle of a knife, carefully break the ice. The ice you get should be almost completely clear. If it's a little cloudy on top, you can cut it with a saw blade.
- Get a small refrigerator that fits inside your freezer.
- Prepare trays of cubes or molds and place them in rows.
Mojito and others, be sure to have crushed or cubed ice. If the drink is intended for own use, then there are no problems - I froze the water and the problem is solved. And if ice for cocktails is required in large quantities and for guests? Let's find out how to do homemade ice the same quality as it is served in bars and restaurants.
Make some clear ice and serve with a dinner prepared for the occasion. Learn more about ice, how to make amazing cocktails and more. When the experience is over, you may notice that the ice does not have any marks or bubbles of any kind, on the contrary, the ice is clear and transparent like crystal. Why did this happen? Because boiling water so many times is possible to extract all trace of air contained in the water and dissolve its minerals. The resulting ice will be clear as if it were glass and can even be consumed without any problem, even this ice can be a treat for a cocktail if a mint leaf or some flower is inserted before becoming ice.
You can get crystal clear ice at home
Why is homemade ice not transparent?
Cocktail bars always use transparent, perfectly shaped cubes without a single crack. And we shake out from the molds a gray, incomprehensible frozen mass of uneven shape and with obvious bubbles. What's the matter? It seems that the answer is obvious - many people freeze chlorinated water, that’s why this is the result. But even spring or well water will look exactly the same, and here's why:
The first thing to do is to give it a needle, and to do this you need to rub it into the magnet repeatedly and always in the same direction with the poles reversed. So, rub the needle against the magnet from one end to the other for about one minute without stopping. Once ready, quickly insert the needle into the floating object. Assuming this small piece cork, pierce it with a needle from side to side. Finally, place the needle object inside the container of water and watch what happens.
What will happen is that slowly the magnet will point north, like a compass. In fact, you can confirm this with a professional compass, you will see that both are pointing in the same direction. If you want to try something else, you can slowly move the magnet around the container and watch how it changes the direction of the needle points. All this is explained by the way the needle was magnetized. When magnetism is applied to the magnetic poles, residual magnetic material is left at the opposite ends of the needle.
- ordinary water contains various impurities and gases, which cause opacity when it freezes quickly. Professional ice is made exclusively from purified water;
- cubes become cloudy when quick freezing. With slow cooling, gas and air bubbles are forced out of the water, which does not happen at shock temperature.
Homemade clear ice recipe
To get clear ice, we need clean water. This can be distilled liquid, commercially bottled, or purified using a reverse osmosis system.
Pour the liquid into a glass or enamel container and bring to a boil, then let it cool. We repeat the process again. Do not cover the pan while it is boiling, but do so while it is cooling.
Prepare the freezer. Ideally, if you have a modern freezer in which you can adjust the temperature. Set the temperature to -1⁰. There should be no strong odors in the freezer. If the freezer is unregulated, use this method:
- Pour regular hot water into any frost-resistant container and add table salt;
- put salted water in the freezer for several hours;
- if the water freezes, there is not enough salt, you need to change the solution to a stronger one;
- When you have found a suitable concentration, dip ice cube trays into the solution and place in the refrigerator.
Salt water will prevent the liquid from quickly cooling and freezing, and the crystal purity of the cubes will be achieved.
What can you use instead of molds?
These are the original ice molds the Japanese use!
Everyone has a mold in their refrigerator in which ice is frozen, but that number of cubes is hardly enough for cocktails for two people. What can be used to freeze water at home:
- Tabs for sweets.
- Plastic glasses.
- Caps from plastic bottles.
- Silicone baking molds.
- Walnut shells.
- Molds for portioned cream.
- Large parts from a children's designer set.
At worst, wrap the water in portions in ordinary plastic bags (food bags, of course) into unique balls. All household items that will be used to freeze homemade ice must be boiled or at least doused with hot water. Candy inserts should not be boiled or poured over hot water.
Crushed ice can be obtained by crushing frozen liquid in a canvas bag. To do this, take a rolling pin and beat the bag with it until you get crumbs of the desired size. A blender will also do the job well. Some models even have special blades for crushing ice cubes.
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