I probably think about ice more than the average person. Yes, ice; that naturally occurring phenomenon of water reaching 32° Fahrenheit (or 0° Celsius) degrees and transforming into a solid state of matter. It’s incredible, if you stop to consider, how humans have managed to harness this power and put it in the hands of anyone with access to electricity. If you have a working freezer, you already have ice, wanted or not, chilling on the shelves. So ubiquitous that it’s not even considered as a component of a recipe, lower on the ingredient hierarchy than the optional salt, it’s an insult that this modern marvel gets such disrespect.
I won’t bore you with a glacially slow history of ice. Rather, I want to highlight how cool ice really is, and how the quality of ice has a huge impact on the overall eating and drinking experience. I may or may not be able to chill out on the puns, but good ice is snow joke!
Quality AND Quantity
Much as been made in recent years about the volume of ice in drinks. Increasingly price-conscious consumers see all that space in their glasses taken up by flavorless frozen water and are crying foul. Where’s the rest of the order that should theoretically occupy that void?
The thing is, that’s not the way an iced beverage works. Ice, by design and by nature, melts. A properly composed drink takes this into account, factoring in the amount of dilution ice will cause and calibrating the concentration of the added liquid accordingly. That’s why a good iced latte is made with strong espresso, while iced coffee should be poured over coffee cubes to maintain the same bold flavor.
Certain cocktails are just a mixture of liquors; without a good measure of ice, that would be straight firewater. In other cases, when a stronger drink is desired or more juices and syrups are involved, that’s where cocktail shakers come in handy, straining out the excess ice to prevent the flavor from changing beyond a certain standard.
The shape and size of the ice makes a big impact on the amount that should be used as well.
Shaping Up Nicely
Being that it’s the frozen state of liquid H2O, ice can be in any shape imaginable. I personally own at least three or four dozen different ice cube trays that range from hearts to skulls and everything in between. In terms of common makes and models, there’s still a dizzying array of ice to cut through. The biggest differences have more to do with the freezing method than the final form.
- Crescent Ice: These are half-moon cubes that home freezers with built-in ice makers churn out 24/7. I have little opinion about them, personally. They do their job dutifully, unbothered by aesthetics. These will always be cloudy. (More on that later.)
- Bullet Ice: If you host a lot of parties and need to keep the ice flowing, you probably have a stand-alone ice maker that delivers these cylinder-shaped pieces on demand. They’re formed on metal tubes, with frozen water building up around the sides, creating an indentation in the centers.
- Nugget Ice: Known by some as “Sonic Ice,” these are the gold standard for chewable ice. Thin sheets of ice are frozen and scraped together repeatedly to form compact, 1-cm bites that have a similar texture to hard shaved ice. Nugget ice machines sit in the upper price range for most consumers, but there’s a very affordable loophole. If you have a Sonic location nearby, you can buy a 10 lb bag of packed ice from the drive-thru for around $3 – 5.
- Square Ice: These familiar 1-inch cubes are the workhorses of the bar. They chill drinks effectively without melting too quickly, making them ideal for a wide range of cocktails. Larger cubes, about 2 inches square, melt slower than standard cubes, perfect for sipping on neat liquors or spirit-forward cocktails on the rocks without watering them down.
- Spherical: Seamless round orbs add a touch of sophistication to any drink. Spheres have a smaller surface area compared to their volume, so they melt even slower than large square cubes. Plus, it’s hard to beat that visual appeal.
Clear As Day
Perhaps you’ve noticed that the ice cubes from your home freezer or ice maker are cloudy, whereas they’re perfectly clear in most restaurants and cafes. What gives? For such a simple question, the answer is a bit complicated.
Cloudy ice can contain minerals and trapped air, which can impart unwanted flavors and textures. However, even if you start with purified water, boiled tap water, hot water, or cold water, the very same hazy finish comes to the fore. The issue stems from microscopic air bubbles trying to get out as the water molecules draw tighter and tighter together. Household freezers pump out cold air from all sides to work more efficiently, setting the outer layer of water first, which then traps all the air bubbles in the center. The only way to ensure complete clarity is through directional freezing.
There are gadgets and DIY solutions to make your own directional freezing chamber, but I won’t lie, it takes a lot of patience and freezer real estate to work.The basic idea is that you insulate all but one side of the ice you’re creating so it’s forced to freeze only from the top down. You can then cut off the impurities than end up at the bottom.
I adore clear ice, notice and appraise it every time I order a drink at the bar, but this is too much of a commitment, even for me. Some things are best left to the professionals.
Frozen Assets
This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. We could still talk about crushed ice, luxury ice stamps, hand-carved artisan ice cubes, reusable ice cubes or “whiskey stones,” herbal and floral infused ice cubes, shot glasses made from ice… You see what I mean? Before hell freezes over, I should probably wrap things up.
Does anyone really need to think this much about ice? Maybe not. You don’t need to be an ice fanatic to enjoy it, as all people should be so fortunate on these brutal summer days. Even cloudy crescent ice is still good ice in my book. Just take a closer look next time you pour yourself a drink and appreciate what’s in your glass.