How to make clear ice at home: four proven freezing methods

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For any occasion, you want to surprise your guests and make dishes and drinks not only tasty, but also beautiful. And the easiest and most affordable option to decorate them is to 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 a beautiful presentation of a dish or drink will be ensured - you can easily surprise guests or just people close to you, and they will thank you with their enthusiastic words of gratitude. How to make clear ice at home the same as in any bar? Let's look at the options below.

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.

Ice maker - professional option

You can always purchase a special device for freezing water, which is used in most bars. There are many different options for ice makers available today, 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 a rather expensive entertainment, and if you do not need a large amount of ice, you can get by with improvised means.

Celebration on a grand scale

Many readers may be interested in the question of how entertainment venues manage to create large quantities of ice cubes. How to make clear ice so that there is enough for hundreds of visitors and guests? For this purpose, special units are used - ice generators. With their help you can freeze a lot of water; they maintain an optimal temperature inside the chamber, which allows you to make the ice transparent.

But even when working with such a machine, it is important to observe certain conditions. In addition to the fact that the quality of the water must correspond to the specified parameters (the absence of impurities is mandatory), batches of ice must be made simultaneously

That is, adding water to the cells while ready-made cubes remain in the chamber will lead to a poor final result. It is best to use the liquid at room temperature: as practice shows, cooler water freezes unevenly, and the ice turns out cloudy.

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:

Clean the water from excess salts and suspended matter or use already purified water.
Pour the liquid into a container and boil.
Cool it at room temperature.
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.

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:

clean water (it is 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 it 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.

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 a saline solution from sea or regular table salt.

Steps to make clear ice:

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 can be kept in the freezer constantly, and ice can be frozen as needed.

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.

Immutable condition

So what's the deal? Why is it so difficult to get clear ice at home? How to make it clean, like a tear, smooth and shiny? The answer to the question is quite simple: the cubes will then turn out ideal when the conditions are favorable. There are several of them, and now we will tell you about them.

Firstly, the raw material from which you plan to make perfectly clear ice must also be ideal. What does this mean? It's simple: tap water is not good for us. In the substance that utilities supply through pipes, it is quite difficult to determine the composition. Impurities of metals, chemicals and other nasty things during freezing do not allow water molecules to crystallize as they should; they break the initially clear structure of the ice.

Secondly, liquids often contain air; small bubbles prevent frozen water from becoming transparent and smooth. This suggests a conclusion: the water must be clean and free of gases. It can be an ideal raw material, but doctors strongly do not recommend using it in the diet.

Making an ice mold

There are a lot of ways to make ice without a mold, it all depends on your imagination. Here are some interesting options:

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 of 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 are also an interesting option that can replace round ice cube trays. 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 get interesting shapes of candies.
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 well before use.
A regular plastic bag can easily be turned 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.

Watermelon frozen dessert

What ingredients will you need:

bright-colored watermelon pulp – 400 grams;
granulated sugar - 170 grams;
one medium-sized lemon;
kiwi – 2 pieces;
blueberries – 100 grams;
chilled water – 150 ml.

It will take 4-5 hours to prepare.

Calorie content – 118 kcal.

How to make popsicles from watermelon:

The granulated sugar should be divided into three parts because this ice is made of three layers;
Place the seedless watermelon pulp into a blender and add a third of the granulated sugar;
Cut the lemon into two parts, squeeze the juice from half and pour it into a blender with the watermelon with sugar;
Grind everything until puree is formed;
Pour watermelon mixture into molds;
Dip the blueberries into the watermelon mixture; they will become watermelon seeds;
Place the molds in the freezer and leave for a while;
As soon as the mixture freezes a little, insert a stick into each mold;
Put it back in the freezer;
Make a second layer in the container. Pour in water, juice from half a lemon and a third of sugar;
Stir thoroughly until the sugar is completely dissolved;
Take out the molds and pour the second layer;
After this, we make a third layer of kiwi. Peel the fruits, cut them into medium pieces and place them in a blender container;
Add sugar, add a little water and puree in a blender;
Place the last layer of kiwi into the molds;
Place in the freezer for several hours until completely frozen.

Recommendations

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, make fruit ice: beat 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.

Delicious ice

Using ice you can change not only the temperature, but also the appearance and taste of the cocktail:

Add aromatic herbs to the ice figures; they will decorate it and give it a spicy original taste. The most suitable options are mint, thyme, lemon balm, and basil. Be sure to consider the compatibility of the drink and herbal supplements. Instead of herbs, you can freeze tiny edible flowers - small buds of roses, violets, nasturtiums.
Freeze berries (after removing the seeds), fruit slices, olives, citrus slices, melon or watermelon slices. Fill the mold to about a third of the volume and freeze. Place a slice of product and fill with water. An unusual cocktail can be served by placing pieces of nuts in ice cubes.
Use juices, lemonade, fruit drinks, liqueur. This will enrich the taste of the cocktail and make its color brighter. The main thing is not to forget about the compatibility of tastes.
Add crushed chocolate or shavings to ice; you can freeze the finished chocolate drink.
Take food coloring and flavoring. Multilayer ice cubes look especially interesting. Pour some water into the mold, add flavoring and coloring, and freeze. Pour in a little more water, add another flavoring and coloring, freeze, etc. These cubes are an excellent decoration for cocktails.

Pros recommend

To create ice masterpieces, you must use a solid block of uniform consistency. Loose ice will quickly crumble and melt, and this will not make it possible to carve a beautiful sculpture.

Working in too much frost is not only difficult, but also dangerous - the ice freezes so hard that during processing very hard and sharp fragments fly off from it, which can easily hurt you. In addition, it will not be possible to glue several parts of a product together using water - it will freeze too quickly, and a warm liquid can cause the entire composition to explode due to a sharp temperature change.

You can create ice blocks yourself using special freezers. They are imported and domestically produced. The advantage of Russian freezers is the ability to order a chamber according to individual sizes.

There is a problem

Any modern refrigerator, as standard, contains an egg tray and shelves of different sizes and purposes, as well as a miniature mold for freezing water. By the way, inventive housewives not only use it for its intended purpose, but also freeze aromatic herbs, berry, fruit and vegetable purees in it, which are then used to prepare a variety of dishes.

Such skill, however, does not mean at all that at least half of the experienced girls know how to prepare the elementary component of cocktails and soft drinks - clear ice. How to make it crystal clear and beautiful, the way it is served in bars, restaurants or shown in television commercials?

The usual one always gives an unexpected and rather unsightly result. The cubes look unsightly, they contain inclusions of unknown origin, multiple chips and cracks, in addition, they have an uneven consistency.

Staged freezing

To speed up the process of forming a dense ice cube, it is enough to pour water gradually. First you need to fill the form one quarter, then a third and then to the top. In this case, the entire process will take about half an hour, instead of three to four hours with the usual one-time form filling technology. The same physical principle works: the area of contact with cold air and the frozen base increases, due to which the entire volume is cooled evenly.

This kind of freezing is a convenient option if you need ice constantly. Even if you fail to fill the molds completely, the cubes will still be at least half ready. This is also convenient if you want to make cocktails or lemonades with cold crumbs. Small quantities are easier to put into a blender or shaker and grind.

An effective life hack

Let's look at the easiest way to freeze.
For this we need a plastic refrigerator container. We usually take this thing with us to the beach or on a picnic so that the food does not spoil under the influence of high temperatures. So, pour some water into the bottom. Important recommendation: it must be distilled. The thing is that there are many impurities in tap water. After freezing, all these particles make the ice cloudy. Unforeseen problems: Tesla Cybertruck toy version has been delayed

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Now place the refrigerator container in the freezer for exactly one day. There is no need to overexpose: twenty-four hours will be enough.

Extract the contents. Pour the unfrozen water into the sink. You will end up with a fairly large block of ice.

Don't be afraid if its surface is cloudy or coated. It's very easy to get rid of it. Boil water and dip a knife into it. By the way, it is better to take not an ordinary kitchen knife with which you cut bread, but a large knife for cutting meat.

Dip a knife into boiling water for a couple of seconds and cut off the cloudy edges from the ice block. As a result, you will see pure ice: the kind that is served in bars. True, for now we have a very large block, so we need to chop it into pieces.

Using the same hot knife, cut the block into cubes of the desired size. You can store the ice cubes in an airtight container or bag. That's the whole secret.

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Simple liquid caramel

The simplest liquid caramel is made with each of 2 ingredients: granulated sugar and water. To start with, you will need two parts sugar to one part liquid. Combine them in one saucepan, place over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. After this, increase the heat to full. Boil the syrup, continuing to stir until it turns golden. It is more convenient for everyone to determine the readiness of liquid caramel using a culinary thermometer; it should show 195 ° C. Do not leave the caramel unattended, it can burn in a few seconds and you will no longer be able to get rid of the burnt taste. Once the caramel changes color, start adding water. Be careful because you may get burned by the splashes. You need to add the same amount of water as you added initially. While adding water, whisk the caramel. Once it emulsifies, that is, becomes a solid substance, turn off the heat because the caramel is ready.

Strawberries in chocolate

This is a recognized combination of two tastes, giving unimaginable pleasure! Why not extend it?

Take fresh strawberries and remove the stems. I advise you to take the berry in season, as it is grown in natural conditions and has a different aroma, unlike its winter counterparts at crazy prices.
Arrange into cells.
Melt white or dark chocolate in a water bath.
Fill and freeze.

Makes a delicious dessert!

Technology and cooking features

Before you start making ice, it’s worth considering the features of the technology for preparing this cold dessert. In fact, preparing it does not require much effort; everything is done quite simply and easily.

The main thing is that you must have juice from natural berries and fruits. Various spices and granulated sugar are also added to it.

But still, before you start preparing it, you should carefully study some important features:

Making ice using fresh fruit. This treat can be made from fresh seasonal or frozen fruit. But before you start cooking, be sure to thoroughly rinse all components from dust and dirt. As soon as the fruits are washed, it is recommended to wipe them and after that you can start making ice;
Juice based ice. This is the most common cold dessert technology. In this version it cooks very quickly. To do this, you need to squeeze juice from fruits or berries. It can then be mixed with the ground pulp. The liquid mixture is poured into molds and placed in the freezer for a while. As soon as a crust of ice forms on the surface, a stick is inserted into each mold and put back into the freezer until completely frozen;
Ice from sugar syrup. The technology for making this ice is quite simple. For preparation you need juice from fruits, berries, granulated sugar and water. Water is poured into the container, sugar is added and everything is mixed. Next, the berries or fruits are ground to a puree-like mass. Then the berry or fruit puree is poured into sugar syrup and stirred. The finished composition is poured into molds, which are placed in the freezer.

From the history

Beautiful noblewomen have long used ice to rejuvenate their skin. The main mistress of the French guarantor Louis XV had a habit of sleeping with bowls of ice placed around the room. Catherine the Second had a custom in the morning to wipe her face with ice. Diana, King Henry's mistress, had a habit of rubbing crushed ice on her body. Even Napoleon's mistress watched her face in this way. Ice cubes were also used by magnificent actresses: Marilyn Monroe, as well as Marlene Dietrich. Ice is an excellent tonic.

Interesting fact

To confirm that ice actually stops skin aging, researchers conducted an experiment lasting a month. It was carried out for two women, aged thirty years. One needed to wipe her face with ice twice a day for a whole month, the second just needed to wash her face twice without ice.

A month later, it was possible to state: the girl who used ice on her face stopped the aging of skin cells. Her face was visually fresher, younger, her skin was smoother, there were no bruises or swelling under the eyes, and there was no irritation. The second girl showed no signs of improvement within a month.