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Clear ice cubes |
Trader Woody
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2301
From: Tiki Manor, Forest of Bowland,UK
|  Posted: 2002-05-10 04:57 am Permalink
Does anyone know how to make good-looking clear ice cubes? Cocktail books always recommend using purified water, but that can be tricky to get hold of.
I realise it's a lot to do with your water supply (we live in a 'hard-water' area which means our ice-cubes shed horrible little flakes of minerals), but are there tips which suit all water types?
I hate to ruin a perfectly good cocktail with ice that starts to shed little dandruff-esque flakes!
Trader Woody
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Tiki Chris
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 1543
From: London
| Posted: 2002-05-10 05:00 am Permalink
brita water purifiers are reasonably priced (even here in london).
this might give ya an idea:
http://123kitchenandhome.com/3qtmagpit42.html
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Traderpup
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 26, 2002
Posts: 1041
From: Long Beach, CA
| Posted: 2002-05-10 07:31 am Permalink
Boil your water first, let cool a bit before filling your ice trays, then freeze. You should get nice crystal ice cubes.
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tikiboy
Tiki Centralite
Joined: May 11, 2002
Posts: 77
From: Alameda Island, CA
| Posted: 2002-05-12 01:00 am Permalink
My father-in-law was in the Ice Business in Modesto,CA. His ice making bins would bubble air through the 300 pounds of water to make them clear. It is the movement of the water that causes the clarity. You could mimic this by taking the vibrator out of the bedroom and duct taping it to the side of the refrigerator. That just might work.
Tikiboy
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Trader Woody
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2301
From: Tiki Manor, Forest of Bowland,UK
| Posted: 2002-05-14 3:00 pm Permalink
Thanks for the tips, chaps.
I had a water purifyer yonks ago & it's time to get another. The boiling trick seems to do the job well too, but I've yet to try stimulating the ice tray!!
We'll have lovely clear ice cubes before too long!
Trader Woody
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Tonnikan Jinn
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 28, 2004
Posts: 143
From: La Conchita
| Posted: 2004-05-13 6:02 pm Permalink
I have accomplished the clear ice cube by just using hot water (without boiling it first). I suppose the hard water factor may contribute too, so depending on the water you still may have to boil it.
Just my 2.5 cents.
-T.J.
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mriddle
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 06, 2003
Posts: 119
From: The Valley, like totally!
| Posted: 2004-05-14 1:44 pm Permalink
Yes, warm water works. As I understand it, one of the real reasons that water turns ti "white" ice in the feezer is that it freezes too fast. The slow the freezing, the more the air bubbles and inpurities are squeezed away. Freezing quicker means that everything is just locked up in the ice. Perhaps thats why hot water works, because it takes longer to freeze than room temp. water.
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Tikiwahine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3288
From: Ontario, Canada
| Posted: 2004-05-14 1:47 pm Permalink
I was told that hot water put into ice cube trays freezes faster than cold, I'm pretty sure that is a bunch of bs. Though I've never staged a 'race'
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Tiki Bird
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Sep 25, 2003
Posts: 850
From: Cerritos, Ca.
| Posted: 2004-05-14 2:44 pm Permalink
Geez, i'm glad i saw this thread, i always thought the reason my ice cubes were cloudy was that my ice filter was not good enough.
thanks
Tbird.
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DawnTiki
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Sep 01, 2002
Posts: 1673
From: next stop Hulaville!
| Posted: 2004-05-14 5:55 pm Permalink
Tikiwahine wroteQuote:
| I was told that hot water put into ice cube trays freezes faster than cold, I'm pretty sure that is a bunch of bs |
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Nope, it's true, it's called the Mpemba Effect.
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Tikiwahine
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 09, 2003
Posts: 3288
From: Ontario, Canada
| Posted: 2004-05-15 3:49 pm Permalink
Quote:
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On 2004-05-14 17:55, DawnTiki wrote:
Nope, it's true, it's called the Mpemba Effect.
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hehe, isn't that the name of one of the "ma na ma na" muppets?
cool, I'm gonna have to have a race one day. With my luck, I'll mix myself a drink and forget all about it 
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Velvet Ruby
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 22, 2003
Posts: 117
From: Vancouver
| Posted: 2004-05-16 03:52 am Permalink
I actually remember seeing a science show when I was a kid, (Owl tv??) where they conducted that very experiment.. It was funny, because it didn't work the first 3 times they tried it in the fridge.. it only worked when they went outside (luckily it was a Canadian show and um.. winter haha) something to do with the circulation in the fridge affecting it.. or something.. but it DID work in the end.. outside.. in the winter.. in ... canada..
good luck with that.
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TikiGardener
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 24, 2002
Posts: 1359
From: 1st website dedicated to Tiki Gardens
| Posted: 2004-05-16 6:01 pm Permalink
As I understand it, hot water freezes faster because of the rate of evaporation.
Evaporation causes things to cool down quicker thats why you sweat, your body is hoping for a breeze to cause evaporation, and you get that nice cooling effect.
Since hot water is evaporating faster than room temperature water, or even cold water, it freezes faster.
Thats my understanding of it, your mileage may vary.
TG
http://exotic-tiki-gardens.com
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Trader Woody
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2301
From: Tiki Manor, Forest of Bowland,UK
| Posted: 2004-05-17 3:00 pm Permalink
Wow, I forgot about my cloudy ice problem. Now that I've moved to a region that gets its water from reservoirs rather than from underground, the cubes are crystal clear. Almost as good-looking as those plastic ones they use in ads. It's all in the mineral content....
Trader Woody
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Hakalugi
Site Administrator
Joined: Aug 10, 2004
Posts: 2802
From: Redondo Beach, CA
| Posted: 2013-04-14 12:57 pm Permalink
Here's a method you can do at home that looks like it actually works!
Quote:
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On 2013-04-14 01:44, Dolewhip wrote:
Here's a somewhat labor-intensive but interesting take on the art of making clear ice from Dave Stolte, author of the spiffy little cocktail compendium, "Home Bar Basics (and Not-So-Basics)," which I notice is currently sold out (it's really worth tracking down - hope it's back in print again soon).
http://www.homebarbasics.com/ice/
...
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