Cook with Us #31: Refreshingly Chin-Chin Ice-Cubes!

A couple of weeks ago we did the budget meal challenge. I reckon this week’s challenge would have been as cheap as the budget meal. Except for the raspberries and cherry I had the majority of the ingredients at home already. I must admit that I’ve never done any fancy ice cube in my life. Generally I just add water to the tray put it in the freezer and access when I need to.

This has been a very straight forward that I’ve been using ever since I’ve been a kick. But just like with traditional milkshake even the way you prepare ice cubes have changed. In fact this has become a real art being perfected on those fancy bistro or restaurant. Everyone is trying to have an edge on their competitors. “Everything that shines ain’t gold.” That famous expression does not necessarily apply to the hospitality industry. People now eat and drink through their eyes first before actually applying the food and drink through their palate.

 

No wonder then that all the fancy bars popping up in the big cities have got these fancy addition to their drinks. Some barmen/barmaids have up their skills. Over and above their cocktails skills they have now turned into ice sculpter. They will work the ice as you’ve never seen before and do it with such maestria that sometimes you would feel really bad everything crunching through their work of art. Because I’ve never seen some given a glass full of ice not attempt to least crunch their way through at least one ice cube!

 

This week’s challenge comes at a very good time. Today the temperature is predicted to reach 29 degrees celsius. I will try to keep cool as much as I can. But it is likely that in the afternoon I’ll try to enjoy the sun by sitting on my alfresco and sipping through some cold drinks. The challenge was particularly hard for me as ideally I would have like to add the fancy ice cubes to a fizzy soft drink, a beer or some gin and tonic. However, with my husband, we are doing a dry November. Nothing sinister, we just thought it would be good how we go not having any alcohol or sugar for a month. By that I mean that voluntarily adding sugar to our food or drink. As a result we chose to only use sparkling water for the drink.

 

At home we have the traditional ice cube tray. Very standard in form and nothing fancy about it. I thought I would look for something more interesting that provide more depth, to add larger fruits, but also where I can shape the ice cube into different forms (not necessarily square or rectangular). I looked online for such products and most of the them were above $10. Then I checked the local Kmart store and was surprised to get all the trays I needed for less than $6! In the post inviting entries to this week’s challenge, @cookwithus mentioned that it is quite hard to get the ice cube completely transparent. It is indeed. However, it appears that the secret of a transparent cube is in boiling the water twice before pouring it into the tray. 

 

I tried that. Some worked really well and is completely transparent. Others worked less well but you can still distinguish the fruits or herbs that have been added. I reckon that I might have been mistaken in pre-washing the fruits and herbs (as you should!) before freezing them. The excess water on them might have created the additional layer of freezing that prevented some of my cubes from being completely transparent. But for a first attempt at fancy cubes, I must admit that I am very happy with the outcome. And of course, refreshingly happy with the added flavour to my drinks.

I hope you enjoy it.

Bon appétit!

And good luck to everyone.

   

INGREDIENTS

• 1 litre Sparkling Water
• 10 Raspberries
• 4 Strawberries
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 Lemon
• 4 Cherries
• 1 bunch Rosemary

 

METHOD

1. Boil 7 cups of water in a kettle. Allow to partially cool down and boil the water again. Let water cool down. In the meantime, prepare your ice cube trays and place the fruits and herbs in your preferred order.
     
2. Pour in the cooled water and place in freezer overnight.
     
3. Un-mould the ice cubes.
       
4. Place the ice-cubes in the glasses and add sparkling water.