5 ways an ice cube tray can come in handy for so much more
If you’re someone who uses ice cube trays—in other words, you don’t indulgently buy ready-made ice cubes at the supermarket—then we can tell you that the tray can be used for many more purposes! By the way, during that hot summer, we also couldn’t keep the ready-made bags in stock, BECAUSE frozen cocktail season. But now that everything has more or less returned to normal, let’s take a look at what else besides water can be frozen in those cheerful little rectangles:
You may have heard some of these tips from us before, but seeing them all together, you’ll be surprised by how handy these things actually are! Just look at everything you can conveniently freeze for later…
No more watery iced coffee
When I work from home, I drink iced coffee almost every afternoon. And do you know what is a really good idea? Making the ice cubes from coffee instead of water. Coffee in your coffee—who wouldn’t want that? Especially if you brew filter coffee, you often have some left over. Pour it into an ice cube tray, and weak iced coffee will be a thing of the past.
Wine cubes are wine too
Not to pop straight into your mouth with drinks, of course, but handy to keep in the freezer as a little supply for when you make boeuf bourguignon (red), or pasta with garlic prawns (white). For the pan, that is. And for anyone who is laughing very loudly right now at the suggestion that you might ever have wine left over: perhaps fill a tray as soon as you remove the cork?
Stock
If you’ve taken the trouble to make your own stock, you should use it down to the last drop! Into the ice cube tray it goes. Often, one or two cubes are enough to give a sauce a little more body, and this way you waste nothing.
Green herbs
It’s such a shame to let the last bits of cilantro wither away in the fridge after making chili con carne or loaded nachos. Or curly parsley, which is incredibly delicious over a perfectly cooked steak. Try finely chopping them with the small chopper attachment of your stick blender, along with some oil or melted butter. Pour or spoon it into an ice cube tray, and you’ll always have something green on hand!
Egg whites to spare
Used the egg yolks to make hollandaise sauce (or custard)? There are plenty of uses for the leftover egg whites (meringue!), but if you’re done in the kitchen for today, simply freeze them for another time. In an ice cube tray, of course.
It is advisable to designate a separate ice cube tray for ‘food’. What you don’t want is a layer of chicken fat from the stock in your carefully mixed G&T, right?
Read also:
- How long can you actually keep bacon?
- Guide: get the most out of your freezer
- Recipe: leftover wine cookies
