One ice cube is crystal clear, the other isn’t: how is that possible?
It took some practice, but by now we’re bona fide quarantine bartenders. Because you can make those classic cocktails in no time, even if you don’t have a bartender’s skills and tools. But that crystal-clear ice cocktails are served with in a bar—why is it so clear? And why aren’t the ice cubes from our home freezers?
A cocktail or whisky on the rocks looks extra fancy with a piece of clear ice chopped off by the bartender. And that clear ice is different from the cloudy ice cubes from our freezer. This is because clear ice is cooled in a cooler rather than in an ice cube tray (which you need to clean more often than you think!).
From top to bottom
The freezing process determines whether ice becomes clear or not. When you freeze ice in an ice cube tray, the cube freezes unevenly, from all sides. By freezing water in a cooler, you force the water to freeze from top to bottom. This creates perfect ice crystals.
Ice to impress
To really impress with your homemade quarantine cocktail, serve it in a matching cocktail glass with crystal-clear ice. With this simple trick—which does require a very large freezer, a cooler (or small cooler) and patience—you can make cocktail-bar-worthy clear ice at home.
How to make clear ice cubes yourself
- Fill your (mini) cooler with lukewarm water from the tap. Make sure the water isn’t hot!
- Then place the box without its lid in the freezer for 18 to 24 hours. You want a layer of water to remain at the bottom of the cooler, as this is what makes the ice clear. So make sure you don’t freeze the entire block.
- Once the ice is frozen, you can remove it from the cooler. To do this, place the cooler upside down in the sink for 5 to 10 minutes. After that, the block will fall out of the cooler on its own.
- Now you can chop your own ice cubes. Use a tea towel to hold the ice.
- Want to store the clear ice blocks? You can keep them in an airtight container in the freezer. The next time you want to use the ice, leave it outside the freezer for 2 minutes first so that it doesn’t crack or break, but remains one beautiful block.
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