A CONCERN OF ICE

Picture the scene. You’ve planned this dinner for a while and gone ALL OUT. Picked the organic pork belly up from the farm shop. Hand selected the veg from the market. Made the most amazing 24 hour marinade. Basted the thing every 20 mins for 8 hours. The wine shop resident sommelier picked out a wonderful red with all the right terroir. You even got some hand dived scallops for the starter. 

Cocktail on arrival- let’s say you’ve gone with your favourite (and may I say a cracker of a drink) 

A Cosmopolitan 

You bought a nice vodka, fancy triple sec, made a lemon sherbet syrup and juiced your own cranberries. Everything is measured out lovely in (may I dare say) very swanky bar gear.

And you go to add ice. That ice is from a tray that was underneath a fillet of cod, that’s playing big spoon to a freezer bag of bolognese. You, nor the freezer, have any clue when that ice was formed.

The drinks tasted fine, the guests were pleasant about them but there is a nagging in your head -for some reason you can still taste a quite fragrant mix of fish and ice cream.

I promise you it takes no extra effort, just a bit of forward planning. Time is the only key ingredient. Lets have a chit chat about Ice.

There are companies now that make ice for bars. Beautiful, clear ice. Some Bars even have their own ‘ice programmes’ and a person dedicated to making ice for the bar. All you need to do is be ahead. Trust me, if a bar is dedicating this much time and effort into something, it must make a difference- and it does.

Ice is the simple act of water turning into a solid. But by having impurities in and around it the taste and aroma can change, tainting your drink. I do have to be clear on one thing- this is not a dilution or whisky snob post.

If you have space, keep one compartment or a section dedicated to your ice. Try have it at the top and if you can ‘protect’ it from other items then super. Oddly that side of smoked salmon will impart those subtle oak notes if it happens to be draped over your ice cube tray.

There are some great silicone trays on the market to get those big cubes that look awesome. Bigger cubes will also dilute your drink slower as they will melt slower- something to do with surface area and liquid/solid interaction- I’m trying to keep your attention this time so that’s sciency enough. 

Remember to stockpile ice and keep them in a sealed container. It’s awful to run out and and annoying for you. It’s almost a jab at your organisation skills. And yes I’m aware you didn’t realise your friends would drink 8 gallons of woo woos but they are YOUR friends, you should have known better.

Lastly, have fun with it. View ice as an ingredient, and as such look at it with the same care and attention you do other things. Crap in = Crap out.

Why not flavour your ice so it changes your drink? Imagine that the last sip is different to the first. That’s science, and I think that’s pretty rad. Or how about going down the route of clear ice, which I have outlined below? Your welcome.

You will need 
• a cool box or similar (no lid required)
• Water (tap is fine)
• Freezer space

Place water in container, place in freezer. Leave for 12 hours. Check on it. If most the block has frozen you are good to go. Drain the remaining water and swoon as you look at your clear ice. Break up into the desired block size.

You see, most of the internet will tell you that the water needs to be distilled (boiled) or that you need a fancy gizmo that costs a tonne. When you freeze water in an insulated container (which is what a cool box is) the only surface that starts to freeze is the one exposed to the cold air. It’s called directional freezing and you are controlling the direction. Pure H2O, when it freezes is crystal clear. By controlling the direction any water with impurities will be pushed down towards the bottom of the container. That water will freeze at lower temperatures and will be cloudy. You can cut it off your block, there is no harm in that or not let it freeze and drain it off. I’ve once let this experiment go for over 24 hours and just carved off the ice I didn’t want. 

(Note. I have also produced clear ice in a non insulated container but when you do it this way it is more about getting the big cubes you can cut yourself.)

These big blocks look awesome in punch bowls or you can carve them to fit your glassware. There are even some bars that shape them into diamonds. Go have fun with it!