This is an excellent way to cool off in summer. An interesting combination of flavors of a chocolate cube swirling in a whirlwind of vanilla milk. This dessert has the velvety texture of ice cream and the coolness that is so lacking in summer.

Ice chocolate cubes are especially interesting because they are not just frozen chocolate. They also contain milk, instant coffee, sugar.

Ingredients:

• 200 ml of milk;
• 50 ml of water;
• 70 g dark chocolate;
• 1 tsp Sahara;
• 1 tbsp cocoa;
• 1 tbsp instant coffee.

Melt the chocolate, mix with the rest of the ingredients, pour into ice molds and freeze.

Frozen chocolate cubes are great for smoothies, milk and cold coffee.

19. Freeze fruit juice and add it to sparkling water.

The juice cubes will melt, giving the water not only coolness, but also a magical taste.

20. Use ice cube trays to store leftover homemade cookie dough.

The next time you make homemade cookies, you can freeze leftover dough in an ice cube tray. Then, when you want something sweet, you just defrost the right amount of cubes. This way you will always have fresh cookies.

21. Use frozen greens for smoothies.

Using fresh herbs is fine, but sometimes they need to be boiled before being eaten. Then boil some greens, use a blender to puree, freeze the puree in ice molds. Now you can just get a few ice cubes and not spend a lot of time preparing your morning cocktail.

22. Make easy frozen yogurt.

Freeze yogurt to enjoy on hot days. Quality yogurt should not lose its fluffy texture, even if it is frozen.

23. Freeze homemade chicken and vegetable broths for later use.

In the freezer, stock cubes can be stored for 2 months, and you only need to defrost the right amount during cooking.

The question "How to make ice at home?" makes many people smile. After all, what could be easier than taking water into molds and putting it in the freezer?! But what to do if you do not have an ice cube mold on hand or is it cracked? Yes, and the ice in restaurants and in the photo for some reason is transparent, but at home it turns out white and cloudy. Of course, the restaurant uses ice makers, but at home you can do without them and make a small amount of clear ice in the freezer. We will tell you in detail how to do it.

How to make clear ice

Why does ordinary ice have a heterogeneous structure and white crystals in the center? The answer is simple: because of the composition of the water from which we prepare it. Everyone knows that water can be hard and soft, different substances can be dissolved in it. It is salts, gases and other impurities in the process of freezing water that form large white crystals in pieces of ice and change its color.

Only non-carbonated purified water with a minimum hardness can form transparent ice when frozen. If the ice is prepared correctly, it will have neither taste nor smell, and it will melt slowly by about 40-50%. How to cook it:

1. Take purified water for baby food on the basis that each guest needs 500-600 grams of ready-made ice.
2. Pour water into an enamel or stainless steel pot, bring to a boil, boil for 2 minutes, turn off the gas, cover and let cool.
3. Repeat boiling again, cool under the lid to room temperature. Thus, you will get rid of the gases dissolved in the water.

Pour the prepared water into molds and cover them with cling film and put in the freezer until completely solidified.

A few important details:

• The freezer must be kept clean to prevent bacteria from getting into the ice and bad odors to be absorbed. Do not store ice in the fish and meat container.
• To avoid the formation of bubbles, pour water in three stages - first to the bottom, then to the middle, and only then to the edge of the mold, allowing each layer to completely dry. Also for this purpose, you can apply the method of slow freezing (temperature -1 Celsius during the day).
• You can also freeze hot water (without covering it with a film), taking into account the quality of the mold material and the power of the freezer.
• Ice can be stored indefinitely.

How to make ice without molds

You can use any form for making ice except glass - the glass will simply burst when the freezing water expands. You can take out the finished ice from a mold of any size and material, if you slightly heat the mold itself from the outside. If you do not have a special ice mold, you can use:

• plastic glasses
• plastic or metal lids
• silicone molds for miniature cupcakes or sweets
• chocolate box insert
• small plastic bags
• details of a large Lego constructor and other plastic toys

All of these forms must be processed before use. New plastic bags and plastic cups do not need to be washed, but children's toys are best wiped with alcohol.

How to make crushed ice

Desserts are even prepared from crushed ice in Asian countries, pouring it with fruit juices and syrups. For crushing ice, special devices are used. But at home, such a thing only for crushing ice is unlikely to be installed by anyone. Therefore, you can use other methods to make small portions of crushed ice.

1. Use manual crusher. This will take a lot of time and effort, but there will be little ice.
2. take advantage food processor or blender: container with S-blade, pulse mode. It will be noisy, but everything will work out under the condition of the normal power of the device and sharp knives.
3. The best method is to put the ice in a thick kitchen towel, wrap it up properly and break it right into the towel. ice hammer(or a clean meat mallet). Use it on a more even surface. We do not recommend using a plastic bag - the ice will simply tear it and scatter to the sides.

From the outside it seems that there is nothing easier than making ice for cocktails, especially with special molds. In practice, everything is not so rosy - before you make ice, you will have to study the important nuances of the process. Otherwise, a clear and transparent ingredient for alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks will look like a cloudy gray substance.

Quite often, housewives have a question about how to make ice at home if there is no suitable form at hand. Fans of experiments and creativity have developed several solutions for this case that will help you achieve the desired result with your own hands.

Secrets that will allow you to get transparent ice without bubbles

Frozen water and ice for cocktails are two completely different things. Contrary to the promises of the manufacturers of ice making equipment, it is not enough to pour water into the mold and put it in the refrigerator. It is only through preliminary preparation that the final product can be expected to be transparent and attractive.

There are several methods for producing high-quality ice with your own hands:

• Processed water. Pour water into a steel or enameled container (most importantly, not aluminum) and bring to a boil. After the liquid boils for several minutes, cool it naturally. Then boil water again and cool again. In the intervals between boiling, do not forget to cover the container with a lid, preventing dust from settling. After processing, pour water into molds and freeze. This approach makes it possible to obtain transparent ice due to the fact that air bubbles are removed and the water molecules adhere more closely to each other.

Tip: Regardless of the type of ice making approach, professionals recommend always using filtered or potable water. Otherwise, the unpleasant smell will go away only for a while and will be revealed in full after the cube enters the drink.

• Slow freeze. If the time and capabilities of the refrigeration unit allow, then you need to set the temperature to -1ºС. We wait until the temperature rises to the desired one and set the molds in the chamber with water spilled over them. Additionally, it is recommended to wrap the device with cling film. The exposure time is at least a day. The slow expulsion of the bubbles as the liquid cools ensures that the ice is clear and even.
• Freezing in a salty environment. Someone suggests using sea water to prepare the base, but if this option is not possible, you can prepare a salty environment with your own hands. True, it will be possible to achieve ideal concentration only by experience. Practice shows that with this approach, one can hope for the desired result even when tap water is frozen. Pour water into a bowl, add salt, stir. We remove the container in the freezer, the temperature should not be lower than -2ºС. After the liquid becomes very cold, lower the ice molds filled with water into it and put it back in the freezer.

The last option is considered the most correct and preferred. In the course of such processing, ice cubes become not only transparent, but also even, without cracks and streaks. All harmful particles will be expelled, so the elements after entering the drink will not cause an unpleasant odor. An additional advantage of the approach is that salt water can be kept in the freezer permanently (provided that the set temperature is maintained) and reused.

How to make ice without an ice mold - an affordable creative

It is not necessary to have special molds at home or design them with your own hands in order to prepare beautiful and original ice. If you wish, you can find many worthy ways out of the situation:

• If we are not talking about making cocktails, but about serving one-component drinks, then you can make ice immediately in glasses. To do this, you need suitable dishes that can withstand temperatures of -1ºС. Just pour a little chilled drinking or boiled water into the bottom of the glass and put it in the freezer for slow freezing. Be sure to make sure that the rest of the container is completely dry. This method allows you to achieve the necessary cooling, and the drink itself in the glass gives an unusual look.
• To freeze water, you can use plastic cups with a bottom of various diameters. Pour the liquid no more than a centimeter and freeze as usual. The output will be original round pieces of ice. They can even be divided into halves or quarters, if you initially lay them with pieces of plastic cut with your own hands from unnecessary bottles.
• Some people manage to make ice with lids. They can be made of plastic or metal, twisted or rolled. The only difficulty is that when removing ice from such products, it is difficult not to damage it.
• If desired, you can adapt Lego parts or silicone molds as blanks. You just need to thoroughly disinfect them before use.
• In the most extreme case, you will have to do with plastic bags. We cut them into large flaps or initially take packages of a very small volume. Pour water into them and twist them into balls of various sizes. Put in a bowl and freeze according to the rules.

In addition, you can come up with other equally original options for making ice. The main thing is to act according to the rules, then the components will become a real decoration of the drinks served.

It would seem that it could be easier: fill the molds with tap water and put in the freezer for a couple of hours. But the result is a milky substance, often with an unpleasant smell of chlorine. To prevent this, we will consider the correct technology for making ice at home in the form of transparent cubes or crushed pieces. Of the equipment, only a freezer is required, even molds can be replaced with improvised containers.

Theory. Homemade ice turns cloudy due to gases (including oxygen), mineral salts and other impurities contained in the water. Gases form tiny bubbles that, when frozen, form crystals that are too large. Heavy metal salts act in a similar way. Only purified, degassed water of low hardness gives complete transparency.

Properly made ice is not only transparent, colorless and tasteless, it also melts 30-50% longer. As a result, the drink is less diluted with water.

The difference between conventional freezing and the proposed technology

Ingredient:

• water (purified or distilled) - 1 liter.

Depending on the number and variety of drinks, an average of 600-800 grams of ice is required per party member.

homemade ice recipe

1. Pass ordinary water from a water supply system or a well (well) through a filter for purification, preferably with reverse osmosis, removing minerals and salts to the maximum. The harder the water, the better the cleaning should be. If there is no filter, it is better to purchase bottled water for children that has undergone additional softening.

The ideal option is distilled water, which you can buy at a pharmacy or make it yourself by distilling ordinary water in a moonshine still of any design.

Advice. Make sure the freezer and ice trays are odor free. For example, you can not make ice in a compartment where meat or fish is stored openly.

2. Pour the prepared water into any clean non-aluminum pan and bring to a boil. Turn off heating. After 2-3 minutes, cover with a lid.

3. Cool the water to room temperature, then bring to a boil again, cover and cool to 20-25°C. Double boiling is guaranteed to remove the remaining oxygen and other gases, making the ice transparent.

4. Pour water into molds, cover with cling film on top (preferably) and put in the freezer. If there are no special molds, they can be replaced with disposable cups or bottoms from plastic bottles.

The bottom is suitable for cubes, in the neck you can freeze ice for crushing

To make it easier to add ice cubes to a glass, I advise you to pour water in a layer no higher than 5-6 cm.

5. Freezing time depends on the temperature in the freezer and the volume of molds. If a bubble is visible in the center of the cube, the ice is not yet ready.

To speed up cooking, you can freeze initially hot water without wrapping the exposed surface with cling film. The main thing is not to melt the mold material.

To make homemade ice without bubbles inside, you will have to freeze water in a couple of visits: first, pour only on the bottom (1-2 cm layer), after solidification, add to half the mold, leave for a couple of hours in the freezer, pour in the remaining water and wait until completely frozen .

6. Remove the finished cubes from the mold by slightly bending the plastic base. The shelf life of homemade ice in the freezer is unlimited.

How to make crushed ice

7. Fold the cubes obtained in the previous step into a strong plastic bag. Gently crush the ice to the required crystal size with a wooden mallet or any other blunt kitchen utensil, such as a rolling pin. Apply blows smoothly and not very hard, trying not to tear the package.

Attention! Before crushing, protect your eyes and face from the ingress of individual pieces of ice.

An alternative option is to grind the cubes in a food processor or blender, setting the pulse mode.

With manual crushing, it is very easy to get hurt!

It would seem that it could be easier: fill the molds with tap water and put in the freezer for a couple of hours. But the result is a milky substance, often with an unpleasant smell of chlorine. To prevent this, we will consider the correct technology for making ice at home in the form of transparent cubes or crushed pieces. Of the equipment, only a freezer is required, even molds can be replaced with improvised containers.

Theory. Homemade ice turns cloudy due to gases (including oxygen), mineral salts and other impurities contained in the water. Gases form tiny bubbles that, when frozen, form crystals that are too large. Heavy metal salts act in a similar way. Only purified, degassed water of low hardness gives complete transparency.

Properly made ice is not only transparent, colorless and tasteless, it also melts 30-50% longer. As a result, the drink is less diluted with water.

Ingredient:

• water (purified or distilled) - 1 liter.

Depending on the number and variety of drinks, an average of 600-800 grams of ice is required per party member.

homemade ice recipe

1. Pass ordinary water from a water supply system or a well (well) through a filter for purification, preferably with reverse osmosis, removing minerals and salts to the maximum. The harder the water, the better the cleaning should be. If there is no filter, it is better to purchase bottled water for children that has undergone additional softening.

The ideal option is distilled water, which you can buy at a pharmacy or make it yourself by distilling ordinary water in a moonshine still of any design.

Advice. Make sure the freezer and ice trays are odor free. For example, you can not make ice in a compartment where meat or fish is stored openly.

2. Pour the prepared water into any clean non-aluminum pan and bring to a boil. Turn off heating. After 2-3 minutes, cover with a lid.

3. Cool the water to room temperature, then bring to a boil again, cover and cool to 20-25°C. Double boiling is guaranteed to remove the remaining oxygen and other gases, making the ice transparent.

4. Pour water into molds, cover with cling film on top (preferably) and put in the freezer. If there are no special molds, they can be replaced with disposable cups or bottoms from plastic bottles.

To make it easier to add ice cubes to a glass, I advise you to pour water in a layer no higher than 5-6 cm.

5. Freezing time depends on the temperature in the freezer and the volume of molds. If a bubble is visible in the center of the cube, the ice is not yet ready.

To speed up cooking, you can freeze initially hot water without wrapping the exposed surface with cling film. The main thing is not to melt the mold material.

To make homemade ice without bubbles inside, you will have to freeze water in a couple of visits: first, pour only on the bottom (1-2 cm layer), after solidification, add to half the mold, leave for a couple of hours in the freezer, pour in the remaining water and wait until completely frozen .

6. Remove the finished cubes from the mold by slightly bending the plastic base. The shelf life of homemade ice in the freezer is unlimited.

How to make crushed ice

7. Fold the cubes obtained in the previous step into a strong plastic bag. Gently crush the ice to the required crystal size with a wooden mallet or any other blunt kitchen utensil, such as a rolling pin. Apply blows smoothly and not very hard, trying not to tear the package.

Attention! Before crushing, protect your eyes and face from the ingress of individual pieces of ice.

An alternative option is to grind the cubes in a food processor or blender, setting the pulse mode.