You can make these arguments about literally any prepackaged product. I’m not defending this ice, but come on. You can make anything yourself, so long as you have the equipment, time, and money. Paying for someone else to have done it for you is about convenience, and is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.
If you’re into making fancy ice, then you can get into making your own purified water using complete combustion. If you’re into making purified water with complete combustion then can get into making your own hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. If you’re into making your own hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen then you can get into making your own universe.
I have a very well stocked home bar and enjoy making fancy cocktails. My tiny ass freezer barely has room for the 5lb bag of ice I keep in there, let alone space for a fuckin mini cooler to make clear ice in. I also lack prep space to carve ice in my kitchen. You can make fancy drinks without fancy ice. It’ll still taste the sam, it just won’t look as pretty in the glass
Yes… First step buy fancy ice maker that freezes ice in one direction, second step make fancy ice, third step put it in the glass, fourth step pour whiskey on it
these arent occult secrets that take years of study and meditation
You just need to keep the water agitated as it freezes to prevent bubbles forming in it, and they sell machines specifically for this that would pay for themselves in no time over buying pre-made fancy ice cubes. They even have ones that make spheres.
you can also freeze the ice in an insulated container with no lid. that makes air bubbles and impurities collect at the bottom, after which you can cut that part off.
That may help slightly, as it lowers the water’s ability to hold dissolved gasses. So boiling it beforehand will force out a lot of the gas that would have become air bubbles. But it’s not perfect, and results vary a lot. There are two main ways to get clear ice:
Keep it moving while it freezes, so the air bubbles can escape
Insulate it so it only freezes from one direction.
Basically, the air bubbles cause foggy ice. And air bubbles tend to get trapped because water freezes from the outside (where the cold air is touching it) first. This forms a hard shell, which then traps the gas and causes foggy ice. By agitating the water, you ensure that it doesn’t start freezing until all of the water is ready to freeze. It prevents the shell from forming first, meaning gas can escape the center of the cubes as it freezes.
For the second method, by insulating it, you ensure that the water freezes from one direction. For instance, if you fill an ice chest/cooler with water (effectively insulating it from the sides and bottom) and throw it in the freezer without a lid, the top half of the cooler will be clear ice and the bottom will be foggy. Because as the top freezes, the gas is able to escape down towards the bottom of the cooler. So your ice doesn’t get murky until the gas runs out of room at the bottom of the cooler.
That does exactly what I said in the second method. It insulates everything except the top, so it freezes in one direction. So I guess thanks for proving my point?
You win that’s right. I read the first part and checked out because it’s Rube Goldberg clear ice. Directional freezing is the way and everything else is stupid noise.
The practical answer is directional freezing. Put the mold for the thing you want to be clear in a small cooler (or buy an insulated mold thing), be sure there is a hole in the bottom, fill it with water and put it in your deep freezer. Voilà clear ice for whatever purpose.
You don’t need to agitate it or boil it or use special water, just use tap water and the right set up and it works fine.
A bartender I worked with made his in a little igloo cooler, of course then you one big block that you have to cut into functionally-sized cubes. But he would also do cool shit like suspend pine needles into it the block so each cube had a little sprig coming out of it after they were frozen and cut.
It’s not hard, it just isn’t particularly efficient or convenient. The standard method is to use a bunch more water that you want to become actual ice, make it in large insulated blocks, then chop at the end. I have a little insulated tray that makes two at a time. They come out pretty clear, but at least half the water used is essentially waste to create a clear cube. The top half being still ice, but full of little bubbles, not clear. If I was throwing a party, as people are want to do on summer weekends, and I wanted many many big clear ice cubes then I’d seriously consider buying a box load.
To get clear ice you have to freeze it slowly, basically just at the freezing mark (32°C/0°F) which is a warmer temperature than most people have their freezer set to. It’s not difficult in an objective sense, it just requires rubbing a couple of brain cells together and a tiny morsel of effort which is apparently more than a lot of people can muster.
No. You need to freeze in in an insulated container with only one side exposed so it all freezes in 1 direction. Impurities get pushed to the opposite side and you are left with clear ice.
I had a few bourbons last night and over-commented to be sure. Mea culpa. I spent quite a lot of time learning to make clear ice and I had to navigate all of this BS to get to the easy solution.
As a critique of your comment, I didn’t resort to ad hominem I was talking about the comments themselves.
At the same time, there’s a little bit of pot and kettle action going on here which is not lost on me.
I left literally one comment on this entire thread, if that’s the same as me having my knickers in a twist and calling people dumb as shit for having methods that differ from my own, then I guess I’m a pot.
Did I call it an ad hominem? Not all insults are ad hominems. “You’re wrong because you’re dumb as shit” is an ad hominem. “You’re dumb as shit because you’re wrong” isn’t.
You didn’t premise your conclusions upon the insults, so I wouldn’t call them ad hominems. It’s still an overreaction though, not to mention unnecessarily rude.
Go reread. I never called anyone “dumb as shit”, just the comments. Rude? Sure I’ll own that though.
I’m pretty sure you left more comments than one on what I wrote. Your commentary sure has the feel of “pretty worked up” but I won’t pretend to be a psychologist and tell you it’s a sign of mental illness: that’s a thing that’s reserved for real assholes on the Internet.
Edit: Yeah I left 4 comments in one chain and you got me twice. Seems like you have the same kind of itch to comment when the mood strikes. If you’ve got an excuse I’m sure I’ll hear about it.
Believe it or not some of us like pretty things to enjoy for ourselves, not to put on social media.
And big clear ice melts more consistently in a way that better maintains coldness longer while maintaining a slower pace of dilution. It does make a difference to flavor.
If you are into fancy looking cocktails this product makes sense. Making clear ice cubes at home is not easy.
If you are into making fancy cocktails then you can get into making fancy ice
You can make these arguments about literally any prepackaged product. I’m not defending this ice, but come on. You can make anything yourself, so long as you have the equipment, time, and money. Paying for someone else to have done it for you is about convenience, and is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.
Almost done making my ISS, shouldn’t be too many leaks when I’m done with it. I’m using the expensive duct tape after all.
SMH my head, of course you should be making the duct tape yourself 🙂↔️
If you’re into making fancy ice, then you can get into making your own purified water using complete combustion. If you’re into making purified water with complete combustion then can get into making your own hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. If you’re into making your own hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen then you can get into making your own universe.
I think I did it wrong, I ended up with an apple pie.
Mine turned into people. Oh, god :(
Référence for those who dont know : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s664NsLeFM
Shit, what do I do now? I think I’ve just become God of my own pocket universe.
Edit: I watched The magicians once, but most of what they did didn’t seem to work out.
I have a very well stocked home bar and enjoy making fancy cocktails. My tiny ass freezer barely has room for the 5lb bag of ice I keep in there, let alone space for a fuckin mini cooler to make clear ice in. I also lack prep space to carve ice in my kitchen. You can make fancy drinks without fancy ice. It’ll still taste the sam, it just won’t look as pretty in the glass
One step at a time
Yes… First step buy fancy ice maker that freezes ice in one direction, second step make fancy ice, third step put it in the glass, fourth step pour whiskey on it
these arent occult secrets that take years of study and meditation
There’s even a market for small scale, at home ice makers like this. They’re pricey certainly but not as stupid as paying $5 for ICE.
Worth noting that the fancy ice maker is just like a 30 dollar ice tray, with insulation and silicone mold.
It does take a long time to make a little ice compared to normal freezing.
You just need to keep the water agitated as it freezes to prevent bubbles forming in it, and they sell machines specifically for this that would pay for themselves in no time over buying pre-made fancy ice cubes. They even have ones that make spheres.
you can also freeze the ice in an insulated container with no lid. that makes air bubbles and impurities collect at the bottom, after which you can cut that part off.
You are the only person in the thread to get this right. Nobody else actually has done it and it shows.
Or be lazy and put that side on the bottom of the glass.
yeah but then your drink will taste like silt
Sounds like work. People buying this ice likely either don’t care or don’t want to spend the time.
I’d never buy this, because I don’t even use ice, and if I did, I wouldn’t care about its shape. Seems silly to me.
But I can’t disparage anyone who sees that market, and that means it’s worth doing as a business, to some degree, probably.
Isn’t this the reason for using hot water to make ice?
That may help slightly, as it lowers the water’s ability to hold dissolved gasses. So boiling it beforehand will force out a lot of the gas that would have become air bubbles. But it’s not perfect, and results vary a lot. There are two main ways to get clear ice:
Basically, the air bubbles cause foggy ice. And air bubbles tend to get trapped because water freezes from the outside (where the cold air is touching it) first. This forms a hard shell, which then traps the gas and causes foggy ice. By agitating the water, you ensure that it doesn’t start freezing until all of the water is ready to freeze. It prevents the shell from forming first, meaning gas can escape the center of the cubes as it freezes.
For the second method, by insulating it, you ensure that the water freezes from one direction. For instance, if you fill an ice chest/cooler with water (effectively insulating it from the sides and bottom) and throw it in the freezer without a lid, the top half of the cooler will be clear ice and the bottom will be foggy. Because as the top freezes, the gas is able to escape down towards the bottom of the cooler. So your ice doesn’t get murky until the gas runs out of room at the bottom of the cooler.
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That does exactly what I said in the second method. It insulates everything except the top, so it freezes in one direction. So I guess thanks for proving my point?
You win that’s right. I read the first part and checked out because it’s Rube Goldberg clear ice. Directional freezing is the way and everything else is stupid noise.
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This is overly complicated.
The practical answer is directional freezing. Put the mold for the thing you want to be clear in a small cooler (or buy an insulated mold thing), be sure there is a hole in the bottom, fill it with water and put it in your deep freezer. Voilà clear ice for whatever purpose.
You don’t need to agitate it or boil it or use special water, just use tap water and the right set up and it works fine.
Each of those things uses physics.
A bartender I worked with made his in a little igloo cooler, of course then you one big block that you have to cut into functionally-sized cubes. But he would also do cool shit like suspend pine needles into it the block so each cube had a little sprig coming out of it after they were frozen and cut.
Packaging makes sense, too. We’ve been buying bagged ice forever. In this case, your ice has stricter quality control.
I have no need for this, but there’s clearly a market for it. I can’t disparage anyone for finding a market.
why is it hard to make?
It’s not hard, it just isn’t particularly efficient or convenient. The standard method is to use a bunch more water that you want to become actual ice, make it in large insulated blocks, then chop at the end. I have a little insulated tray that makes two at a time. They come out pretty clear, but at least half the water used is essentially waste to create a clear cube. The top half being still ice, but full of little bubbles, not clear. If I was throwing a party, as people are want to do on summer weekends, and I wanted many many big clear ice cubes then I’d seriously consider buying a box load.
thanks for this explanation too
To get clear ice you have to freeze it slowly, basically just at the freezing mark (32°C/0°F) which is a warmer temperature than most people have their freezer set to. It’s not difficult in an objective sense, it just requires rubbing a couple of brain cells together and a tiny morsel of effort which is apparently more than a lot of people can muster.
alr ty, i was too lazy to search the question and i was not bothered to use AI for this.
Isn’t it as simple as just boiling the water and then freezing it?
No. You need to freeze in in an insulated container with only one side exposed so it all freezes in 1 direction. Impurities get pushed to the opposite side and you are left with clear ice.
This is the answer. Directional freezing creates clear ice.
There are so many dumb as shit comments in this thread about agitating and boiling and purifying water and you’ve got the actual answer, thank you.
There are more ways than 1 to do it. Yours is not the only way of doing it. Though it is the most inexpensive.
You’ve really got your knickers in a twist over this. Is this something deeply personal to you?
Calling people “dumb as shit” cause they have different methods than yours is wildly arrogant, and doing is so incessantly touches on mental illness.
I had a few bourbons last night and over-commented to be sure. Mea culpa. I spent quite a lot of time learning to make clear ice and I had to navigate all of this BS to get to the easy solution.
As a critique of your comment, I didn’t resort to ad hominem I was talking about the comments themselves.
At the same time, there’s a little bit of pot and kettle action going on here which is not lost on me.
Have a great day.
“pot and kettle”
I left literally one comment on this entire thread, if that’s the same as me having my knickers in a twist and calling people dumb as shit for having methods that differ from my own, then I guess I’m a pot.
Did I call it an ad hominem? Not all insults are ad hominems. “You’re wrong because you’re dumb as shit” is an ad hominem. “You’re dumb as shit because you’re wrong” isn’t.
You didn’t premise your conclusions upon the insults, so I wouldn’t call them ad hominems. It’s still an overreaction though, not to mention unnecessarily rude.
Go reread. I never called anyone “dumb as shit”, just the comments. Rude? Sure I’ll own that though.
I’m pretty sure you left more comments than one on what I wrote. Your commentary sure has the feel of “pretty worked up” but I won’t pretend to be a psychologist and tell you it’s a sign of mental illness: that’s a thing that’s reserved for real assholes on the Internet.
Edit: Yeah I left 4 comments in one chain and you got me twice. Seems like you have the same kind of itch to comment when the mood strikes. If you’ve got an excuse I’m sure I’ll hear about it.
It emphatically is easy… But a clear ice mold for the less than 5 dollars and make unlimited cubes.
You obviously haven’t actually tried it, else you wouldn’t write this, so why talk?
I’d drink pisswater ice before I’d pay 5$ for 4 fucking ice cubes.
You don’t need a separate production chain made specifically for your homemade drink to look fancy on your auntie’s photo!
Believe it or not some of us like pretty things to enjoy for ourselves, not to put on social media.
And big clear ice melts more consistently in a way that better maintains coldness longer while maintaining a slower pace of dilution. It does make a difference to flavor.
I’d view it as handy thermal mass, useful when shipping other frozen items.
That box is a bit easier to stack than a bag of ice like most other grocery stores have.
And much more expensive.