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Flavored Ice Cubes

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Ice Cubes with Flavor

Tired of melting ice causing your drinks to dilute and lose flavor? Try making flavored ice cubes to solve this problem. Small on effort but huge on impact, the flavor of your drinks will slowly transform as the ice melts. Use contrasting colored cubes to contrast for visual impact.

Contents at a Glance

Perfect Cube Silicone Ice Cube Trays
Coffee Ice Cubes
Milk with Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cube...
Garnished & Colored Ice Cubes
Keep-Cool Cubes
Flavored Ice Cubes

Set of 2

Tovolo Perfect Cube Ice Tray, Set of 2, Red

Amazon Price: $12.88 (as of 06/01/2012)

These Tovolo red ice cube trays make perfect ice cubes every time, while eliminating messy ice shards that are synonymous with traditional hard plastic ice trays. No more struggling to get the cubes loose; these Tovolo ice cube trays are made of soft, flexible silicone and make attractive, perfectly square cubes that easily pop right out. Comes as a set of 2.

Coffee Ice Cubes

There is nothing worse than watery, cold coffee, which is what one gets when conventional ice cubes go into the glass. This task is easily accomplished by pouring your leftover morning coffee into ice cube trays. Once they're frozen, pop them into a freezer bag.

Fred & Friends Cool Beans Ice Cube Tray

Amazon Price: $2.29 (as of 06/01/2012)

Fred & Friends Cool Beans is an ice cube tray that molds coffee bean shaped ice cubes. There are 8 molds per tray. The premise explained on the packaging is to fill the tray with coffee. When the coffee freezes and is added to coffee to make ice coffee the result is stronger coffee. Regular ice only dilutes iced coffee.

Milk with Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cubes

Easily made vegan with a milk substitute

Chocolate ice
200ml milk
50 ml of water
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee (optional)
70g dark chocolate (66%)

Finely chop chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Pour milk and water in a saucepan, add sugar, cocoa and coffee and mix thoroughly to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil over medium heat then remove from heat. Pour over chocolate, melt 5 minutes then mix gently with a wooden spoon to get a cream smooth and creamy. Cool and pour into an ice cube tray and freeze.

Milk with Vanilla
600ml milk
60g sugar
1 vanilla pod

Pour milk into a large saucepan, add sugar and stir to dissolve. Slit the vanilla pod in the center, scrape the seeds and put them in the pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat then remove from fire. Cool, then refrigerate several hours or preferably overnight. To serve, place ice cubes in glasses of chocolate (depending on size of glasses 3-4 ice cubes) and pour over the cold milk with vanilla. You can enhance the drink by serving with whipped cream and chocolate or make a into gourmet dessert by mixing the milk with the vanilla ice cream for a creamy milkshake: the Mister Choc Summer , irresistible nugget of chocolate . Simple and effective!

Recipe via Le Pétrin: Chocolat d'Eté, Frais et Gourmand

Garnished & Colored Ice Cubes

When fruits are to be frozen in the cubes, fill the tray one-third full with water, then partially freeze. Add the fruit then freeze. This will hold the fruit in position. Then add water until the tray is about three-fourths full and finish freezing.

Any pure food coloring can be used to color ice cubes by adding to the water before it is poured into the tray. Be sure to use the right amount of coloring, for delicate tints are always more attractive.

Mint leaves, watercress, and candied fruit make very delightful decorating material for ice cubes. Simply put them on the ice cubes and add just enough water to freeze into place.

Decorated and garnished cubes should be frozen slowly, by leaving the freezer control on one of the "warmer" positions. Fast freezing causes rapid expansion which destroys the desired attractiveness.

[via TipNut.com]

Keep-Cool Cubes

Don't sweat the rising temperatures. Just drop one of these ice cubes infused with fruits, veggies, and herbs into a tall glass of water, and watch the heat melt away.

Cucumber-Basil Puree
Combine 1 cup water, 1 cucumber (peeled and seeded), 1/4 cup torn basil, and some coarse salt in a blender and freeze in an ice-cube tray.

Orange-Lime Mix
Combine 1 1/2 cups orange juice, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and 1 teaspoon lime zest in a bowl and freeze in an ice-cube tray.

Lemonade Raspberry
Dissolve 2 tablespoons sugar in 1 cup warm water. Stir in 1/3 cup lemon juice. Divide 6 ounces fresh raspberries into an ice-cube tray. Place a sprig of mint in each cube. Add lemonade and freeze.

[via WholeLiving.com]

Flavored Ice Cubes

Find Toriani syrups in gourmet shops, well stocked grocery stores and online retailers. Keep in mind these syrups come in sugar free versions - perfect for diabetics and low carb dieters.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons flavored syrup
1 cup water

Instructions:
Combine water syrup in a pitcher and carefully pour into ice cube trays and freeze. To serve, remove ice cubes from trays and serve with iced tea, water, sparkling water, lemonade, iced coffee, punch and much more.

The folks who make Torani syrups suggest the following drink/flavored ice cube combinations:

Lemonade: Raspberry or Strawberry ice cubes
Iced Tea: Peach, Mango, Orange, Pineapple or Watermelon ice cubes (or a combo)
Iced coffee: Chocolate, Hazelnut, Coconut or Almond ice cubes
Sparkling Waters: Cherry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Lime, Mango, Peach, Orange, Pineapple ice cubes
Milk: Chocolate, Coconut or Almond ice cubes
Colas or Diet Colas: Chocolate, Cherry or Vanilla ice cubes
Cocktails with a Lemon or Lime Base like Gin and Tonics, Margaritas or Collins drinks

Creative Cocktails

We've come up with other combos for use with favorite cocktails:

Chocolate Martinis: Chocolate, Mint, Coconut, Almond, Hazelnut or Vanilla ice cubes
Mojitos: Mint or Orange ice cubes
Screwdrivers: Strawberry or Raspberry ice cubes
Tequila Sunrise: Orange, Strawberry or Raspberry ice cubes
Long Island Ice Teas: Lemon or Lime ice cubes
Margaritas: Strawberry, Lemon or Lime ice cubes
Tropical Drinks: most any fruit flavored ice cubes (or combinations of different fruit flavors) work well in most tropical drinks

We know if you use your imagination, you'll come up with tons of other enticing flavor combinations.

[via FabulousFoods.com]

Cool Waters

50 Refreshing, Healthy Homemade Thirst-Quenchers

Cool Waters: 50 Refreshing, Healthy Homemade Thirst-Quenchers (50 Series)

by: Brian Preston-Campbell

Amazon Price: $8.02 (as of 06/01/2012)

We all drink water, so it's no surprise that there are so many varieties on supermarket shelves. What is surprising, though, is that with additives like sugar and artificial flavors, many of these commercial drinks aren't as healthy as they seem. With Cool Waters, it's easy and economical to create one-of-a-kind infusions that are healthier and better-tasting than anything found in stores. Recipes include Pineapple and Lime Seltzer, Pomegranate Flair, Mint Mist, and even flavored ice cubes, and are displayed in beautiful full-color photos that are sure to make readers thirst for a glass of cool water.

Look Who's Talking...

About flavored ice cubes

Taste Test: Prohibition Pig: ... Prohibition Pig staff smoked ice cubes to emulate the taste of mescal. Somehow, too, I neglected to sample the Red Delicious, a Campari-and-applejack-based drink that draws sweetness and color from Cheerwine, the cherry-flavored soda of the South.
Make Tonic Ice Cubes to Keep Cocktails Flavorful, Tasty, and Chilled: If you like to nurse your cocktails and enjoy them but hate how diluted they get as your ice starts to melt, this tip from the folks at The Kitchn can keep your tasty beverages flavorful and delicious even as the ice melts: make your ice out of tonic ...
Beet and Snap Pea Salad With Ricotta: Here, raw beets provide a flavor foundation for fresh snap peas. The beets may stain your hands temporarily, but they're worth handling. Toasting the walnuts in the oil brings a nutty flavor to the dressing that really makes the dish.
Tips for healthy summer eating from a registered dietician: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that beverages of choice are milk, white or flavored, and water. Keep fruit flavored ice cubes in the freezer to spice up your water and find the shelf stable flavored milk to take in a cooler in the car ...

What kind of cubes will you be making?

Reply

TheLifestyleChanger Mar 8, 2012 @ 7:15 am | delete

I don't know where to start with some great ideas listed here that I would never have thought of.

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JoshK47 Feb 11, 2012 @ 10:06 am | delete

Sounds tasty - not sure what I'd do first! :) Blessed by a SquidAngel!

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KimGiancaterino Jan 30, 2012 @ 9:40 pm | delete

Cool ... literally! I also have a lens on ice cubes and will add this to my recipe list.

Reply

KimGiancaterino Jan 30, 2012 @ 9:40 pm | delete

Cool ... literally! I also have a lens on ice cubes and will add this to my recipe list.

Reply

KilleenMcG Jan 25, 2012 @ 2:41 pm | delete

i'm thirsty...

Reply

jimmyworldstar Jan 25, 2012 @ 1:32 pm | delete

Wow why didn't I think of this before? How much flavoring does the inside affect the ice cube though? I was thinking of pineapple and melon ice cubes.