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Thread: Ice cubes...decent trays?

  1. #1

    Ice cubes...decent trays?

    Morning TZ,

    I've been trying a variety of ice cube trays (as one does...) and have found the silicone and plastic ones impart a slight taste to the cubes. It's not a good taste either, and hasn't gone away after multiple uses and washes. Rather than use ice cube bags, I'm continuing the hunt for a more permanent solution, although at this point the plastic waste from the more sturdy ones has likely surpassed any benefit to my search for a non-disposable type.

    Does anyone use any that don't impart a taste? I was trying to find some metal ones, but they seem to be made by one manufacturer in China and have lots of reviews mentioning them breaking.

    Any suggestions?

    Hugh

  2. #2
    Grand Master hogthrob's Avatar
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    Bagged ice from the supermarket isn't prohibitively expensive, and produces a lot less plastic waste than ice cube bags.

    Wait a minute though. This is TZ-UK, where it is required practice to suggest a gold plated, diamond encrusted sledge hammer to crack a nut, so why not simply get an ice maker?

  3. #3
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    As a child we used to have aluminium trays. Not sure if that would be seen as an improvement by the OP...
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by hogthrob View Post
    Bagged ice from the supermarket isn't prohibitively expensive, and produces a lot less plastic waste than ice cube bags.

    Wait a minute though. This is TZ-UK, where it is required practice to suggest a gold plated, diamond encrusted sledge hammer to crack a nut, so why not simply get an ice maker?
    That is a very good point on the supermarket ice bags, cheers!

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Saint-Just View Post
    As a child we used to have aluminium trays. Not sure if that would be seen as an improvement by the OP...
    They certainly would be if they don't impart flavour (which I can't see them doing) - trouble is, I can't find any, other than importing 'vintage' ones from the USA which is mighty pricey.

  6. #6
    Grand Master Seamaster73's Avatar
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    If you want trays, buy the Tovolo ones. No taste imparted to the cubes and they’re made to last.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000QIU7X6/

  7. #7
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Indeed, £12 for this one and £17-£21 for the stainless steel version.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  8. #8
    We buy and use the Supermarket bags, at £1 per bag, oe usually lasts a week (wether dependent of course), very convenient

  9. #9
    Master
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    Another relevant consideration is how easy it is to extract the ice cubes from the tray. With many I have tried, there is a fair deal of messing around sitting the tray in warm water for a few minutes to reach a point where the cube will actually come out

  10. #10
    To reduce taint from plastic trays (and never notice TBH), cool water to just above freezing before filling so is liquid for minimum time.

  11. #11
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
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    We've got some ice-stones that you put in the freezer and they seem to work really well don't melt to dilute your drink and are simple enough to wash and reuse.

    No taint from the tray (I've never noticed this myself with silicon trays though) and no problem with getting them out of a tray (as they're not in one!)

    They weren't expensive.

    Like this (although I won't guarantee these are the ones we have) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whiskey-Sip...a-920648136198

    M
    Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?

  12. #12
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by snowman View Post
    We've got some ice-stones that you put in the freezer and they seem to work really well don't melt to dilute your drink and are simple enough to wash and reuse.

    No taint from the tray (I've never noticed this myself with silicon trays though) and no problem with getting them out of a tray (as they're not in one!)

    They weren't expensive.

    M
    Careful with this:
    - Granite contains quartz that will mark your glass.
    - Put the stones in the glass first (you can tilt it and slide them down, rather than dropping them)
    - Some stones are volcanic because they are full of tiny air bubbles, making them lighter to the point you can drop them in your drink. Just boil them regularly to avoid proliferation in those cavities.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  13. #13
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    Large glass marbles work well, too, and are easy to clean.

  14. #14
    Grand Master snowman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by amnesia View Post
    Large glass marbles work well, too, and are easy to clean.
    Makes sense, never thought of that - Although, to be fair, it's rare for me want to put ice in a drink - If it's hot, I'll drink chilled beer or wine, if I fancy a spirit, it's usually cold enough to enjoy it neat and unchilled!

    M
    Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?

  15. #15
    Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seamaster73 View Post
    If you want trays, buy the Tovolo ones. No taste imparted to the cubes and they’re made to last.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000QIU7X6/
    Shall have to get some of those.
    I have their large cubes & spheres for drinks and they're excellent.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    To reduce taint from plastic trays (and never notice TBH), cool water to just above freezing before filling so is liquid for minimum time.
    I'll give that a try, it does make sense.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by amnesia View Post
    Large glass marbles work well, too, and are easy to clean.
    That is a really interesting one too! I have some...somewhere...I'll give it a shot.

  17. #17
    Master village's Avatar
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    Large bag of ice from the supermarket for a quid and,for those occasions when you don’t want to use actual ice,some granite ‘ice cubes’ kept in the freezer.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Seamaster73 View Post
    If you want trays, buy the Tovolo ones. No taste imparted to the cubes and they’re made to last.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000QIU7X6/
    Quote Originally Posted by Saint-Just View Post
    Indeed, £12 for this one and £17-£21 for the stainless steel version.
    Quote Originally Posted by snowman View Post
    We've got some ice-stones that you put in the freezer and they seem to work really well don't melt to dilute your drink and are simple enough to wash and reuse.

    No taint from the tray (I've never noticed this myself with silicon trays though) and no problem with getting them out of a tray (as they're not in one!)

    They weren't expensive.

    Like this (although I won't guarantee these are the ones we have) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whiskey-Sip...a-920648136198

    M
    Quote Originally Posted by thegreatdogwood View Post
    Another relevant consideration is how easy it is to extract the ice cubes from the tray. With many I have tried, there is a fair deal of messing around sitting the tray in warm water for a few minutes to reach a point where the cube will actually come out

    Many thanks to you all for your product suggestions - I'll try out the current tweak methods as they don't involve buying yet more ice-related products and see how they fare. The stones I've read about before, and I certainly see the appeal of a cooled, non-watered down bevvie, so hopefully the marbles suggestion will achieve this.

    I shall report back - thank you all again for your advice.

  19. #19
    We have one of these. It works really well.

    https://www.oxouk.com/products/chris...-ice-cube-tray

  20. #20
    Master
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    I bought some cocktail making equipment from CockTail Kingdom and had to add a 2” ice cube tray to get the free postage. Theirs are marked as food grade rubber and I’ve had not problems with taint. As an aside I was really impressed with the delivery as it turns out they send FedEx from Brooklyn and the taxes are covered plus it arrived in a couple of days!

  21. #21
    Craftsman
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    I like one large ice cube in some drinks, eg. a negroni. Tempted by one of these Death Star moulds for the novelty, great for a star wars fan!

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silicone-Ch...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

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