A perfect adjunct to the new Taco Bell Summer Sensations-in-Waiting! Add fancy fruit-studded Ice Cubes for special occasions! But DO follow the tips and hacks the pro barkeeps are sharing…
Or as perfect as you’re likely to get… Imagine what
these little beauties can do for your fave bevs!
If you thought the pro-chef recommendations for making perfect boiled water were a little nutty (or maybe even a hoax, which they’re not!), you’ll have a lot of fun with our gimmies and takeaways for producing perfect, clear, fruit-embedded ice cubes!
Easy, chatty, and photo ready!
Fruit-embedded ice cubes were a quirky specialty everyone was making for their cocktail parties and summer BBQ entertaining half a century ago.
But as popular as they were with guests, drinks hosts were loathe to offer them – much less promise them! – in case they didn’t turn out as hoped.
The idea was to ignite effervescent cocktail conversations discussing how you make ’em, and what benefits – specific or general – they might bestow on a bev.
Back to the future…
Cocktail culture in the US was at it’s peaks back in the mid-late 1950s. Picture the opening credits roll of the immensely popular Dick Van Dyke show… then fast-forward to the obligatory getting-ready-for-the-cocktail-party scene which gave Dick and Laura Petrie the chance to discuss privately some plot twist or pivotal issue that was about to come to a head.
It was the post-WW II era, in which the latter-day TV hit Mad Men was set, and alcohol was a fixture. Both at home and at work. It was the heyday of the garnish-jammed, fancy drink, with the little paper umbrella. And nothing was out-of-bounds if you wanted to make your version of a popular drink, or your own drink creation, stand out on the little roll-out bar everyone had in their living room.
It was also the time when some snobs were starting to talk seriously about whether the proper way to chill a Martini was to stir or shake it. And it was the era of the fruit-cube…
Aggravating imperfections…
The worst aggravations associated with making perfect fruit-embedded ice cubes were several-fold:
- Bubbles in the cubes. (They were supposed to be flawless…)
- Haze or ‘fog’ in the cubes. (They were supposed to be crystal clear.)
- Unwanted solids in the cubes. (Easy to avoid. Also easy to overlook at cube-making time, especially if you were in a hurry!)
- Fruit sunken to the bottom of the cube. (Maddening! And a clear indication the maker was not privy to the inner circle’s ice cube chef’s secrets!)
- Fruit or fruit pieces sticking out of the top surface of the cube. (A classic rookie mistake. And totally avoidable.)
Indispensable hacks and tips…
- Some older bartending manuals suggest you leave a pitcher of tap water in the fridge overnight to let any entrained air clear itself from the liquid.
- A slightly-more-modern tip is to use distilled water to ensure perfect cubes. Bubbles and haze can form around tiny impurities and air micro-bubbles.
- Even more contemporary to the 21st century: Fill a Brita or equivalent water filtering pitcher the night before to get rid of any solids as well as air bubbles.
- Wipe out or rise each ice cube tray segment thoroughly before adding any ‘prepared’ water.
“What’s past is prologue…” (A little Shakespeare to get your creative juices flowing…)
- To ensure no featured inclusion sinks to the bottom of its tray segments, fill each cube form 1/4 to 1/3 of the way up from the bottom, and allow to freeze solid. Place the intended inclusion in the centre of each cube mould and cover carefully with more chilled, purified water. Allow for expan-sion of the ice as it freezes when pouring the first layer of water.
- When loosening the finished cubes from the ice cube trays, run a little room-temp or slightly war-mer water over the backs of the trays to melt a thin film of water between the cubes and the mould. NEVER pry the cubes out. And never-EVER bang the ice cube tray(s) on the counter to loosen the finished cubes!
- Store the finished cubes in a clean, double-walled ice bucket with a tight-fitting lid. Never leave the lid off for any more time than it takes to grab the cube(s) you need for each drink, one or two at a time….
My take
Have fun with your perfect, fruit-embeded ice cubes. Try embedding other items, such as the little flowers they sell for garnishing salads.
And do try Taco Bell’s new Refrescas… As a prelude to making your own copy-cats, from scratch!
~ Maggie J.