Dress up drinks while entertaining, or a simple flavoring for ice water? Making ice cubes that are more eye-catching and tasty than the usual. Herb- and fruit-infused ice cubes are any easy way to flavor drinks and There are recipes for making colorful cubes. Frozen cucumber-basil puree sounds especially refreshing, and might be the perfect in a simple gin cocktail.
Freezing edible flowers in ice cubes makes for a gorgeous addition to summer drinks. The instructions include this tip: for extra clear cubes, use distilled water that has been boiled and cooled.
A dash of excitement to water, iced tea even cocktails with these colorful ice cubes filled with fruit, herbs, and edible flowers.
Place the mint, basil, thyme, edible flowers, orange wheels, and lemon zest intermittently in the compartments of ice trays. Fill compartments with watermelon puree, strawberry puree, fresh lemonade, and iced coffee in any arrangement you like.
Garnish the beverage of your liking and enjoy.
Per serving: 283 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (3% calories from fat); 7g Protein; 73g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 18mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 4½ Fruit; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates
Floral Ice Cubes
Here’s a cool new way to savor the beauty of flowers: Freeze them in ice cubes to brighten drinks.
To suspend flowers in the cubes, work in layers: Fill an ice tray (one that makes large cubes so the ice will last longer) a quarter of the way with water, add flowers facing down, and freeze. Add more water to fill halfway, and freeze. Fill to the top, and freeze again.
For ice that’s especially clear, use distilled water that has been boiled and then cooled. This limits impurities and air bubbles, which make ice cloudy.
Use only edible flowers, such as orchids, nasturtiums, pansies, and snapdragons, that have been grown to be eaten (to ensure they haven’t been treated with chemicals).
Coffee Cubes
The first sip is just right, but by the time you get to the bottom of a long, cool glass of iced coffee, you’re drinking a watery shadow of your former beverage. If the ice is made from coffee, it won’t dilute your drink as it melts. Freeze hot coffee (or tea, if you prefer) in an ice-cube tray, then use the cubes to cool your brew.
Celery Ice
Puree celery and fennel, add a little bit of fresh lemon juice and salt to season, then freeze. Serve in bloody Marys for a match made in ice heaven.
Citrus Ice Cubes
Party punch calls for festive ice: giant frozen cubes capturing bright slices of fresh citrus. To make the ice, thinly slice lemons, limes, and oranges, and layer the slices in muffin cups. Fill each cup halfway with water or nonalcoholic punch, and freeze.
Worm Ice
Breed gummy worms in ice and infest a cold kid’s drink. Put the worms in an ice-cube tray, letting them stick out of the top and sprawl over the edges, and fill tray with water; freeze. Add cubes to a clear beverage, and watch as kids squirm with delight.
Summertime brings all sorts of opportunities to sit and sip the hours away. Why not do it this summer in style? These pretty, pureed fruit ice cubes are quick, simple, fresh way to add flavor and dimension to your sodas, lemonades, and sparkling waters, while keeping them cool and refreshing.
Whether you are hosting a party, looking for a lovely way to add some zest to your plain old party soda, or hoping to sneak a little more fruit into your kiddos diets, youll love the simplicity and versatility of making your own frozen fruit ice cubes.
The idea is almost as simple as plopping a bunch of your favorite fruits into a blender, and pressing the puree button. Its almost that simple. There are a few blending and time saving tricks and tips youll be glad to know about ahead of time. So, before you head into your kitchen to get started, be sure you check out these few tips and tricks to make the most of your pretty frozen fruit cubes.
Some fruits are better than others. You can plop frozen banana chunks into your lemonade, but such a mixture isnt going to be nearly as appetizing as having freckled bits of strawberries or kiwis floating in your glass. When preparing a batch of frozen fruit cubes, try pureeing these fruits for the most complimentary drink flavors and textures: mangoes, strawberries, kiwi, watermelon, maraschino cherries, blackberries, raspberries, papaya, peaches, black cherries, coconut milk.
Puree only very ripe fruits. The riper the fruit, the sweeter it is, so you cant hack into a green peach, plop it into your blender, and expect a sugar-sweet ice cube to magically appear. Instead, choose fruits that are extremely ripe and soft, even those that are nearing the brink of almost inedible (but never puree fruit that has been molded or badly bruised. The flavor will come through in the final product, and so will the bacteria. Ick.)
Prepare with natural fruit juices, not water. To prepare ice cubes, simply choose a favorite fruit, peel, pit and plop it in a blender, puree, and your done! If the fruits you are pureeing dont have enough natural juices to move freely through the blender blades, add just a touch of apple juice to the mixture, just enough to thin it out. Adding water to the fruit will cause the ice cubes to dilute drinks, rather than flavor them.
Freeze in a standard ice cube tray. No special equipment (other than a blender) is needed to make these flavored fruit cubes. Just puree the fruit, pour it into a standard ice cube tray, freeze, and plop into a drink whenever needed. Theres no faster, or healthier way to turn a drink from everyday to gourmet!
Mix up a few favorites:
Tropical Spritzer (Gingerale + Mango Fruit Cube + Coconut Milk Fruit Cube)
Berry Lemonade (Lemonade + Raspberry & Strawberry Fruit Cube)
Strawberry Shirley Temple (Sprite + Strawberry-Maraschino Cherry Fruit Cube)
Beachside Cooler (Soda Water + Watermelon Fruit Cube)
Lemon, Ginger and Lemongrass Ice Cubes
You’ll need:1 LemonGingerLemongrassIce cube tray
Health benefits of ginger: Ginger has been recommended in ancient medicine to help cure and prevent several health problems. It is known to promote energy circulation in the body while increasing the bodys metabolic rate.
Health benefits of lemons: Lemons supposedly have strong antibacterial, antiviral and immune-boosting powers.
The ginger gives a real kick so these ice cubes may not be for every palette.
Strawberry and Basil Ice Cubes
You’ll need:StrawberriesBasil
Health benefits of strawberries: Boosts immunity, promotes eye health, vitamin C helps fight cancer, helps production of collage which means less wrinkles.
Health benefits of basil: Basil is an anti-inflammatory food that can give relief for people with rheumatoid arthritis plus basil is also effective in treating acne and psoriasis.
Spearmint and Lime Ice Cubes
You’ll need:Spearmint1 lime
Health benefits of spearmint: There are compounds in mint help relieve fatigue and stress, plus its rich in antioxidants.
Health benefits of lime: The limonoid compounds in limes have been shown to prevent cancers of the colon, stomach and blood; plus, its been known to lower cholesterol and prevent kidney stones.
Wildflower Ice Cubes
You’ll need:
Edible flowers ( May use pansies)
Coffee and Cream Ice Cubes
Youll need:
- Coffee
- Cream or milk
Make some coffee ice cubes for iced coffee. No more watered down coffee!I froze coffee, cream and a mix of the two.
Health benefits of coffee: coffee drinkers, compared to nondrinkers, are less likely to have type 2 diabetes, Parkinsons disease, and dementia.
Mixed Berry Ice Cubes
You’ll need:
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- All kinds of berries!
WedMD says, On the color wheel, the purple-blue-red-orange spectrum is home to the most antioxidant-rich fruits. which is why I used the remaining ice cube tray spots for mixed berry ice.
You can also freeze fresh fruit with out water and throw it in any kind of drink. For example red wine is supposedly best enjoyed at a cooler temperature. Freeze some grapes and throw em in there!
A good resource on how to prepare Herb, Flower and Fruit Ice cubes is to check out: http://www.wikihow.com/