The perfect ice

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jkbarnes
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Re: The perfect ice

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nbg wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 7:31 am Andrew I have just been asking Mr Google about this and reading up on the science of clear ice versus the opaque stuff that we generally buy or make.

I prefer large ice cubes; large clear ones slow melting ones would be even better.

Thank you for sending me down another rabbit hole! :)

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It really is the only civilized way to enjoy a drink.

99F41ADF-0EA4-4FA4-A3C7-FA80F17E7E4C.jpeg

70EFB745-7ADC-47CA-9B89-C559B94D901E.jpeg
...and did I mention how cool the ice looks as it melts?
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Re: The perfect ice

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Lavaine wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 7:42 am Unless you have a large family, or entertain a lot. I don't understand the obsession with built-in icemakers. The wife and I are quite capable of filling an ice cube tray when needed.
I’d say it’s about the convenience, but then again I take the time to make and hand cut clear ice, so what do I know?

My wife doesn’t have an ice maker in her freezer, so it’s still old school ice trays at her place. Interestingly, I’ve always preferred the cube of an ice tray to the half-moon shape of the typical ice maker. Those half-moons inevitably become little dams in the glass!
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Re: The perfect ice

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jkbarnes wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 2:40 pm
Lavaine wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 7:42 am Unless you have a large family, or entertain a lot. I don't understand the obsession with built-in icemakers. The wife and I are quite capable of filling an ice cube tray when needed.
I’d say it’s about the convenience, but then again I take the time to make and hand cut clear ice, so what do I know?

My wife doesn’t have an ice maker in her freezer, so it’s still old school ice trays at her place. Interestingly, I’ve always preferred the cube of an ice tray to the half-moon shape of the typical ice maker. Those half-moons inevitably become little dams in the glass!
Agreed. It's about the convenience. Also, the ice-maker doesn't make the giant square cubes I prefer for my cocktails. Maybe I need to start hand cutting my own clear cubes!
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jkbarnes
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Re: The perfect ice

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Lavaine wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:19 pm Maybe I need to start hand cutting my own clear cubes!
If you’ve got the room in your freezer, it’s worth it! Doesn’t take too much effort at all.
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Re: The perfect ice

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For those of you who like visuals, here’s a video on the Tube:

https://youtu.be/bUHcCHbgX_o
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jkbarnes
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Re: The perfect ice

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0uatiOW wrote: Fri Jul 24, 2020 8:35 am For those of you who like visuals, here’s a video on the Tube:

https://youtu.be/bUHcCHbgX_o
That’s the exact technique I use. While a clear sphere would be the ultimate ice, that’s just a step too far for me.
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Re: The perfect ice

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Yup! having lived in the US for a few years, my first reqt when remodelling our kitchen on our return to Blighty was a large 900mm wide gap for an American-style plumbed fridge/freezer. The rest of the kitchen could be built around that. Priorities and all that.
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Re: The perfect ice

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richtel wrote: Fri Jul 24, 2020 5:36 pm Yup! having lived in the US for a few years, my first reqt when remodelling our kitchen on our return to Blighty was a large 900mm wide gap for an American-style plumbed fridge/freezer. The rest of the kitchen could be built around that. Priorities and all that.
You know what’s funny? I’ve actually come to prefer a SMALLER fridge. I had to replace my refrigerator in the last year. And while I had space to go bigger, I didn’t. I actually would have gone smaller if it wouldn’t have looked so silly and out of place in my kitchen.

I’ve noticed over the last few years that my grocery shopping and eating habits actually favor a small fridge. With my daughter off at school, it’s just two of us in the house and my fridge, already small by American standards, sits practically empty!

If it wouldn’t look so damn silly, I’d get a nice small fridge like my friends in France have...or my family in New York City!

Ideal appliance for me? Small fridge and big freezer to accommodate my hand carved ice addiction! I’d build my ideal kitchen around a European sized fridge, and a high end gas range with a tap in the backsplash for filling stock pots!
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Re: The perfect ice

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jkbarnes wrote: Fri Jul 24, 2020 5:44 pm
richtel wrote: Fri Jul 24, 2020 5:36 pm Yup! having lived in the US for a few years, my first reqt when remodelling our kitchen on our return to Blighty was a large 900mm wide gap for an American-style plumbed fridge/freezer. The rest of the kitchen could be built around that. Priorities and all that.
You know what’s funny? I’ve actually come to prefer a SMALLER fridge. I had to replace my refrigerator in the last year. And while I had space to go bigger, I didn’t. I actually would have gone smaller if it wouldn’t have looked so silly and out of place in my kitchen.

I’ve noticed over the last few years that my grocery shopping and eating habits actually favor a small fridge. With my daughter off at school, it’s just two of us in the house and my fridge, already small by American standards, sits practically empty!

If it wouldn’t look so damn silly, I’d get a nice small fridge like my friends in France have...or my family in New York City!

Ideal appliance for me? Small fridge and big freezer to accommodate my hand carved ice addiction! I’d build my ideal kitchen around a European sized fridge, and a high end gas range with a tap in the backsplash for filling stock pots!
I think I read that in the UK there's also been a shift in shopping habits over the last 20 years or so. The average Brit family tended to do a big shop, maybe once a week or longer which resulted in the need, unsurprisingly, for lots of chilled storage and, especially, freezer space. Many families had a regular fridge freezer but also a larger chest freezer humming away in another part of the house. I'm not so sure that's the case any more with home delivery and more tendancy to 'pop in' to the local supermarket for essentials (pre-CV19 anyway!).

Frankly I'm not that bothered about the fridge as long as it's large enough to hold sufficient tonic and that the freezer can deliver ice on demand. Besides, with two teenagers in the house who continue to consume their bodyweight in snacks each day we think I still need all the storage space we can get.
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Re: The perfect ice

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richtel wrote: Fri Jul 24, 2020 6:12 pm Besides, with two teenagers in the house who continue to consume their bodyweight in snacks each day we think I still need all the storage space we can get.
TRUTH!!
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