Ice is needed to prepare a refreshing drink on a hot summer day. Probably everyone noticed that the ice served in cocktails in bars is particularly transparent. When preparing a cocktail party, you need to stock up on enough ice, approximately for one person it is necessary at least a kilogram.

Prepare this amount quality ice at home it is difficult, it is more convenient to use the services of professionals. ALEXANDER BAR will save you from all the hassle associated with organizing and holding an event. Guests will be served by professional bartenders who will bring equipment with them - a bar counter, dishes, required amount ice and other ingredients for making cocktails. Our staff will organize a full-fledged bar in the place you specify.

Not only impurities, but also air bubbles reduce the transparency of the ice.
To get quality ice at home, follow our recommendations:

1. The water in the water supply network contains many impurities, and the ice is not transparent during manufacture. One of the basic rules of professionals is that ice should be made from purified water. If you take tap water, be sure to thoroughly clean it with a filter and boil it, preferably twice. Boiling will help get rid of unwanted air.
2. Leave the water to stand for several hours, all impurities will settle. Carefully, being careful not to raise the sediment, pour the water into another container.
3. You can make a variety of ice figures using silicone molds.
4. Ice absorbs odors when frozen; try not to cook it next to strong-smelling foods.

If you do not have the required number of ice molds at hand, use the tools at hand. For example, fill small disposable plastic cups to the required height, freeze. The cups are flexible, it is not difficult to remove the ice. Another option is to cut pieces of food grade polyethylene into squares, pour in a lot of water, tie on a knot, and freeze. You will get neat balls that will look spectacular in a cocktail glass.

Delicious ice

With ice, you can change not only the temperature, but also appearance and the taste of the cocktail:

1. Add to ice figurines aromatic herbs, they will decorate it, add a piquant original flavor. The most suitable options are mint, thyme, lemon balm, basil. Be sure to consider the combination of the drink and herbal supplements. Instead of herbs, you can freeze tiny edible flowers - small buds of a rose, violet, nasturtium.
2. Freeze berries (after removing the seeds), fruit slices, olives, citrus slices, pieces of melon or watermelon. Fill the mold with about a third of the volume, freeze. Put a slice of product, cover with water. An unusual cocktail can be served by placing pieces of nuts in ice cubes.
3. Use juices, lemonade, fruit drink, liqueur. This will enrich the taste of the cocktail, make its color brighter. Most importantly, do not forget about the compatibility of tastes.
4. Add crushed chocolate or shavings to the ice, you can freeze the finished chocolate drink.
5. Take food colorings and flavors. Layered ice cubes look especially interesting. Pour some water into the mold, add flavor and color, freeze. Add some more water, add another flavor and color, freeze, etc. These cubes are a great decoration for a cocktail.

If you have big family or you often invite guests, it makes sense for her to get an ice maker. On sale you can find not only industrial, but also household units. They are compact, do not require connection to water supply and sewerage.

Ice cubes in cocktails are commonplace for many of us. And if we make the ice colored, then the usual cocktails will sparkle with new colors.

For work we need: ice-making bags, they are sold in household departments, drinking water, some berry juice, shelf space in the freezer, container for ready-made ice... We take out one package from the package. Gently pour water into it through the hole at the top of the bag. We pour so much that all the cells are completely filled with water. To prevent water from flowing out of the bag, special straps are provided on it. We tie them with a tight knot so that our future ice does not run away. Thus, we fill the required number of packages.

Add to clean water berry juice... Then, in the same way, we pour it into another bag. Do not forget to tighten the bag ties tightly. We make the required number of blanks.

Place the water bags in the freezer carefully. It is desirable that the packages lie strictly horizontally. Then the ice will be even and will not require effort when removing from the bag. We are waiting until it freezes completely.

When the ice is frozen, we take out the bags from the freezer. We remove the ice from the package in the same way as you remove the tablet from the blister. Or just tear open the bag, but be careful when doing so, otherwise all the ice will scatter through the kitchen. We transfer the pieces of ice to the prepared container.

The ice for our cocktails and drinks is ready. In addition to berry juice, try adding other juices to the water. For example, orange juice will color the water in yellow... And lime will give ice not only greenish tint but also a delicious scent.

Mixing at home various drinks, you must use special ice for cocktails. Many people think that simply freezing water in the refrigerator is enough. This is a very common misconception. After buying expensive liqueurs or other alcoholic drinks, it is easy to spoil the taste of cocktails with such ice.

An ice-making machine is not the best solution either. Its disadvantage is that it melts quickly, which makes any cocktail watery.

Even from your freezer, the ice is much denser. It has practically no air and melts for a long time. At the same time, cooling the cocktail, and not diluting it.

However, in good bars the method of obtaining such ice differs in the usual one: there is one bartender's trick.

For good ice only non-carbonated mineral water is used

The thing is that ordinary running water can contain bleach and other undesirable impurities. By the way, they freeze it not in tins, but in a simple lump, which is then split into small pieces.

And the result is perfect ice that:

• does not melt
• cools,
• does not spoil the taste of the drink.

Japanese ice is often used for cocktails. It differs from the usual one only in shape: it looks like a ball, the diameter of which is slightly smaller than a glass. These balls are also cut from a large block of ice. It will not only cool any cocktail well, but will also surprise any guest.

The question "How to make ice at home?" makes many people smile. After all, what could be easier than filling the molds with water and putting it in the freezer ?! But what if you don't have an ice cube tray on hand or is it cracked? And the ice in restaurants and in the photo is transparent for some reason, but at home it turns out white and cloudy. Of course, the restaurant uses ice makers, but at home you can do without them and cook a small amount clear ice in the freezer. We will tell you in detail how to do this.

How to make clear ice

Why does ordinary ice have a non-uniform structure and white crystals in the center? The answer is simple: because of the composition of the water from which we prepare it. Everyone knows that water can be hard and soft; different substances can be dissolved in it. It is salts, gases and other impurities in the process of freezing water that form large white crystals in pieces of ice and change its color.

Only non-carbonated purified water with minimal hardness can form transparent ice particles when frozen. If you prepare ice correctly, it will have neither taste nor smell, and it will melt more slowly by about 40-50%. How to prepare it:

1. Take purified water for baby food on the basis that for each guest you need 500-600 grams of ready-made ice.
2. Pour water into enamel or stainless pan, bring to a boil, boil for 2 minutes, turn off the gas, cover and let cool.
3. Repeat boiling again, cool to room temperature under the lid. Thus, you get rid of gases dissolved in water.

Pour prepared water into molds and cover them cling film and send to freezer until it solidifies completely.

A few important details:

• The freezer must be kept clean to prevent bacteria from entering the ice and absorbing unpleasant odors... Do not store ice in the fish or meat container.
• To avoid the formation of bubbles, pour water in three stages - first to the bottom, then to the middle, and only then to the edge of the mold, allowing each layer to solidify completely. Also for this purpose, you can apply the method of slow freezing (temperature -1 Celsius during the day).
• You can freeze and hot water(without covering with film), taking into account the quality of the mold material and the capacity of the freezer.
• You can store ice indefinitely.

How to make ice without molds

You can use any form except glass for making ice - the glass will simply burst when the freezing water expands. You can take out the finished ice from a mold of any size and material, if you heat the mold itself a little from the outside. If you don't have special form for ice, you can use:

• plastic cups
• plastic or metal covers
• silicone molds for miniature cupcakes or candies
• insert from the box for chocolates
• small plastic bags
• parts of a large Lego constructor and other plastic toys

All of these form variations need to be processed before use. New plastic bags and plastic cups do not need to be washed, but it is better to wipe children's toys with alcohol.

How to make crushed ice

In Asian countries, desserts are even made from crushed ice by pouring it fruit juices and syrups. Special machines are used to crush ice. But at home such a thing just for crushing ice is unlikely to be put on by someone. Therefore, you can use other methods to make small portions of crushed ice.

1. Use hand crusher... This will take a lot of time and effort, but there will be little ice.
2. Take advantage of food processor or blender: S-blade container, pulsation mode. It will be noisy, but everything will work out with the normal power of the device and sharp knives.
3. Most best method: fold the ice into a dense kitchen towel, wrap it up properly and break it right in the towel ice hammer(or a clean meat hammer). Use a smoother surface. Use plastic bag we do not recommend it - the ice will simply break it and fly apart.

Ice in cocktails is an irreplaceable attribute for us. We are so used to it that we don’t even think about it as a separate element. But the process of making ice is very interesting.

Most cocktails are prepared with ice. First of all, ice serves to cool the cocktail without adding water to it, and secondly, to keep the cocktail cold for as long as possible. If you want to get transparent, like glass, ice, boil water before freezing, or use mineral or spring water to make cubes.

Lump (molded) ice

produced in pieces different forms... It is added to drinks for cooling and beauty purposes. There are a few standard forms lump ice... Cup ice - is produced in the form of a cylinder with a hole and really resembles a glass. In Russia, such ice is no less popular than cube ice. It is believed that it cools drinks better and faster, as it has a much larger heat exchange surface.

Cube ice

- this is classic form food ice... A cube of such ice weighs from 13 to 33 g and is suitable for glasses of any shape. The easiest way to get ice cubes is from the ice trays with levers, as well as from the plastic ones. Square shaped ice takes a long time to melt and is therefore well suited for pure spirits.

Crushed ice

used at exhibitions and presentations to cool food and drinks. It is in the form of irregularly shaped chunks. It is also sometimes used in restaurants to prepare drinks and cocktails in a shaker. Crushed ice is easiest to make in an ice mill, but you can do without it.

Ice Frappe

Is shaved or finely crushed ice. Used for making cocktails with fruits, crochets, sparkling cocktails, "Mojito" and other drinks to be drunk through a straw.

Granular ice

- these are large grains with a diameter of 1 cm. Such ice has an ideal temperature of -0.5 ° C, does not freeze, is easy to store, easily mixes with the product and tightly envelops it, has no sharp edges and does not spoil the product. Granular ice can be used in restaurants to serve caviar, champagne or wine, organize a salad bar or buffet when plates with ready meals exposed on an ice mat.

Ice Cubes Fancy

— special kind ice cubes in which candied fruits of various colors and flavors are frozen. There are also ice cubes from iced tea or coffee. If the cocktail recipe provides for the use of such ice, prepare it with the addition of juices, mint leaves or berries. Freeze the berries and leaves inside a piece of ice in layers: pour one third of the liquid into the mold, let it freeze, then put mint leaves, pieces of fruit or berries and cover with the remaining liquid.

Colored ice

used for design, decoration, decoration, cooling drinks. Juices, soft drinks, cocktails can be served with colored ice cubes or multicolored ice hearts. Colored ice is served in thick glass or crystal dishes. Ice tongs are served along with the ice, with the help of which the ice is placed in glasses. Colored food ice is made by freezing sweetened fruit juices. Such ice cubes, in addition to color, have a pleasant fruity taste.

In recent years, creative ice molds made of silicone have gained particular popularity. Here a lot of opportunities open up for designers. After all, these containers can be given the most elaborate shape. But there is one rule for such forms. Before pouring ice into glasses, hold the mold with it for a few minutes at room temperature... The ice will melt a little and will easily leave the mold. Otherwise, you risk breaking the ice mini-sculpture conceived by the designer.

Paradoxical as it sounds, the colder the ice, the worse it cools drinks. Cocktails with very cold ice cubes tend to take longer to shake than "warmer" ones. Therefore, it is better to use ice cubes, the temperature of which is around 0 ° C. They need to get the ice out of the freezer shortly before making the cocktail.