When I was a kid, my mom used to look after a few of the neighborhood kids after school. Since she’s the perfect mom, it should come to no one’s surprise that she was the perfect babysitter as well. She arranged all kinds of activities for us. We had board games like SORRY, Candyland, and TROUBLE; card games like UNO, Old Maid, and Bingo; and outside sports like four square, kickball, and soccer. We had tons of fun.
One of the things that I remember most is how she made frozen Kool-Aid treats for us every week. She froze the juice in these special plastic molds that she bought, which made them easier to hold and eat. They even had spouts on the side so we could suck the juice out as they melted. That was our special Friday treat.
Recently, that old memory surfaced when we got a replacement for our busted old refrigerator from our apartment complex. The new fridge came with a set of ice trays. I initially dismissed them because we always buy bags of ice. But then the idea hit me—I could make special ice cubes with them! I could make ice cubes that are more like mini popsicles as a snack. And down the rabbit hole I went with this little side project!
The Trays
The new fridge came with two very different ice trays, one that makes wedges and one that makes hemispheres.
Tray One – Wedges
The first tray is a traditional ice cube tray. It’s made of thick, frosty white plastic that measures seven inches (L) by three inches (W).
It holds twelve small-ish cubes in total. They’re not actually square shaped, though. I call them “wedges.” They taper off, starting off like a normal cube at the top before gradually narrowing down to a smaller tip.
I grab one of these when I want a little nip of something, like a quick way to moisten my mouth without drinking something.
Tray Two – Hemispheres
The second tray, my favorite of the two, is made of clear plastic. It measures six inches (L) by three-and-a-half inches (W).
It holds six cubes that are shaped like large half-spheres (“hemispheres”). These are the type of cubes that you would put in a cocktail or another kind of adult drink. The shape makes them feel…I don’t know, festive.
One cube is usually enough for a satisfying snack, though it’s nearly impossible to not eat two.
Using the Trays
Although I’m still experimenting with the best techniques and materials for making the ice cubes, I think I’ve gotten the basic process down now. There have been mishaps along the way, though.
The Process
There’s nothing complicated about making the ice cubes. Just pour whatever juice or soda you want into the compartments and put the tray(s) in the freezer. Boom! Done.
It usually takes about thirty minutes to an hour for the cubes to be ready to eat. They solidify somewhat in about fifteen minutes, but I often jump the gun and end up with a dripping, half-frozen cube. Don’t do that.
Materials
Soda is our household’s main drink of choice, so I use whatever’s on hand for most of my ice cubes. I’ve used Fanta, Coca-Cola, Sprite, and Mugs, as well as several generic sodas brands. My favorite cubes so far were made from Sunkist’s Berry Lemonade. Not only is it a pleasing turquoise that reminds me of the trademark Pearl Aqua color of one of my favorite K-Pop bands, SHINee, but it tastes fantastic as a frozen treat. I’m also a big fan of Publix’s Mountain Splash, which is like Mountain Dew.
One thing I learned is that diet soda does not work for this! Diet Coke, Diet Ginger Ale, Coke Zero, Diet Root Beer…all disasters. Within minutes of being put in the freezer, they will overflow in the tray and cause a mess. My mom managed to successfully make a batch by only filling the compartments halfway. The cubes didn’t overflow, but they came out much thinner and much less tasty because there wasn’t enough soda in them. Plus, this trick only works with the wedge tray.
At first, I thought the issue was related to the sugar substitutes in the diet sodas. That’s the only major difference between those and the regular sodas. But then I made cubes using zero sugar water packets from Pure Kick. They didn’t overflow. Now, I think it’s the combination of the carbonation and the sugar substitute that creates the problem with the diet soda cubes.
The water packet cubes are great are hydration purposes. They taste like a regular ice cube with a slight kick. The only issue is that the packet flavoring tends to gather in uneven pockets within the cubes. As a result, I end up with parts that taste like plain water and other parts that taste heavily like the water packet. Even though I shake the water mixture up thoroughly before I pour them in the trays, I can’t control how the mixture will ultimately settle.
Other Uses
We also had success using the cubes as actual ice cubes. One day we ran out of ice, so we plopped some of the fancy cubes into our glasses. It worked beautifully. It was even more satisfying when we experimented with mixing the cubes and drink flavors. Imagine a Coke with a lemonade berry twist!
These fancy cubes helped me break my bad habit of eating regular ice too. They’re softer than regular cubes, which puts less stress on my teeth when I crunch on them.
Maintenance
Both trays are extremely easy to clean. There’s always residue left behind from the soda/juice in the compartments once all of the cubes are removed. Most of the time, I only have to rinse the trays out with warm water and they’re good to go for the next round. I do occasionally wash them with dish detergent as well.
The difficulty level required to remove the cubes differs between the trays. I often have to twist or run warm water under the bottom of the wedge tray to help things along. Additionally, there are tabs situated around each compartment’s corners that I can use to get a good grip on a cube with my fingernails. The hemispheres, on the other hand, are much easier to free. I can either grab the edges of a cube and pull it up or press down on one side to make the cube slide out of the other side of the tray.
As far as durability goes, I have much more faith in the longevity of the wedge tray than in the hemisphere one. The hemisphere tray’s plastic feels far thinner and weaker. I’ve dropped it onto the kitchen floor a few times, and whoo! I held my breath each time, praying that it wouldn’t hit the floor hard enough at the wrong angle and crack. I don’t have the same worries about the sturdier wedge tray.
Verdict
I think we’ll be making many more of these ice cubes in the future. The whole family gets a kick out it. I make a new batch at least once a day. I would like to test more flavors. I just know that some juices (orange, apple, lemonade, tea, etc.) or even an energy drink like Gatorade or Powerade would hit perfectly. My goodness, I can imagine the taste right now!
I would like to add more types of trays to our collection too. It would be cool if I could find another set of molds like we had when I was a kid. I’m sure Amazon or somebody carries something close to that. That would really bring things full circle.