Been searching for a good way to make clear ice at home for a bit. I’ve acquired a number of fancy ice cube molds to make squares, cubes, and skulls but I’ve never been able to make truly clear ice.
A bit of research tells me a few things a needed: soft water, temperatures near freezing, and/or directional freezing. Ice is supposed to form large, clear crystals near freezing, but most freezers cycle through warming and cooling cycles. I’m also not willing to dedicate my fermentation chamber for this.
Soft water is a hard one (soft, hard, get it?). My water tested at 400 tds a few weeks ago. I made a few trials with RO (TDS 30) and distilled water, but I still got cloudy ice (see g&t pic with drumshanbo gin).
Directional freezing was another trial, both with and without distilled/RO (TDS 30) water. The idea is to force impurities to the bottom by insulation the sides and bottom of the ice molds. To do this, I put a 6 pack cube tray in a small cooler, removed the lid, and stuck it in the freezer. Still a little cloudy, see the pic with the brass and glass chandelier in the background.
Final attempt, I broke down and bought a Tovolo
Clear ice cube system. This incorporates insulation around the whole contraption, with 2.5" spheres connected to a large tray to “catch the impurities.” Results: see the pics of a glass of aardberg scotch against black tile, as well as Teelings whiskey. A little tricky to get perfect spheres, very clear. I’ve tried with my 400 TDS tap water (doesn’t work), and 150 TDS “RO” water (Thanks Schnucks, try to maintain your system, still works). The 150 TDS water can be seen in the pictures mentioned above. Only complaints is that it’s hard to fill the tiny straw without my handy flask filling funnel.
All in all, I’d recommend it if you want clear ice for some dumb reason you can’t articulate.
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