I've recently switched to clear ice. The most noticeable difference is the slowness of melting. Often after my cocktail 90% of the ice remains; I can rinse it off, put it back in the fridge and reuse it (only for myself 😊). I'm a clear ice believer
For home hacking in small spaces: a simple, insulated CUP works. Takes about 18hr to freeze the top 2/3 - helps if (a) the cup is more *conical* than cylindrical, (b) does *not* have any threading on the inner side, and (c) you do *not* let it freeze to the bottom - the conical shape and unfrozen water at the bottom greatly help to pop it out. One hunk a day-ish - so don't plan any parties - but it works!
I've ammended my clear ice routine by setting some silicone ice trays with holes poked in the bottom in the top of the cooler. As the ice freezes down, it pushes the impurities out theough the holes while also keeping my cubes separate from each other and making it easier to pull out of the cooler
I use the cloudy off cuts for shaker ice, so no wastage. once you go down the rabbit hole you can't go back (que hotel California). I cut the cloudy ice off with a handsaw as I make a big 15kg block at a time. He's dead right about temping the ice too, as it makes the ice more stable when cutting. Love the channel, keep it up. Cheers. Also meant to add that I find using boiled water seems to work better as you seem to end up with a lot more clearer ice, just make sure you let the water cool before putting into the freezer!!
Great video! To avoid carving, you can also poke holes in the bottom of a silicone ice mold and fit it on the top of the cooler. There are products that are basically of this design, but they are pricey. I splurged on one recently and the results are great. Some time, I'll try using the base without the mold for a giant, clear, punch block.
I do the 48 hour freeze and I cut the cloudy ice too. There's nothing wrong with it, it just isn't pretty. I drop the cloudy ice in everyone's water bottles, it lasts longer than cubes from the ice maker. Win win (and no waste)
People been ice-zealots, & or picky about their “ice,” since the 19th century, when people pulled ice outta lakes, & I’m just now, finding-out that “clear-ice,” is a thang… …without “UA-cam/internet,” “American” culture hasn’t been “common-knowledge,” making “African-Americans”/“BLACKS” as secluded/uninterrupted as the “North Sentinel island!” #BlackiceShouldntBeASecretServiceReservedExclusivelyForHalloweenAstronautsTheBottomOfGlaciersAndOrHockeyPlayers
Whoever is saying clear ice is too much hassle obviously has never had a drink with clear ice, i made a marlin and watched like 3 of your videos since then and my clear ice old fashioned cube is still massive.
another one here in favor of the longer method. Mostly b/c i don't have to remember to take it out at 20-24 hours. It can stay in the freezer for five days and i get the same results. recently i did just go ahead and but one of those clear cube contraptions online and it's the same directional freezing but without having to use the knife and mallet and creates far less mess. thanks for the vid and history
Thanks a lot for the explanation on the temperature and the time, i personally use clear ice when i make drinks (never can get a straight cut) cause it make a whole lot of difference on the presentation.
It’s also an option to choose both and sometimes do clear ice when dropping a cube in a glass and using foggy ice for other times if preferred or if using clear ice for everything is too much work. It’s up to anyone what their preference is.
The Mpembe (sp?) effect actually has been tested to show that hot water can freeze FASTER in insulated, top-down freezing - something about more thermal circulation gets the OVERALL temperature down faster...
@@UnclePete The hotter the water, the less air can be dissolved in it. There are some things that dissolve better at higher temperatures and some things that dissolve better at lower temperature. When you heat water, you drive the air out. When you freeze that water, there is less air to cause tiny bubbles, and hence cloudiness. That trick doesn't make it totally clear, though. Still, as you say, it does make a difference.
Great way to end the video! In fact, how about a video on JUST garnishes! From the super quick and easy to the more intermediate ones where you want to impress people. Thanks!!!
I do the bottom-up method with a larger cooler, small aquarium pump and get a "mini-clinebell" chunk of ice that is 9"x8"x3.5" - with absolutely NO BUBBLES.
Possible follow up episode: uses for cloudy chunks (crushed ice, shaking, etc) and adding cheap molds for consistency. There are companies just making cheap molds and coolers in production and marking up the price like crazy but it’s really as simple as poking holes in the molds and putting them at the top of the cooler to freeze. Saw your instagram story doing it a while back so I’m sure you have this in your mind anyway. 👌
You may be able to buy clear ice at the super market. Someone tipped me off to this (probably on Reddit). I went down to my super market and, yes. 1.2 kg blocks of clear ice for less than $2. It's worth checking.
Depending on the local water, it is very possible that cloudy ice will impart some flavour. So I too have switched to making clear ice. My biggest issue is getting relatively straight cuts from the start. I suppose I need better tools (e.g. a sharper, better serrated knife). My second biggest issue is that my freezer is not large enough, so I have to make clear ice more frequently.
I find you don't need filtered water. Simply boil the water beforehand which has the added benefit of allowing slightly warmed water to slow the freeze. I also use the little bit larger igloo cooler which takes 3 days to freeze.
First of all, love all of your content! But I feel like people always talk about making clear ice but never talk about how to cut it properly. While using a serrated knife is a great way to create the initial channel, you want a flat edge to make that ice break as purposefully as you want it to. If you use something like a Nakiri, a Menkiri, or a cheap Chinese Cleaver (cleavers tend to have a round knife belly so find a flat edge or get it ground down at a local knife sharpener), then you can nestle that knife with more connection to the ice so when you tap the knife, it'll vibrate in the intended direction and crack the ice more cleanly. To get purposefully directional cuts you want to make sure the initial channel that you made is flat and the whole edge of your knife is laying flush in that channel against the ice with good pressure before you strike down to crack it. When you broke down the 48hr block, you went through the unclear side as your first cut. If you want precise, directional, unfractured cuts you should only cut through dense clear ice. We know that where the ice is not clear, it is also not solid. So, any vibration potentially will "bounce" and fissure resulting in the break going off line. I would suggest flipping it over and cutting from the solid side first to the cloudy ice or better yet, if you can hold it still, cut through the side. Estimate where the cloudy ice stops and and try cutting on that line then you can separate it all and work with just clear ice. I used to cut 2, 300# blocks every week for a 2 years by hand with nothing but 2 hand saws and 2 cleavers. With the right tools and training you can break one down as fast as someone with a bandsaw/chainsaw. I have videos of me breaking down blocks for reference if you need examples. Feel free to reach out if you would like to know more.
I store mine in a platisic bin. If I'm going to use it within a few days, that's all I do. If I'm going to keep it longer, I put it in a ziptop freezer bag and get as much air out as possible. The ice doesn't go bad, but moist air is the enemy of pretty ice. The defrost cycle of your freezer will give your ice a snow bath on the outside. It will melt away if you temper the ice before using, but I don't have that kind of patience when I'm ready for a cocktail. 😂 Oh, and the freezer bag helps keep any funky smells/flavors from attaching themselves to your ice.
@@brianherman503use an aluminium sheet tray to temper it, it’s the best material as it draws away cold faster than any other metal, just rub the ice on it and it goes clear almost instantly. Otis the best for for defrosting food also.
Just wait 20-30 min to start tempering, then it should slide right out as the edges start to soften. Edit: this will also give it time to temper so you can cut sooner anyway.
I've tried multiple containers and all but this cooler in the video are a struggle. But with this cooler in the video the drops out in 30-60 minutes. (Maybe because it is tapered)
It's not common at all to have a freezer close to 0°C in France. The warmer you can get is -18°C so it's basically super hard to get clear ice at home. the best result i can get is to go for 18 hours freezing, and i will not be as clear as yours :(
I can definitely taste the difference btw clear and regular ice in whiskey on the rocks. I suspect a lot depends on how much mineral is your tap water.
What kind of gloves are those? That is the hardest part for me to cut the ice is holding the huge block of ice. Otherwise, I find this method easy, cheap, and so worthwhile.
Yes! I'm not sure what gloves work best, either. I'm hesitant to use the kinds of gloves you might use in the garden or garage, because those always come with warnings about the presence of lead on them. I don't know why they have that warning, but the ones around here do. (However, the gloves worn in the video, and the ones from the clips from the ice manufacturer, look almost exactly like the kinds of work gloves that I see in hardware stores.)
The gloves I’m using are from the hardware store, I just found some with rubber palms. They cost like 8 bucks and work well, the definitely carry this style of glove at home depot
@@TheEducatedBarfly would you mind giving me a link to a similar one on amazon? Im worried about the presence of lead in the ones that are sold in some hardware stores
I have been having trouble with my clear ice. I put water in my cooler and take to the freezer. When I go into carving it my entire block of ice is cloudy. I am guessing my freezer is to powerfull and is freezing to quickly. Is that possible to be the issue?
A good way of cutting the 48hr one is to hang two weights from wire draped over the boundary of the clear & cloudy ice on the block and let gravity do its thing #science
Ive been experimenting with using the back of a hot knife to use melting as a cut method. Makes great cuts but takes forever. Still a WIP. Has anyone played with this?
I would love a mini jigsaw for cutting ice I was using a large bread knife that cut pretty quickly, Then the handle broke. A knife or blade for cutting ice would great
Think I could get away with using a thermos or something of that nature? And if you batch a lot of ice, can you keep it in the freezer without it clouding or anything like that?
This is actually wrong. Big ice takes up more volume in the glass not surface area, but small ice takes up more surface area and will cool quicker. Big ice for slower dilution is correct.
What I do to make clear ice, Pour cold water into regular ice cube tray and put in the freezer. And that's it. Do not know the science, but it works for me. I get clear ice.
I think you don't know what clear means because every other human on the planet uses your way to get cloudy ice. There wouldn't be thousands of videos, articles, comments, and heck even an entire industry around clear ice if it was that simple.
I've recently switched to clear ice. The most noticeable difference is the slowness of melting. Often after my cocktail 90% of the ice remains; I can rinse it off, put it back in the fridge and reuse it (only for myself 😊). I'm a clear ice believer
Same... clear ice reuse ensures I always have some in reserve.. 😂
I do the *exact* same thing 😂
I’ve also done this. I’ve been too lazy to remake my normal cooler of clear ice.
This is brilliant. Unfortunately, I love eating ice so I always end up eating it 😊.
For home hacking in small spaces: a simple, insulated CUP works. Takes about 18hr to freeze the top 2/3 - helps if (a) the cup is more *conical* than cylindrical, (b) does *not* have any threading on the inner side, and (c) you do *not* let it freeze to the bottom - the conical shape and unfrozen water at the bottom greatly help to pop it out. One hunk a day-ish - so don't plan any parties - but it works!
I've ammended my clear ice routine by setting some silicone ice trays with holes poked in the bottom in the top of the cooler. As the ice freezes down, it pushes the impurities out theough the holes while also keeping my cubes separate from each other and making it easier to pull out of the cooler
I use the cloudy off cuts for shaker ice, so no wastage. once you go down the rabbit hole you can't go back (que hotel California). I cut the cloudy ice off with a handsaw as I make a big 15kg block at a time. He's dead right about temping the ice too, as it makes the ice more stable when cutting. Love the channel, keep it up. Cheers. Also meant to add that I find using boiled water seems to work better as you seem to end up with a lot more clearer ice, just make sure you let the water cool before putting into the freezer!!
Great video! To avoid carving, you can also poke holes in the bottom of a silicone ice mold and fit it on the top of the cooler. There are products that are basically of this design, but they are pricey. I splurged on one recently and the results are great. Some time, I'll try using the base without the mold for a giant, clear, punch block.
Thank you! My problem was a too cold freezer. No one else ( that I could find ) has mentioned this.
I do the 48 hour freeze and I cut the cloudy ice too. There's nothing wrong with it, it just isn't pretty. I drop the cloudy ice in everyone's water bottles, it lasts longer than cubes from the ice maker. Win win (and no waste)
People been ice-zealots, & or picky about their “ice,” since the 19th century, when people pulled ice outta lakes, & I’m just now, finding-out that “clear-ice,” is a thang…
…without “UA-cam/internet,” “American” culture hasn’t been “common-knowledge,” making “African-Americans”/“BLACKS” as secluded/uninterrupted as the “North Sentinel island!”
#BlackiceShouldntBeASecretServiceReservedExclusivelyForHalloweenAstronautsTheBottomOfGlaciersAndOrHockeyPlayers
Another great video! I use this exact method! At 48 hours my block is about 90% frozen so I get bigger blocks with less carving….perfect balance.
Whoever is saying clear ice is too much hassle obviously has never had a drink with clear ice, i made a marlin and watched like 3 of your videos since then and my clear ice old fashioned cube is still massive.
another one here in favor of the longer method. Mostly b/c i don't have to remember to take it out at 20-24 hours. It can stay in the freezer for five days and i get the same results. recently i did just go ahead and but one of those clear cube contraptions online and it's the same directional freezing but without having to use the knife and mallet and creates far less mess. thanks for the vid and history
Nice video mate! Also really like the new motion graf you got there! Cheers
Hell yes!!! I LOVE videos like this and of course, yours are awesome and easy to understand. Entertaining and educational. Score!
Thanks a lot for the explanation on the temperature and the time, i personally use clear ice when i make drinks (never can get a straight cut) cause it make a whole lot of difference on the presentation.
Totally love clear ice. I look at cloudy ice and it turns me off.
Great explanation! Thanks ❤
Recently I’ve tried to make clear ice in insolated cup… well, it was almost perfectly clear ice
Love the history bits!
Cloudy ice are perfect as shaking and stirring ice.
Since it melts faster your drink gets cold and diluted faster.
It’s also an option to choose both and sometimes do clear ice when dropping a cube in a glass and using foggy ice for other times if preferred or if using clear ice for everything is too much work. It’s up to anyone what their preference is.
You can also use hot water to make the ice, and that will also freeze more slowly, which improves clarity. Good vid
The Mpembe (sp?) effect actually has been tested to show that hot water can freeze FASTER in insulated, top-down freezing - something about more thermal circulation gets the OVERALL temperature down faster...
@@TracyHall_DreamsAndLogic Oh weird. When I freeze hot water, it seems to be clearer, so maybe something else is going on??
False.
Mythbusters and hella scientific duplicate experiments have disproven the hot-water method.
It don't matter the temp.
@@UnclePete The hotter the water, the less air can be dissolved in it. There are some things that dissolve better at higher temperatures and some things that dissolve better at lower temperature. When you heat water, you drive the air out. When you freeze that water, there is less air to cause tiny bubbles, and hence cloudiness. That trick doesn't make it totally clear, though. Still, as you say, it does make a difference.
Great way to end the video! In fact, how about a video on JUST garnishes! From the super quick and easy to the more intermediate ones where you want to impress people. Thanks!!!
I do the bottom-up method with a larger cooler, small aquarium pump and get a "mini-clinebell" chunk of ice that is 9"x8"x3.5" - with absolutely NO BUBBLES.
Love this! Dehydrated pineapple slices next 🤞
Try the 48 hour, then MELT the cloudy part off on a kitchen griddle. Works perfect every time.
Now I’m going to have to start making clear ice! Thank you for showing us how!☺️
Wintersmiths makes a dope product. I get three clear balls and l trim the pushdown for a total of 5.🎉
I would love if your garnish company could do any floral garnishes
Possible follow up episode: uses for cloudy chunks (crushed ice, shaking, etc) and adding cheap molds for consistency. There are companies just making cheap molds and coolers in production and marking up the price like crazy but it’s really as simple as poking holes in the molds and putting them at the top of the cooler to freeze. Saw your instagram story doing it a while back so I’m sure you have this in your mind anyway. 👌
Amen
Are you using a particular Mercer serrated knife? Looks substantial.
You may be able to buy clear ice at the super market. Someone tipped me off to this (probably on Reddit). I went down to my super market and, yes. 1.2 kg blocks of clear ice for less than $2. It's worth checking.
You should get one of those stationary band saws.
Depending on the local water, it is very possible that cloudy ice will impart some flavour. So I too have switched to making clear ice. My biggest issue is getting relatively straight cuts from the start. I suppose I need better tools (e.g. a sharper, better serrated knife). My second biggest issue is that my freezer is not large enough, so I have to make clear ice more frequently.
I find you don't need filtered water. Simply boil the water beforehand which has the added benefit of allowing slightly warmed water to slow the freeze. I also use the little bit larger igloo cooler which takes 3 days to freeze.
Boiling makes a difference. Even in plain ice cube trays
First of all, love all of your content! But I feel like people always talk about making clear ice but never talk about how to cut it properly. While using a serrated knife is a great way to create the initial channel, you want a flat edge to make that ice break as purposefully as you want it to. If you use something like a Nakiri, a Menkiri, or a cheap Chinese Cleaver (cleavers tend to have a round knife belly so find a flat edge or get it ground down at a local knife sharpener), then you can nestle that knife with more connection to the ice so when you tap the knife, it'll vibrate in the intended direction and crack the ice more cleanly. To get purposefully directional cuts you want to make sure the initial channel that you made is flat and the whole edge of your knife is laying flush in that channel against the ice with good pressure before you strike down to crack it.
When you broke down the 48hr block, you went through the unclear side as your first cut. If you want precise, directional, unfractured cuts you should only cut through dense clear ice. We know that where the ice is not clear, it is also not solid. So, any vibration potentially will "bounce" and fissure resulting in the break going off line. I would suggest flipping it over and cutting from the solid side first to the cloudy ice or better yet, if you can hold it still, cut through the side. Estimate where the cloudy ice stops and and try cutting on that line then you can separate it all and work with just clear ice.
I used to cut 2, 300# blocks every week for a 2 years by hand with nothing but 2 hand saws and 2 cleavers. With the right tools and training you can break one down as fast as someone with a bandsaw/chainsaw. I have videos of me breaking down blocks for reference if you need examples. Feel free to reach out if you would like to know more.
Personally, I would love to see that!
this may be a odd question but is the clear ice the same as distilled water?
How to store, once the ice is made? And how long will it last?
Yes I'm wondering the same on the best way to store the ice. If it freezes harder in the freezer will cloudiness eventually appear?
We really need this
I store mine in a platisic bin. If I'm going to use it within a few days, that's all I do. If I'm going to keep it longer, I put it in a ziptop freezer bag and get as much air out as possible. The ice doesn't go bad, but moist air is the enemy of pretty ice. The defrost cycle of your freezer will give your ice a snow bath on the outside. It will melt away if you temper the ice before using, but I don't have that kind of patience when I'm ready for a cocktail. 😂 Oh, and the freezer bag helps keep any funky smells/flavors from attaching themselves to your ice.
@@brianherman503use an aluminium sheet tray to temper it, it’s the best material as it draws away cold faster than any other metal, just rub the ice on it and it goes clear almost instantly. Otis the best for for defrosting food also.
@@tompoynton nice tip! I didn't know that, but it explains why he was using one in the video. Thanks!
Anyone knows if there is any ice/food grade bandsaw designed for home use? That would be so awesome!
Good question
Any tips on getting ice out of the cooler when you do the full freeze method?
Just wait 20-30 min to start tempering, then it should slide right out as the edges start to soften.
Edit: this will also give it time to temper so you can cut sooner anyway.
I've tried multiple containers and all but this cooler in the video are a struggle. But with this cooler in the video the drops out in 30-60 minutes. (Maybe because it is tapered)
Is it a good idea to cut the 48 hour cloudy ice into use as large rocks for shaking?
I do this, but not into cubes for shaking or stirring, I have tray ice for that. Rather I save it and crush it in a Lewis bag when I need crushed ice.
It's not common at all to have a freezer close to 0°C in France.
The warmer you can get is -18°C so it's basically super hard to get clear ice at home.
the best result i can get is to go for 18 hours freezing, and i will not be as clear as yours :(
I can definitely taste the difference btw clear and regular ice in whiskey on the rocks. I suspect a lot depends on how much mineral is your tap water.
My biggest hindrance for this specific method: I don't have room in my freezer for an entire cooler, I have food in there 😅
Time to get a chest freezer lol 😂
looks like 30-36hrs is probably the magic number..
Ever tried a Japanese ice press? And is it worth it? Do you still have to start with clear ice to have the nice clear ball from one of those?
What kind of gloves are those? That is the hardest part for me to cut the ice is holding the huge block of ice. Otherwise, I find this method easy, cheap, and so worthwhile.
Yes! I'm not sure what gloves work best, either. I'm hesitant to use the kinds of gloves you might use in the garden or garage, because those always come with warnings about the presence of lead on them. I don't know why they have that warning, but the ones around here do. (However, the gloves worn in the video, and the ones from the clips from the ice manufacturer, look almost exactly like the kinds of work gloves that I see in hardware stores.)
The gloves I’m using are from the hardware store, I just found some with rubber palms.
They cost like 8 bucks and work well, the definitely carry this style of glove at home depot
@@TheEducatedBarfly would you mind giving me a link to a similar one on amazon? Im worried about the presence of lead in the ones that are sold in some hardware stores
I have been having trouble with my clear ice. I put water in my cooler and take to the freezer. When I go into carving it my entire block of ice is cloudy. I am guessing my freezer is to powerfull and is freezing to quickly. Is that possible to be the issue?
it might be freezing to fast, can you turn the temperature down?
A good way of cutting the 48hr one is to hang two weights from wire draped over the boundary of the clear & cloudy ice on the block and let gravity do its thing #science
Ive been experimenting with using the back of a hot knife to use melting as a cut method. Makes great cuts but takes forever. Still a WIP. Has anyone played with this?
Does anyone know of a good inexpensive, portable, table jigsaw type thing that could be used for cutting ice?
I would love a mini jigsaw for cutting ice I was using a large bread knife that cut pretty quickly, Then the handle broke. A knife or blade for cutting ice would great
maybe a tile saw l? it won't cut through though but will leave good scoring
Think I could get away with using a thermos or something of that nature? And if you batch a lot of ice, can you keep it in the freezer without it clouding or anything like that?
yes and yes
This is actually wrong. Big ice takes up more volume in the glass not surface area, but small ice takes up more surface area and will cool quicker. Big ice for slower dilution is correct.
i have had that large bulge at the bottom of the 48 brake my cooler as the bottom ice expanses. i shoot for 36 hours so i don't brake the cooler.
I fracture my ice every single time. Got tired of messing up a whole cooler of ice, so I quit
What I do to make clear ice,
Pour cold water into regular ice cube tray and put in the freezer. And that's it.
Do not know the science, but it works for me. I get clear ice.
I think you don't know what clear means because every other human on the planet uses your way to get cloudy ice. There wouldn't be thousands of videos, articles, comments, and heck even an entire industry around clear ice if it was that simple.