How to Make Prettier Ice Cubes

When summertime weather rolls around, there's nothing better than a refreshing glass of lemonade or a sparkling cocktail to beat the heat. But if you're simply chilling out these beverages with run-of-the-mill ice cubes, you may be missing an opportunity to add a dash of elegance to your drinks. Learn how to make prettier, and more impressive, ice cubes for your next social gathering:

1. Get Crystal Clear Ice

If you've ever marveled at the clearness of restaurant ice, then skip the cloudy cubes that your freezer churns out and try making the cubes yourself. First, boil your water (preferably filtered or bottled). Allow it to cool, then boil it again. Once the water has cooled for a second time, pour it into your ice cube trays, and stick them in the freezer. This method may sound time consuming, but it removes pesky air bubbles that create an opaque or fuzzy look.

2. Add Color

You have a few options for making brightly colored ice cubes that take drinks from basic to brilliant. You can use standard food coloring — just a drop per cube should suffice — or if you're more interested in a natural approach, try steeping colorful ingredients like hibiscus flowers or butterfly pea flowers in water before freezing. Butterfly pea flower is particularly fun to use because when steeped it is a deep blue, but when exposed to any acidity (such as lemon juice in lemonade) it changes to a rich purple.

3. Go for Florals

Summer is the perfect time for making use of in-season edible flowers. You can often find them at farmers' markets or some well-stocked natural food stores. To make creative ice cubes with them, simply give each flower a quick wipe with a damp paper towel. Then fill your large ice cube tray one-third of the way up with water, place your flower in face down, then gently fill the rest of the tray with water. We prefer to use this tray from Tovolo, since it has plenty of room for the flowers while still remaining flexible for easy ice cube removal.

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