In theory making flower ice cubes is fairly straightforward – it is of course crucial to only use edible flowers in your ice cubes; be aware many flowers may be poisonous and also make sure they weren’t sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals.
~Experiment with different ice trays & molds~
Beyond the straightforward there are a couple of easy tips that can make a big improvement in the appearance of flower or herb ice cubes.
After experimenting, making flower ice cubes batch after batch, I found some things work a lot better than others and I can say definitively that the number one tip in making crisp clear ice cubes is to use distilled water. Why are clear ice cubes better? So everyone can see the flowers inside 🙂
And so…
First tip: Use distilled water to make clear ice cubes. Now depending on just how important perfectly clear ice cubes are to you ~ keeping in mind how much effort you really want to put into something with such a short life span. ~ You can also boil the distilled water to get it even clearer. I’ve even read some people boil it two or three times. Personally, I just use plain distilled water myself. I like the effort to outcome ratio. It’s just as quick and easy as regular tap water but has a lot more clarity and looks really pretty when viewed in comparison.
Second tip: Getting petals and herbs that float to freeze in the middle of the cube. If you plan on using the ice cubes within a day or two after you freeze them then this shouldn’t really matter too much. They will still look pretty and taste just as great. It becomes more problematic the longer they sit in the freezer. Flower petals and mint (herb) leaves will start turning brown if not fully submerged in the ice.
A simple little trick is to fill the tray with water and let it start to freeze for about an hour depending on the temperature setting of your freezer. Take a toothpick (or similar implement) and gently break the top layer of ice – it should still be mostly liquid underneath – insert flower petals or herbs into the middle with the floating pieces of ice on top holding them down. Put the tray back in the freezer to finish freezing.
Have fun and be creative ~ infuse and enhance ice cubes with more than just flowers ~ Try fruit and herbs maybe even spices or vegetables.
View my other posts on ice cubes ~ Classic Mint Ice Cubes ~ or ~ Lavender Rose Petal Iced Tea
