Posted by Adam Kuban, May 13, 2008 at 3:45 PM
Saw this on Boing Boing, where the sentiment seems to be that the talking R2D2 ice bucket is a near-sighted scrap pile but that the Han Solo–frozen-in-carbonite ice mold that comes with it stone cold awesome. One commenter there laments that the shape of the Han Solice would limit it to highball glasses but another envisions pressing it into duty as a chocolate mold. Unfortunately, the set, which was only available by pre-order in the U.K., now appears to have been removed from websites there.
Posted by Robyn Lee, May 8, 2008 at 10:15 AM
I must lead a deprived life, having never seen ice balls before. Ice balls are popular among drink connoisseurs because, due to the lower surface area, they melt more slowly than ice cubes.
The ice mold from Japan-based Taisin makes a range of perfectly formed ice balls in different sizes. If you don't need that level of perfection, not martha shows you how to make your own with a simpler ice ball mold.
Related
Pre-Packaged Spring Water Ice Cubes
Does Cold Water Boil Faster Than Hot?
Of course not! But "under the right circumstances," hot water can freeze faster than cold. "Part of the reason appears to be that hotter water loses mass to evaporation, and because it has less mass, less energy is needed to freeze it." And that is what's known as the Mpemba Effect.
Posted by Adam Kuban, July 10, 2007 at 3:30 PM
Print magazine's "Consumption Issue" takes a look at Ice Rocks, prepackaged spring-water ice cubes. They are:
... hermetically sealed, perforated cube trays of spring water. Don't let the name fool you—these cubes still require freezing, only the first hint of egregious over-consumption inherent in this product. Besides the plastic trays, the package includes peelable lids and a secondary structure with high-gloss UV coating for a wet look. Worst is the slogan: "The New Ice Age." ...
Even if you made the argument that you didn't want plain ol' tap-water-based ice mixing with your precious bottled water or with your cocktails, wouldn't you be better off freezing the bottled water of your choice in your own ice trays?
icerocks.com
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 7, 2007 at 2:21 PM
Regina Schrambling on the third Identità Golose, The taste of things to come: At a most unusual chefs' conference, great ideas trumped pomp and pretention: "There were chefs quoting Kandinsky and Lars von Trier as comfortably as they evoked Escoffier. There were chefs filling balloons with spices to pop over dinner plates, and chefs demonstrating how to flavor the bread crumbs so ubiquitous in Italian cooking with lime zest and syrup. They were using all the new-wave toys — agar-agar and sous vide and digital thermometers and no end of Pakojets — but they were also sharing discoveries as basic as this: Baking butternut squash or sweet onions on a bed of rock salt will concentrate the flavor and texture."
Other highlights:
Amy Scattergood on the crepe: "There's an economy of movement and coordination of design — a swirl of batter, a tilt of the pan — that's beautiful, whether the crepes are coming off the pans of the street vendors in Paris, or the crêperies in Brittany or Santa Monica, or the one on the stove top of your own kitchen. The crepe's beauty is in its utter simplicity, both in composition and in consumption; and though it looks difficult, it's actually much easier to make than you think."
Cocktails enter the ice age by Charles Perry, on how bars are paying more and more attention to what goes into what they pour drinks over: "I am starting to make ice cubes with Fiji Water for my Cocktail Reservado list," says Adam Seger, owner of Nacional 27, a Latin restaurant in Chicago. "For my Richy Roy, I stir 28-year-old unfiltered, cask-proof Glenlivet with sweet vermouth and Fiji ice cubes, then finish with homemade bitters and a homemade maraschino."
