I worked behind the bar for many years! Here's how to make any drink taste better. DIY ice figures (photo): New Year's decoration of the territory of a country house

Ice is an amazing material.

From it you can build a real castle, make a slide for children, carve sculptures, create a decorative composition for decoration festive table, make a bar counter and even tableware - for example, cocktail glasses. Professionals from studios specializing in ice design can help you decorate your yard, countryside, or interior in an unusual way.

But during the New Year holidays it is much more interesting to become a creator yourself - and to attract your family: you are guaranteed an unforgettable family leisure time.

Ice sculptures: professionals work

In Russia, building snow towns and sliding down ice slides have long been folk winter pastimes. And the tradition of erecting ice sculptures dates back to the reign of Empress Anna

Ioannovna. In 1740, for the clownish wedding of Prince Golitsyn, she ordered the construction of the Ice House on the Neva - between the Admiralty and the Winter Palace. The house, 17 m long, 5 m wide and about 6 m high, was built from ice blocks held together with water. Ice cannons were displayed in front of him, ice dolphins adorned the gate, and ice pyramids rose on both sides of the entrance. Inside the house, everything was made of ice - furniture, utensils, a fireplace, and even a bathhouse. The authors of the unique project were the best architects of that time. Since then, literally a lot of water has flown under the bridge, technology has stepped far forward, and nothing has happened

masters have learned to create real masterpieces - and demonstrate them at any time of the year, not only in winter. During the New Year and Christmas holidays, you can admire their works on the central streets and squares of the city, at numerous competitions and ice sculpture festivals that take place in parks - Luzhniki, Sokolniki, Kuzminki, Krasnaya Presnya. There is even a year-round Ice Museum in Moscow.

What you can see at ice sculpture festivals and competitions:

ice palaces, slides and labyrinths;
the most diverse and fantasy sculptures - Santa Claus, Snow Maiden and other fairy-tale characters, animals and birds, cartoon characters, ice chess and much more - these are real open-air art objects created by talented sculptors.

But the activities of professional ice composition studios are not limited to participation in festivals. They offer private customers:

installation of ice figures in suburban areas;
production of interior ice figures, which can be both decorative and functional - used as original vases, candlesticks, seafood dishes, berries, fruits, ice cream, glasses and vessels for drinks;
construction of ice bars equipped with everything necessary for preparing cocktails;
unusual gift packaging - for example, rings placed inside an ice block look very impressive;
In addition, ice logos and outdoor advertising are in great demand.

Prices depend on the number of ice blocks used and the complexity of production. For example, for a figure with dimensions of 50 by 50 by 25 cm, you will need 0.5 blocks, it will cost from 2,000 to 5,000 rubles; for a figure with dimensions of 195 * 100 * 25 cm, you will need 3-5 blocks, price - from 15,000 to 30,000 rubles, for a figure with dimensions of 500 x 300 x 25 cm, you need 20 blocks, price - from 100,000 to 300,000 rubles.

Material for making ice sculptures

The figures are made from ice blocks. The standard size of one is 100 x 50 x 25 cm, weight - about 120 kg. To create large sculptures, several blocks are needed, which are placed on top of each other and watered with water - so that the seams “stick together” and a monolithic form is obtained. Blocks can be purchased from companies specializing in ice carving at any time of the year. In winter, the cost of one is from 1,500 rubles. without delivery.

What is an ice block made of?

For its production, two types of ice can be used - natural or artificial.
Natural, or natural, is river or lake ice. River water is not held in high esteem by professionals: it is not as transparent as in the lake, where, thanks to springs, it acquires a beautiful bluish or greenish tint. Artificial is ice from an ice maker. This is what the craftsmen prefer, as it turns out to be perfectly transparent, like a crystal. The fact is that in the ice maker the water is purified from impurities and does not stagnate.

In winter, if the temperature outside is sub-zero, sculptures are created at the place where they are installed; in warm weather, they are created in refrigeration chambers at a temperature of -10°C. Don't be afraid that they will melt quickly: even at a temperature of +25°C they will last for at least 4 hours.

Sculptures can be not only transparent or matte, but also colored - companies have special technologies for painting ice.

As a rule, blocks are sawn in half and the inner surface is painted or inscriptions, patterns, and numbers are applied to it.

Then the blocks are connected by pouring water. Ice structures with lighting look very beautiful - with light you can achieve any shade.

The process of making an ice sculpture with your own hands

Before starting work, the master draws a sketch. Then he places ice blocks on top of each other, “glues” the joints together with water, the number of blocks depends on the size of the product.

For cutting, he uses saws, chisels and cutters similar to those used for processing wood. It is very important that the tools are well sharpened.

To create a sculpture measuring 2 * 2 x 2 m, an experienced carver will need an average of 2 to 5 days. Short thaws are not scary for street sculptures, and if the temperature remains above zero for several days in a row, it is better to cover them with polyethylene.

DIY ice sculptures

If, inspired by the works of professionals, you want to feel like Pygmalion and sculpt your own icy Galatea - everything is in your hands. The main thing is to stock up on ice suitable for creativity and use the right tools.

You will need:

ice, water;
tools
gasoline or hand saw, straight and angled scrapers, chisel, chisel, cutters;
additional materials - stainless steel forms, wooden formwork, plastic containers, soap dishes, gouache or acrylic paints, polyethylene, plasticine.

Ice

You can order ready-made ice blocks or edible ice, but it’s much more interesting to prepare it yourself. Tap water is not suitable for freezing: the ice will turn out cloudy. It is best to use natural ice. Using a hand saw or chainsaw, you need to cut a block measuring approximately 100 x 50 x 25 cm from the ice cover, preferably from a non-flowing body of water.

The fact is that due to the current in the river, the ice is washed away from below and does not reach the thickness required for work. If you have a pond on your site, ice from it is also quite suitable, the only condition is that the depth of the reservoir must be at least 50 cm. The block size of 100 x 50 x 25 cm is optimal, since smaller blocks will be inconvenient to work with, and larger ones - difficult to pull out of the pond.

In our middle zone, in natural sources, the ice reaches the required thickness by the end of December - beginning of January. If the winter turns out to be warm, you will have to use artificial material.

It's easy to prepare.

Take a stainless steel mold or wooden formwork, cover the bottom plastic film. You can also use plastic containers or soap dishes as molds for small parts. Fill with prepared water cleared of impurities and freeze in the freezer. True, in this case it will not be possible to freeze ice to create a large figure - after all, the volume of the freezer is not too large.

Process

Fashion a prototype of the future sculpture from plasticine. Alternatively, the design can be drawn on large white paper, wetted and then applied to the ice mold and cut out along the outline.
Ice blocks need to be connected into a monolith. To do this, place the blocks prepared in advance one on the other, water them with water and immediately lay the next layer. Continue until you get the size array you need. If you want the figure to be colored, add gouache or acrylic paint to the inner layer.
Take a hand saw or chainsaw. By sawing off large pieces, give the sculpture its outline. It should be remembered that ice is a plastic material and can be easily processed at temperatures down to -28°C, but you need to work at temperatures from -2°C.
To work out the details you will need straight and angled scrapers. The first one is for chipping ice, the second one is for grinding the figure, making grooves and stripes. By the way, you can use a chisel or chisel for the same purposes. Refer to the sketch.
When the figure is ready, pour water over it and wrap tightly in plastic. After an hour, remove it.

DIY ice slide

Children will be delighted if, together with their parents, they build a slide with their own hands for the most fun winter entertainment.

Process

Carefully prepare the area where the slide will be located: it should be safe, without bushes, stumps and trees.
Roll up snow globes - there should be a lot of them. Place them in a mound and leave them for a couple of days so that the snow compacts. Level the surface with a shovel, make sides and steps.
Use a hose or watering can to water the slide hot water and wait until the surface hardens. Then level it again with a shovel and pour hot water again. That's it - you can ride.

DIY ice ware

A win-win way to surprise guests with an unusual table setting is to make for festive feast ice dishes: glasses, glasses, cups, fruit and ice cream vases, bottle stands. To make glasses or glasses, take Silicone forms, fill them with distilled or boiled water and place them in the freezer. The original glasses are enough for several toasts - then you will have to repeat the procedure. Fruit or ice cream vases made as follows look very elegant. You will need two deep plates, water, leaves and flower petals. Place the leaves and petals in a plate, place a smaller plate in it, fill the space between the walls with water and put it in the freezer. To remove the ice bowl, pour hot water over the plates.

The ice will, of course, melt over time.

But the process of creating ice sculptures or original items for the home will give so many positive emotions that the family will remember these holidays for a long time - and will look forward to the next ones.

Snow and ice sculptures and other snowy winter fun

“The bunny had a bast hut, and the fox had an ice hut...” - the fairy tale says. To create a similar miracle on your own site, you don’t need expensive materials and tools. Use available materials - snow and ice!

We sculpt from snow

The snowman became a good fat man only in the 19th century, at which time the famous canonical appearance appeared: a body made of three snow globes of different sizes, a bucket on his head and a nose made of carrots. Everyone probably knows how to sculpt such a character, but in addition to the classic snowman, you can sculpt many more interesting things! For example, you can turn the snowman upside down and give him real boots or felt boots! Or sculpt your favorite cartoon characters out of snow. And if you recently had a good time at sea or discovered a passion for something monumental, take up the creation of sea creatures from snow. To create such a masterpiece, you will already need “heavy artillery”: shovels, scrapers, and even snow blowers or even tractors, but the result is worth it. Of course, it won’t be as warm as the sea outside, but you will get enough “likes” on social networks!

Building a fortress out of snow

If you have a big friendly company, why not have snow battles? Build real fortresses out of snow! Best conditions To create a snow town are relatively high temperatures (about OX) and high air humidity. Just roll the balls like you would for a snowman and stack them on top of each other. Unfortunately, such a fortress will look a little sloppy. Then give snow globes shape square blocks using a shovel. Another way is to collect wet snow in 10-liter plastic buckets and tip them in the right places like molds in a sandbox.

With more low temperatures construction is also possible. You can't do without containers for snow and water. Snow during frosts is very dry, so it needs to be moistened: snow is collected into a bucket or other container in layers, each of which is shed a small amount water from a watering can or perforated plastic bottle.

After the frame of your fortress is ready, make it unique - think about the original appearance. Cut through windows and doors, loopholes, etc. maybe even snow tunnels. Place a flag on the very top of the building. And don’t forget to prepare a sufficient amount of “ammunition”: snowballs will come in very handy after building the fortress!

Angel in the snow

For those who like to roll around in the snow, there is a great idea - create a snow angel! Find an area with an even layer of freshly fallen snow without foreign traces, stand with your back to it and squat down. Then simply lie down on the snow (it is important that your head is well imprinted) and spread your arms to the sides, spread your legs shoulder-width apart. Move your arms up and down the surface of the snow without bending them. to make angel wings. Also bring your legs together and spread them several times to make a skirt. Now it is important to rise without damaging the creation!

Ice sculptures

If Rodin's fame haunts you, try yourself as an ice sculpture creator! They can be made from both natural and artificial ice. To do this, a block of ice is cut out of the ice cover of a reservoir with a chainsaw, which can later be used to create a sculpture.

At the same time, be careful: if the temperature a few weeks before was above 8 C, under no circumstances step on the ice - it can still withstand you, but under the weight of the ice block it will crack. But such ice will not be of very high quality: it contains many foreign impurities and air bubbles, which make the ice cloudy. Even if you try to independently cast blocks of the required size from clean water, there will be no “crystal” transparency - air bubbles will still remain inside. The secret to making perfectly transparent blocks lies in the constant circulation of frozen water: this creates much fewer bubbles and the ice becomes suitable for sculpting.

To carve a sculpture from a finished block, you need to arm yourself with a chainsaw - it is with its help that the first outlines of the future sculpture are given to the ice. When this stage is completed, the work continues with incisors and a drill. If unnecessary “burrs” and irregularities appear on the surface, warm up these places with a regular hairdryer. The final touch is pouring the finished sculpture cold water. After this procedure, let the figure harden.

Let's have extreme and expensive fun

For extreme sports enthusiasts who want to try something new, we can recommend an attraction that is just beginning to gain popularity in our country - zorbing. Its meaning is to lower a person in a transparent ball - a zorb - from a mountain or overcome any obstacles in it. The ball itself consists of two spheres: outer and inner, between which air is pumped. A passenger, who is already called a “zorbonaft,” climbs into the inner part of the ball. It is thanks to the thick air layer, which provides some cushioning, that a person is quite comfortable to be inside.

From the outside it seems that nothing is easier than making ice for cocktails, especially if you have special molds. In practice, everything is not so rosy - before you make ice, you will have to study important nuances process. Otherwise pure and clear ingredient for spirits or soft drinks will appear as a cloudy gray substance.

Quite often housewives have the question of how to make ice at home if they don’t have a suitable form at hand. Lovers of experiments and creativity have developed several solutions for this case that will help you achieve the desired result with your own hands.

Secrets that will allow you to get clear ice without bubbles

Frozen water and ice for cocktails are two completely different things. Contrary to the promises of manufacturers of ice making devices, it is not enough to pour water into the mold and put it in the refrigerator. Only when carrying out preliminary preparation you can count on the final product to be transparent and attractive.

There are several production methods quality ice with your own hands:

Treated water. Pour water into a steel or enamel container (most importantly, not aluminum) and bring to a boil. After the liquid has bubbled for a few minutes, let it cool. naturally. Then boil the water again and cool again. In between boiling periods, do not forget to cover the container with a lid to prevent dust from settling. After processing, pour the water into molds and freeze. This approach allows you to get transparent ice due to the fact that air bubbles are removed and water molecules adhere more tightly to each other.

Tip: Regardless of the type of ice making approach, professionals recommend always using filtered or drinking water. Otherwise bad smell It will go away only for a while and will open in full after the cube gets into the drink.

Slow freezing. If time and the capabilities of the refrigeration unit allow, then you need to set the temperature to -1ºC. We wait until the temperature rises to the desired level and place the molds with water poured over them in the chamber. Additionally, it is recommended to wrap the device cling film. The holding time is at least 24 hours. Slowly pushing out the bubbles as the liquid cools ensures that the ice is clear and smooth.
Freezing in a salty environment. Some people suggest using sea water to prepare the base, but if this option is not possible, you can prepare a salty medium with your own hands. True, achieving ideal concentration can only be achieved through experience. Practice shows that with this approach you can hope for the desired result even when tap water freezes. Pour water into a bowl, add salt, stir. Place the container in the freezer; the temperature should not be lower than -2ºС. After the liquid becomes very cold, lower the ice trays filled with water into it and put them back in the freezer.

The last option is considered the most correct and preferable. During this treatment, ice cubes become not only transparent, but also smooth, without cracks or streaks. All harmful particles will be displaced, so the elements, once they enter the drink, will not cause an unpleasant odor. An additional advantage of this approach is that salt water can be kept in the freezer permanently (provided the set temperature is maintained) and used repeatedly.

How to make ice without an ice mold - affordable creativity

It is not necessary to have special molds at home or design them yourself to make beautiful and original ice. If you wish, you can find many worthy solutions to the situation:

If we are not talking about preparing cocktails, but about serving single-ingredient drinks, then you can prepare ice directly in glasses. For this you will need suitable utensils, capable of withstanding temperatures of -1ºС. Just pour a little chilled drink or drink into the bottom of the glass. boiled water and put it in the freezer for slow freezing. Be sure to ensure that the remaining parts of the container are completely dry. This method allows you to achieve the necessary cooling, and gives the drink itself an unusual look in the glass.
To freeze water, you can use plastic cups with bottoms of different diameters. Pour the liquid no more than a centimeter and freeze as usual. The output will be original round pieces of ice. They can even be divided into halves or quarters if you initially line them with pieces of plastic cut out with your own hands from unnecessary bottles.
Some people manage to make ice using lids. They can be made of plastic or metal, twisted or rolled. The only difficulty is that when removing ice from such products, it is difficult not to damage it.
If desired, you can use Lego parts or silicone molds as blanks. You just need to thoroughly disinfect them before use.
In the very as a last resort You'll have to make do with plastic bags. We cut them into large pieces or initially take very small packages. Pour water into them and roll them into balls of various sizes. Place in a bowl and freeze according to instructions.

In addition to this, you can come up with others no less original options making ice. The main thing is to act according to the rules, then the components will become a real decoration of the drinks served.

Before making ice, you need to thoroughly study this process and its nuances. It’s not enough to just pour water into special forms and put them in the freezer. To make a transparent and beautiful product that will decorate cocktails, you will have to work hard. And yet, contrary to popular belief, you do not need to use any special refrigerators for this.

Everything can be done with your own hands with minimal financial and energy costs. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment and not to stop if your first attempts fail.

Secrets of clear ice for drinks

Those who want to learn how to make real ice for drinks with their own hands, and not just cloudy pieces of frozen water, should adopt the following approaches:

Use of pre-treated water. Pour the liquid into an enamel or steel bowl, bring to a boil and let it simmer for a few minutes. After this, cover with a lid and leave to cool naturally. We repeat the manipulation and cool the composition again. Then we fill the ice molds and freeze the pieces. With this approach, the cocktail filler becomes transparent due to the removal of air bubbles.

Slow freezing. You can displace bubbles that make the product cloudy if you freeze the product not quickly, but very slowly. The final version will not only be transparent, but also very smooth. True, the time for preparing ice in this case is at least a day. To carry out manipulations in the freezer, you need to set the temperature no higher and no lower than -1ºС.

Freezing in salt water. This method also allows you to make clear and beautiful ice without cracks. Ideally you should use sea salt, but in the absence of one, you can make the mixture yourself. To do this, do not completely fill a deep bowl with water, add small table salt and stir well (unfortunately, the concentration of the composition will have to be determined experimentally). We place the container in the freezer, the temperature in it should not be lower than -2ºС. As soon as the liquid has cooled down greatly, lower the filled ice trays into it and put them back in the freezer until cubes form. If the liquid in the bowl begins to freeze, this indicates an insufficient amount salt, the solution will have to be redone.

Advice: In general, no matter what approach to making ice is used, you need to take drinking or filtered water. Otherwise, the unpleasant smell will only go away temporarily. As soon as the product gets into the drink and begins to melt, the specific aroma returns, which noticeably spoils the taste of the cocktails.

Experienced housewives prefer to prepare ice at home according to the latest instructions. It turns out transparent, smooth, without cracks, and does not crack when adding cocktails and other drinks. Saline solution It is enough to cook just once. It can be poured into a convenient container and kept in the freezer at all times.

How to make ice without special ice molds?

The lack of molds is not a problem if you have imagination. You can make them yourself or even use improvised means. The approach option and the specifics of its implementation depend on the type of drink consumed and what is on hand:

If you plan to serve not cocktails, but simply pour one-ingredient drinks, you should take care of the dishes in advance. To do this, take the selected glasses (preferably thick glass, it will not crack from exposure to cold air), pour about 1 cm of boiled drinking water into them, wipe them thoroughly so that no moisture remains on the surface. Next, carefully place the containers in the freezer (temperature is -1ºC), trying not to spill anything on the walls. The finished ice will not only be beautiful and perform the specified functions, but will also give the spilled drinks an original look.
It's very easy to make your own ice using plastic or metal lids. For the first ones, it is better to trim them inside in advance so that the thread does not interfere with the extraction of the product. Main secret The process is to ensure that the liquid is poured to the maximum and reaches the very edge. In this case, it will expand, protrude above the surface and the pieces will be easier to get out. You just need to keep them at room temperature for a few minutes until they melt.
One of the easiest options for making ice is to use plastic cups. Pour pre-prepared water onto the bottom, determine the thickness yourself, but remember that the mass will still expand. Freeze the product and carefully remove it. You don’t have to settle on round “cubes”; if you insert homemade plastic dividers inside the cup, the shape can be adjusted.
It’s worth looking around the kitchen and rooms; in most cases, something can be adapted for making ice. These include parts from children's construction sets, candy inserts, and silicone baking molds. Only available products must be thoroughly disinfected before use.

If time is short, and you can’t prepare something worthwhile with your own hands, you need to limit yourself to the most simple option. Let's take it plastic bags, cut them into shreds, fill the pieces with a small amount of water and tie them in a knot. We will get small, neat balls that will look very original in a glass.

“Ice is the soul of a cocktail,” say experienced bartenders. Any alcoholic drink with big piece clear ice it will seem tastier, and drinking it will be more aesthetically pleasing. After all, alcohol is not only and not so much an “effect”, but a process, atmosphere and communication.

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Transparent ice

Have you ever noticed that the ice served in restaurants is clear, but the cubes you take out of the molds in your refrigerator are cloudy and white?

How to make clear ice at home? Don't believe it if they tell you that it is enough to boil or filter the water. Even using distilled water will not help.

The fact is that no matter how hard you try to purify the water from impurities, there will still be one component other than H2O left in it. This is air.

By its nature, freezing water tends to form a clear crystalline structure. In doing so, it pushes trapped air and impurities away from the freezing zone.

In an ice tray, this process occurs on all sides of the cube. The last part to freeze is the center, and this is where it ends up cloudy and filled with air bubbles.

Do we need absolutely transparent ice? What is its advantage over the ordinary one? muddy ice from silicone molds?

First, because there are no air bubbles, clear ice melts more slowly than usual, causing your drinks to stay cold longer.

Secondly, because clear ice melts more slowly, it means your drink will dilute with water more slowly and retain its rich flavor longer.

What a big piece pure ice in itself is a decoration for a cocktail. A huge transparent cube of ice squeezed into an Old Fashioned, literally squeezing out a portion of whiskey or rum, is cool.

How to make crystal clear ice at home

You can, of course, buy one, which produces very clean and transparent ice, but it takes up a lot of space in the bar and costs from 15 thousand rubles.

The best way get crystal clear ice cubes - so-called directional freezing.

YOU WILL NEED

small portable refrigerator for food
a container for water that will fit freely into the refrigerator
filtered water
long serrated knife

INSTRUCTIONS

Interesting fact: Spheres have the smallest surface area relative to volume, making ice cubes ideal for cooling drinks rather than cubes.

A seemingly trivial situation: you approach a friend or relative and ask: “You need clear ice. How can I make sure that the cubes are not cloudy or cracked, and without the specific smell of the freezer?” The strangest thing is that in 99.9% of cases, the answer you will receive is a recommendation to put the ice tray in the freezer and wait a couple of hours, accompanied by a mocking look. Yes, yes, it will always seem to your interlocutor that you asked a funny and ridiculous question, the answer to which even a first-grader knows. But he will remain in this happy confidence until he himself tries to make transparent ice. Everyone seems to understand and know how to make ice cubes, but in practice, not everyone succeeds.

There is a problem

Any modern refrigerator, as standard, contains an egg tray and shelves of different sizes and purposes, as well as a miniature mold for freezing water. By the way, inventive housewives not only use it for its intended purpose, but also freeze aromatic herbs, berries, fruits and vegetable puree, which is then used to prepare a variety of dishes.

Such skill, however, does not mean at all that at least half of the experienced girls know how to prepare the elementary component of cocktails and soft drinks - clear ice. How to make it crystal clear and beautiful, the way it is served in bars, restaurants or shown in television commercials?

The usual one always gives an unexpected and rather unsightly result. The cubes look unsightly, they contain inclusions of unknown origin, multiple chips and cracks, in addition, they have an uneven consistency.

Immutable condition

So what's the deal? Why is it so difficult to get clear ice at home? How to make it clean, like a tear, smooth and shiny? The answer to the question is quite simple: the cubes will then turn out ideal when the conditions are favorable. There are several of them, and now we will tell you about them.

Firstly, the raw material from which you plan to make perfectly clear ice must also be ideal. What does this mean? It's simple: tap water is not good for us. In the substance that utilities supply through pipes, it is quite difficult to determine the composition. Impurities of metals, chemicals and other nasty things during freezing do not allow water molecules to crystallize as they should; they break the initially clear structure of the ice.

Secondly, liquids often contain air; small bubbles prevent frozen water from becoming transparent and smooth. This suggests a conclusion: the water must be clean and free of gases. It can be an ideal raw material, but doctors strongly do not recommend using it in the diet.

So, how to make clear ice at home? First of all, you need to prepare the raw materials. Industrially purified drinking water is suitable for this purpose, but not mineral water enriched with salts and minerals, but simple table water and still water. Before pouring the liquid into the ice tray, it must be boiled. During heating, air bubbles will evaporate from it, which greatly increases the level of transparency and purity of the ice. You can also use the water that flows from the tap, but it must be cleaned with a household filter and then also boiled. To achieve maximum effect, the procedure can be repeated twice, that is, alternately filter the water, boil it, clean it again, and then bring it to a boil again.

Ice "pop"

We have sorted out the quality of water, but an equally important factor will be the creation of the correct microclimate for freezing. In general, this topic is most likely of concern to lovers of soft drinks (of different strength levels). Cloudy cubes in a glass of soda or alcohol are quite suitable for personal needs, but you don’t really want to treat your guests to such drinks, so the question of how to make transparent ice cubes is relevant for many people.

It has been experimentally observed that the ice turns out cloudy and unsightly when it freezes unevenly. To reduce the likelihood of temperature fluctuations, it is important to quickly freeze water in a stable microclimate.

Here the opinions of experts differ somewhat. Some argue that the faster the ice forms, the more beautiful it will be, and to do this, the water needs to be placed in the freezer at the lowest possible value on the thermometer. Others, on the contrary, advise setting the thermostat to -1 Cº and letting the water freeze in such conditions, the main thing is not to open the chamber in order to avoid the entry of warm air from the outside.

Celebration on a grand scale

Many readers may be interested in the question of how entertainment establishments manage to create a large number of ice cubes. How to make clear ice so that there is enough for hundreds of visitors and guests? For this purpose, special units are used - ice generators. With their help you can freeze a lot of water, they support optimal temperature inside the chamber, which allows you to make the ice transparent.

But even when working with such a machine, it is important to observe certain conditions. In addition to the fact that the quality of the water must correspond to the specified parameters (the absence of impurities is mandatory), batches of ice must be made simultaneously. That is, adding water to the cells while ready-made cubes remain in the chamber will lead to bad results. the final result. Liquid is best to use room temperature: As practice shows, cooler water freezes unevenly, and the ice turns out cloudy.

Cold art

The last, but no less interesting question is how to make ice transparent at home if you need it for sculpture? Ice statues and figures are a magnificent sight. Without exaggeration, their creators can be called great masters of their craft. Some of them create magnificent masterpieces, working on their works for days on end in terrible conditions so that grateful spectators can enjoy the winter fairy tale.

But here’s the problem: where can you get blocks of ice of such colossal size that you can carve huge sculptures out of them? Sometimes artificial ice is used for this, but it is very expensive, in addition, the blanks are made in standard sizes, which do not always suit the sculptor.

In winter, the most acceptable option would be to use natural ice, which is cut down in blocks directly into reservoirs. This is a rather dangerous trade, because there is always a serious danger of being under the ice, and you have to work in special clothes so as not to get wet.

As you can see, the chances of making a lump yourself - at home, in the freezer - are extremely small. In winter, of course, you can freeze ice in any container if the air temperature allows it, but with some reservations.

To create ice masterpieces, you must use a solid block of uniform consistency. Loose ice will quickly crumble and melt, and this will not make it possible to carve a beautiful sculpture.

Working in too much frost is not only difficult, but also dangerous - the ice freezes so hard that during processing very hard and sharp fragments fly off from it, which can easily hurt you. In addition, it will not be possible to glue several parts of a product together using water - it will freeze too quickly, and a warm liquid can cause the entire composition to explode due to a sharp temperature change.

You can create ice blocks yourself using special freezers. They are imported and domestically produced. The advantage of Russian freezers is the ability to order a chamber according to individual sizes.