How to get clear ice? How to make transparent ice at home?

Banal, at first glance, the situation: you come to a friend or relative and are interested in: "We need transparent ice. How to make the cubes not cloudy and cracked, and even without the specific smell of the freezer? "The strangest thing is that in 99.9% of cases in response you get a recommendation to put the ice form in the freezer and wait a couple of hours, followed by a mocking Look. Yes, it will always seem to the interlocutor that you asked a ridiculous and absurd question, the answer to which even the first-grader knows. But stay in this happy confidence he will until he himself will try to make transparent ice. How to make ice cubes, it seems to everyone is clear and known, but in practice, not all of this is obtained.

There is a problem

Any modern refrigerator in its standard configuration contains a tray for eggs and shelves of different calibers and purposes, as well as a miniature mold for freezing water. By the way, inventive housewives not only use it for their intended purpose, but also freeze aromatic herbs, berry, fruit and vegetable purees, which are then used for cooking various dishes.

Such skill, however, does not at all mean that at least half of the experienced girls are aware of how to prepare the elementary constituent of cocktails and soft drinks - clear ice. How to make it crystal clear and beautiful, such as it is served in bars, restaurants or show in TV commercials?

The usual freezing of water always gives an unexpected and rather unsightly result. Cubes look unaesthetic, they contain inclusions of incomprehensible origin, multiple chips and cracks, in addition, have an uneven consistency.

Unconditional 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 to be ideal when conditions are favorable. There are several of them, and now we will tell about them.

First, the raw materials from which you plan to make perfectly clear ice, should also be ideal. What does this mean? It's simple: tap water does not suit us. In the substance, which is served through the pipes of municipal services, it is rather difficult to determine the composition. The impurities of metals, chemicals and other mucks during freezing do not allow the water molecules to crystallize as they should, they break the initially clear structure of the ice.

Secondly, the air often contains air, small bubbles prevent the frozen water from becoming transparent and smooth. Hence the conclusion suggests: water must be clean and contain no gases. The ideal raw material can be distilled water, but here to use in the diet of her doctors are strongly discouraged.

So, how to make clear ice at home? First of all, we need to prepare raw materials. For this purpose, potable water purified in industrial conditions, but not mineral, enriched with salts and minerals, but a simple dining room and still. Before pouring the liquid into the ice mold, it must be boiled. During heating, air bubbles evaporate from it, which increases the level of transparency and purity of ice many times over. 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, clean again, and then bring it back to the boil.

Ice "popoische"

With the quality of water, we figured out, but no less important factor will be creating the right microclimate for freezing. In general, this topic, most likely, excites fans of soft drinks (different levels of the fortress). Muddy cubes in a glass with a soda or alcohol are quite fit for personal needs, then it is not very desirable to regale guests with 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 then turns muddy and ugly when it freezes unevenly. To reduce the likelihood of temperature fluctuations, it is important to quickly freeze water with a stable microclimate.

Here, the opinions of specialists differ somewhat. Some argue that the faster the ice is formed, the more beautiful it will be, and for this, water should be placed in the freezer at the lowest possible value on the thermometer. Others, on the contrary, advise to set the thermostat to -1 ° C and let the water freeze in such conditions, the main thing - do not open the chamber in order to avoid getting warm air from outside.

Celebration in a big way

Many readers may be interested in the question of how recreational institutions manage to create a large number of ice cubes. How to make transparent ice, so that it is enough for hundreds of visitors and guests? For this purpose, special units are used - ice generators. With their help, you can frost a lot of water, they maintain the optimum temperature inside the chamber, which makes it possible to make ice transparent.

But even when working with such a machine it is important to observe certain conditions. In addition, that the water quality must meet the specified parameters (no impurities are required), the ice lot must be made simultaneously. That is, adding water to the cells, while in the chamber there are already prepared cubes, will result in a poor final result. The liquid is best used at room temperature: as practice shows, cooler water freezes unevenly, and the ice turns muddy.

Cold art

The last, but no less curious question is how to make ice transparent at home, if it is needed for sculpture? Ice statues and figures are a splendid sight. Their creators without exaggeration can be called great masters of their craft. Some of them create magnificent masterpieces, work on their work day after day in terrible conditions, so that grateful spectators can enjoy a winter fairy tale.

But here's the task: where to get blocks of ice of such colossal proportions that one could cut out huge sculptures from them? Sometimes artificial ice is used for this, but it is very expensive, in addition, the billets make standard sizes that do not always suit the sculptor.

In winter, the most acceptable option will be the use of natural ice, which blocks are cut down right in the reservoirs. This is quite a 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, there is very little chance of making a lump on your own - at home, in a freezer. In the winter, of course, it is possible to freeze ice in any capacity, if the temperature of the air allows it, but with some reservations.

Profi recommend

To create ice masterpieces it is necessary to use a solid block of a homogeneous consistency. Friable ice will quickly crumble and melt, and this will not allow you to cut out a beautiful sculpture.

To work with too much frost is not only difficult, but also dangerous - the ice freezes so much that during processing, very hard and sharp fragments fly away from it, which can easily be injured. In addition, to glue together several parts of the product with water will not work - it will freeze too quickly, and a warm liquid can cause an explosion of the entire composition due to a sharp temperature drop.

You can create ice blocks yourself using special freezers. They are imported and domestic production. A plus of Russian freezers is the opportunity to order a camera according to individual sizes.