Rinse the tray out beforehand, to remove freezer sediment and little chunks. This also helps to warm up the tray slightly, resulting in more even cubes. Cubes will be easier to get out later if you do this. If you you need to, empty the ice cubes into a Ziplock freezer bag, or store them in a bowl in the freezer. Easy fix.
Pro tip: If you want perfectly clear ice, instead of cloudy, boil the water first. When it cools, freeze it normally. The more times you boil, the more clear the ice when it freezes.
Don’t stack ice cube trays on top of one another, if you can help it. Sometimes, you’ll get weird cubes, or spill the water on the bottom of the freezer. Freezers are usually set at 32 degrees F (0 C) or below. In most freezers, water should freeze in about one to three hours, depending on the size of the cubes and the temperature of the freezer.
Sometimes, it takes some work to get the cubes loose from the sides of the tray. Don’t start banging it around, though, or you’ll crack the tray. Instead, run a bit of warm water in the tap and wet a cloth. Sit the ice cube tray on the cloth to melt the underside slightly. They’ll pop right out.
If you don’t want to buy a tray, don’t. Look around your kitchen from strangely-shaped objects you could fill with water. That lobster-shaped pan? Make a big lobster cube. Make a coffee-cup-shaped ice cube. Why not?
These also go great in mixed drinks and cocktails, or as an addition to chocolate milk. If you don’t like coffee, try freezing herbal tea, lemonade, or any drink you prefer.
Generally, citrus juices don’t work quite as well as other fruit juices and cocktails. Anything based in apple or grape juice works really well.
You can also get molds made specifically for making popsicles, which have plastic holders that you can reuse. They’re a lot of fun for kids.
These are great for cooking later in the season. You can toss a cube of basil into a soup pot, or toss a cube or mint into a big pitcher of fresh iced tea. You could also do this with sage, thyme, parsley, cilantro, or any combination of herbs you regularly use.
The Dispenser. This is where the ice comes from, and is usually operated by pressing a button, or pushing a glass against a lever. Some refrigerators have different settings. The Freezer. Ice is frozen by cooling coils in the freezer, then routed through the dispenser. Maintaining your freezer and setting it at the proper temperature is important for the life of the ice maker. The Ice Maker. Usually, ice makers are just small freezing units in the freezer, sometimes with a little metal control arm you can put up or down, to control whether or not ice is made. These typically have water filters that you can change every couple months.
If you have very hard water, mineral deposits will often form around the dispenser. This is normal, and can be cleaned off gently with a brush and some vinegar.
If you’re not using it, frost and ice particles can build up and make the dispenser malfunction.
If you see ice forming in your freezer, it could be because water is leaking from the freezing unit, and you need to check to make sure the ice maker is sealed and installed properly. Make sure the water lines are straight and connected properly, and that your freezer isn’t too full of items. Most newer ice makers will defrost regularly, but if you’ve got an older one, you may need to defrost your freezer every couple of months to keep the ice maker functioning properly. Ideally, twice a year is perfect.
Don’t store anything in the ice bin. Some people like to toss things directly into the ice that the maker creates, which can mess up the levels of the device.
