In previous articles, we’ve discussed how to make your glass of water more exciting. But what about your ice cubes? Ice cubes feature at almost every social occasion, but they tend to go unnoticed. Here are four ways to make your ice cubes the talk of the party.

Add some sparkle

There are lots of things you can do to make your ice cubes more visually appealing. Edible glitter is a great place to start. Begin by freezing a tray of normal ice cubes. Once they are completely frozen, sprinkle edible glitter across each cube. Then, place your tray back in the freezer for a few hours.

When you take them out, the glitter should be stuck to the ice cubes. When the ice cubes melt, you’ll end up with a fun, glittery drink! For this reason, it’s essential that you use edible glitter. You should also make people aware of the glitter before they start drinking. Most shops will stock edible glitter with their baking supplies.

Make them colourful

If you enjoy the taste of water but want to add some flair to your glass, how about creating coloured ice cubes? Add a small amount of food colouring to your water before putting the ice cube tray in the freezer. When it comes out, you’ll have colourful ice cubes. If you’re hosting a party (children’s parties in particular), you could create ice cubes in all the colours of the rainbow.

Alternatively, pick one or two colours to match your party theme. Another option is to create decorative ice cubes in different shapes. These days you can find ice cube trays in the shape of stars, hearts, or almost anything you can imagine!

Fruity and refreshing

For something refreshing and tasty, try creating your own fruit cubes. First, gather some of your favourite fruits. Make sure they’re ripe, as this will help the flavour to come through. Blend each fruit separately, until puréed. Then, pour each fruit purée into a portion of your ice cube tray. Once your fruit cubes are frozen, you can begin adding them to different drinks.

One option is to match the fruit to the drink. For example, you could add apple cubes to apple juice, or pineapple cubes to pineapple juice. Another option is to mix complementary flavours. How about strawberry cubes in lemonade, or kiwi cubes in apple juice? Have fun experimenting and finding your favourites. If you’d like to drink more water but don’t like the plain taste, these flavoured cubes can help to make it more palatable.

Icy desserts

These cubes take the idea of ‘frozen desert’ to a whole new level. Try filling an ice cube tray with home-made ice cream and then place it back in the freezer. Ice cream cubes are great for turning a glass of milk into a fun dessert.

Another option is to freeze flavoured milk, then add it to a glass of plain milk. Chocolate, strawberry, or banana are good flavours to try. For something a bit colder, you could even blend the frozen milk cubes, to create an icy, milky beverage.

[Photo by Riedelmeier]