Are ice cubes expensive? Or difficult to make?

[enuffalreadyffs]

No and no. So why do I feel extravagant when I use a lot of ice for my G&T? 🤔

Your thoughts, please.

Or do you have anything that feels extravagant but really isn't?

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

What I want to know is: who is buying those bags of ice cubes from supermarkets? I can sort of see why you might buy a few bags (about a quid each) if you realise you forgot to make any and your party guests are arriving in 10 minutes; but I rather fear there are plenty of folk who buy them not in a state of panic and keep them in all the time. Why, when they're so easy to make? In fact, if you're handy with a chisel, you don't even have to make the minimal effort to make them yourself - your freezer will do it for you

Oh, here in the USA, where we are utterly picnic and camping mad, they are VERY handy to fill insulated chests. And the freezer compartments of many standard American refrigerators are somewhat limited (no clue how those sizes compare, though).

I'm lucky enough to have an actual freezer, where most of my frozen food lives, leaving me room for LOTS of ice cube trays. And there are lots of ice cube trays! Part of them contain water for plain ice, part contain tea for iced tea (doesn't get weak as the ice melts), part contain coffee for iced coffee (see tea) and one of them contains bacon drippings so that I always have it on hand for cooking dishes that require it. Not precisely sure if what we call "bacon" you guys call "bacon." The thin-cut streaky stuff that fries up so beautifully!

If one can feel sophisticated with the simple things, one is blessed.

Maybe the ice cube made a nice clunking sound when you added it.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

What I want to know is: who is buying those bags of ice cubes from supermarkets? I can sort of see why you might buy a few bags (about a quid each) if you realise you forgot to make any and your party guests are arriving in 10 minutes; but I rather fear there are plenty of folk who buy them not in a state of panic and keep them in all the time. Why, when they're so easy to make? In fact, if you're handy with a chisel, you don't even have to make the minimal effort to make them yourself - your freezer will do it for you

Me! ✋🏻

My freezer isn’t large and I got fed up of the Jenga involved with ice cube trays, plus I use a LOT of ice. In smoothies, in every drink I have (not just alcohol).
I go through a bag every two weeks and they are only a quid. Bargain!

Fair enough those who buy bags of ice cubes: I wasn't judging you, just wondering!

Is there not such a product out there, though, that is effectively two ice cube trays that snap/clip together, so you could fill them with water, close a cap or something at the end and then put them anyhow in the freezer - just like any (very flat) bottle, until they are properly frozen - and can then be separated and the cubes extracted individually as required? Lakeland MUST have something like that - surely?!

Alternatively, you could get a pack of those little tiny lidded tubs from Poundland and make your own. Surely, if space is at a premium in your freezer, it's more convenient to be able to make however many cubes as you want at a time, rather than having to find room for a great big bag from the supermarket - isn't it?!

Failing that, if you do have room and plenty of advance notice, you can just put a lot of drinks straight into the freezer and then get them out well before you want to drink them!

Each to their own, whatever suits people's different requirements and conveniences best; I guess I'm just too mean myself to pay for something to go into the freezer, that I have to travel to fetch from a shop, when I can get the basic 'ingredient' free from the tap in the kitchen and put that into the freezer!

We buy ice, because it's deep frozen it doesn't melt as quickly. I mainly drink water but I like it freezing cold so fill the glass with ice, I'd probably do nearly tray with each drink I couldn't make it fast enough to keep up and the trays are much bulkier and take up more freezer space.

For me it doesn't matter how cold the drink is I want ice in it

I’m with you on this OP . I only have one drink each week on a Saturday night (lightweight since DS came along 7 months ago!) and it’s always a lovely G&T. For it to be really special it’s got to sound just right with lots of clinky ice, so putting lots in does feel decadent. A friend of mine has one of those huge fridges with an ice dispenser on the front, and you can choose whether to have cubes or crushed ice. I love going to parties at her place and can’t wait until that’s ok again!

Chin chin 🍸

We're on a water meter and so to keep costs down I often fill the ice cube tray after I've had a bath.

They can be a bit cloudy and have a slight lavendery taste but we think that adds a bit of colour to our empty, shallow lives.
(literally sometimes, as once after a 'Shoot for the Stars' bath bomb they turned out all blue and sparkly!)

I buy I ice. We get through loads as we all have ice in every cold drink doesn’t have to be alcoholic.

I buy the bags that look like freezer bags and you just fill up with water and put in the freezer. Easy to store.

I really cannot drink a cold drink without ice in it. I quite often put ice in a glass of wine.

Bags of ice are good for entertaining, but I use standard ice trays (and don't care how much I use!) for day to day use.

I started to up my game last year, by freezing orange slices (for Aperol spritz), plus lemon and lime wedges (for gin). Adds flavour without diluting! Also stops the fruit going rotten if we don't use it in time.

We got one of those american style fridges with the ice machine and DD goes through the ice so quickly - fills a glass to the brim with ice and adds a drop of water. I don't even like ice in drinks but its very useful for when I go to sauna, I fill a water bottle with a lot of ice and some water and it keeps my water cold even in 80 degrees.

A bag of ready made ice is a bargainous luxury for £1. Sometimes I go mad and treat us to the filtered water one

I am the same in that ice cube trays are only allowed in my small ff for 'events' and the rest of the time they languish alongside old takeaway tubs, empty yoghurt pots and random lids awaiting their day in the sun (or the exact opposite)

I buy bagged ice cubes too! I got fed up with water slopping and freezing all over the freezer.

Alternatively, you could get a pack of those little tiny lidded tubs from Poundland and make your own. Surely, if space is at a premium in your freezer, it's more convenient to be able to make however many cubes as you want at a time, rather than having to find room for a great big bag from the supermarket - isn't it?!

I’m confused. You’re talking about the 5kg bags right? I don’t know if any other type? Obviously they don’t fit in the freezer, they are not meant to. You buy them, give the bag a good smash on concrete to loosen the cubes inside and tip it straight into the esky/ice tube. We all used to use the bath or laundry tub depending on how big your BBQ was - large numbers the bath, smaller numbers laundry tub or esky if not at a house. You would have many bags and load the car if it was the bath and you anticipated a looooong night. Nowadays though you use multiple ice tubs as that’s ‘the done thing’. The ice is not so much for putting in drinks, that’s just a nice side benefit for the few that would have suitable drinks, main purpose is to keep all the drinks super cold all night in blistering weather.

*ice tub, god knows what an ice tube is.....

I also have a huge fridge with an ice maker, plumbed into the mains water.
I dislike cold things so never use ice. I prefer my drinks at room temperature.

@RuggerHug

If you add frozen lemon slices it's even(teeny tiny amount but..) more.

With the further benefit that you're getting one of your five-a-day!

I buy a bag of ice occasionally. I can't be bothered with the faff of making my own.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

What I want to know is: who is buying those bags of ice cubes from supermarkets? I can sort of see why you might buy a few bags (about a quid each) if you realise you forgot to make any and your party guests are arriving in 10 minutes; but I rather fear there are plenty of folk who buy them not in a state of panic and keep them in all the time. Why, when they're so easy to make? In fact, if you're handy with a chisel, you don't even have to make the minimal effort to make them yourself - your freezer will do it for you

Well, I don't know about the people in the UK buying them, but we tend to buy them in Australia for parties etc. because we put them in a big bucket and put all the drinks in there.

Or, as I had to the other week, got one for making cocktail slushies because our host had run out of ice in her freezer - too many guests --> more slushies required than she had ice for! (Remember, Australia, we're allowed, sorry!)

But generally it's for parties to keep the drinks cold, or if you're going out to a barbecue in the park.

I often fill the ice cube tray after I've had a bath...They can be a bit cloudy and have a slight lavendery taste

What?!

...who is buying those bags of ice cubes from supermarkets?

Stick bottles and cans of beer in a big cooler, dump a few bags of ice on top of them and all around -> BBQ.

Frozen grapes are the way to go, no dilution.