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Make Ice Cubes Yourself: This is How It Works Without an Ice Cube Mold

Need ice cubes but don’t have an ice cube mold? No problem! We have put together various ways for you to make ice cubes yourself at any time.

If you want to prepare ice cubes, the only option is usually to use molds made of plastic or silicone. You can also buy plastic ice cube bags everywhere, which end up in the garbage after one use. Both plastic and silicone are harmful to the environment and to your own health. Over time, for example, a silicone mold can release plasticizers into the ice cubes. Make sure that your ice cube mold is free of plasticizers such as BPA.

But if you don’t have such a shape or you want to produce ice cubes in an environmentally friendly way, you have to improvise. We have several ways for you to make ice cubes without an ice cube mold.

Make ice cubes without an ice cube mold

Use the shape of a box of chocolates. You can use any type of chocolate. We recommend buying chocolates made from fair trade chocolate. There are some seals for Fairtrade chocolate such as the Fairtrade seal. So keep the shape of a box of chocolates or you transfer the chocolates. You don’t have to throw these away, of course, but put them in a lockable box. The good thing about this variant is that you do not produce any additional garbage. Another plus is that you get ice cubes in special shapes. After all, chocolates often come in a wide variety of shapes. BTW: You can use other forms of candy as long as they are stored in a plastic mold.

Another option is to prepare glasses in advance that you want to drink from later or that you want to serve. To do this, fill in some water (a few centimeters high) and place it in the freezer compartment. But make sure that the glasses are freezer-safe. So don’t use glasses that are too thin. You can then simply pour the drink onto the thin layer of ice.

Crushed ice is also possible. You can use any type of container that is freezer-safe.

Cool drinks with alternative ice cubes

There are other ways you can cool drinks:

You can use frozen fruit as ice cubes: for example, put grapes in the freezer for about two hours and then put them in the glass. Alternatively, you can buy already frozen organic fruit. If the frozen fruit is no longer needed, you can simply eat it – it tastes delicious and you haven’t wasted anything.

You can also slice and freeze lemons or limes. It is best to use organic ones. Then you can be sure that they are free of chemical-synthetic pesticides.

Another option is to pre-chill the empty glasses or just the drinks yourself in the fridge. These are then cool from the start and remain so for a little longer thanks to the cool glasses.

Since the main problem is the material of conventional ice cube molds, you can use stainless steel molds, which can be bought online. There are also so-called whiskey stones made of stainless steel that you can freeze and use again and again.

Try making ice cubes out of liquids other than water. For example, freeze organic juices, yoghurt or fair trade coffee as cubes.

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Food

Coconut Milk Ice Cubes for Cool Drinks

Homemade ice cubes can be found in almost every household in the freezer. But in addition to the variant with water, there are now more and more containers in which coconut milk ice cubes are stuck. They give smoothies a silky texture and add great flavor to iced coffees – perfect for spring and summer!

The exotic among the ice cubes

Coconut milk is made from the flesh of the coconut. The result is a creamy liquid that refines many dishes such as Indian curries. But coconut milk doesn’t just taste wonderful in hot meals: the latest trend is coconut milk ice cubes!

Instead of the usual water, the trendy ice cubes are made entirely from coconut milk. In terms of taste, this is particularly interesting for coffees or smoothies: the sweet coconut milk goes well with the bitter coffee aroma and ensures a creamier consistency and chilled drinks. In addition, the drinks are not watered down unnecessarily.

The coconut milk ice cubes are also easy to portion, so you no longer have to open and use up a whole can of coconut milk for a shot of milk. However, with a fat content of around 20 percent, commercial coconut milk is not lightweight. However, you can fall back on the reduced-fat version – which has twelve percent fat.

Make coconut milk ice cubes yourself – that’s how it works!

The ingredients:

  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • Ice cube molds of your choice

The Preparation:

  1. Shake the coconut milk well before opening to form a homogeneous mixture.
  2. Pour the coconut milk into the ice cube molds and place in the freezer for at least four hours.
  3. Depending on your needs, remove the coconut milk ice cubes from the mold and add them to creamy smoothies or cold iced coffees.
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Cooking Tips

Cutting Onions: Simple Instructions For Fine Cubes

Chopping onions is one of the most disliked cooking tasks for many. We show you two methods with which you can easily cut onions into small pieces or into rings.

Slicing Onion: Onion rings are the easiest

The easiest way is to cut an onion into many (half) onion rings. You take advantage of the structure of the onion:
First, peel and halve the onion. It is important that you cut through the onion on the side where the tuber base is located.
Then place the onion with the flat side on a board and cut narrow strips down the side.
The thinner the strips, the thinner the onion rings.
Tip: If you want whole rings instead of half onion rings, you must not halve the onion beforehand.

Cut the onion into very small pieces

To dice the onion, the following three-step method works best. However, it is not very easy. That’s why you’ll find an easier way to cut onions below.

1. First, peel and halve the onion and place it in front of you with the base of the bulb facing you.
Then use a knife to cut narrow strips into the onion half.
However, you don’t cut all the way to the back end, but stop just before the end. This way the onion doesn’t fall apart.

Cut onion – Step 2

2. Next, you need to rotate the onion 90 degrees and cut horizontal strips into the onion at the open end (see image). You need a sharp knife for this and you have to be careful not to cut yourself.

You should cut about three strips horizontally into the onion.
Again, don’t cut all the way to the end of the onion to keep it from falling apart.

Third cut: Dice the onion

3. Finally, cut the onion into small cubes. To do this, cut straight strips into the onion.

Since you rotated the onion in the previous step, cutting the strips again creates small cubes.
The thinner the strips, the smaller the cubes.
You can finally cut the end piece into small pieces.
This method gives you very fine onion pieces. However, you need to try them on an onion or two first and get some practice. If you don’t get along with this method, we have an easier method for you. The onion pieces don’t get that small.

Alternative method of slicing onions

First you need to peel and halve the onion.
Then you have to cut the onion into thin strips as with the halved onion rings.
Now turn the onion 90 degrees and cut it again into thin strips.
However, please note:
The onion pieces get bigger because the horizontal cut is missing.
Since there is no real end piece, you have to be careful not to slip off with the knife, especially at the end.

Cut onions without tears – 3 tips

The two substances alliinase and alliin are in the onion. When cutting onions, they meet and make our eyes water. This is a natural defense mechanism of the plant to protect itself from mice and other animals. The following tips will help:
Safety goggles or diving goggles ensure that the substances from the onion do not get into your eyes.
If you cut the onion at the window, you cry less. Because the onion vapors can be drawn off directly.
You can also peel the onion under water, for example in a bowl. The water ensures that the vapors cannot rise.

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