Edible Flower Ice Cubes
Beautify your beverages with….
these delightful ice cubes made with edible flowers. What could be more festive? Too pretty to eat? But you CAN use beautiful edible flowers for your ice cubes and drinks.
They are perfect for summer get-togethers. Whether it’s a ladies night in, bridal shower, or Mother’s Day tea, these floral cubes will keep your drinks cold and bump up your party host cred.
Starting with the flowers,
Make sure yours are edible, and from a knowledgeable source. Sometimes you can find them in the herb section of your local grocery store. Otherwise, I order mine from online stores.
You can order them fresh or sugar-crystallized (which are excellent for using atop desserts) from several sites online. I like Gourmet Sweet Botanicals, Marx Foods, and Food Innovations.
If you want very clear ice cubes, use distilled water. Place the flowers face down in the tray. Fill cubes about ¼ of the way full, so the flowers are just covered. Freeze until solid. Add water until the ice cube tray is half full (about ¼ cube more). Return to freezer and freeze until solid.
Once the cubes are completely solid, dislodge from the tray and use in drinks. Keep in mind the flowers will infuse a slight floral taste, so take that into consideration when choosing the drinks. (Water and lemonade are great non-alcoholic options.)
Enjoy!
You can get the King Cube silicone ice trays at williams-sonoma.com
Edible Flower Ice Cubes for your Beverages
To suspend flowers in the cubes, work in layers: Fill an ice tray (one that makes large cubes, so that the ice will last longer) a quarter of the way with water, add flowers facing down, and freeze. Add more water to fill halfway, and freeze. Fill to the top, and freeze again.
For ice that's especially clear, use distilled water that has been boiled and then cooled. This limits impurities and air bubbles, which make ice cloudy.
Use only edible flowers, such as orchids, nasturtiums, pansies, and snapdragons, that have been grown to be eaten (to ensure they haven't been treated with chemicals).