Well, I’ve found the Straight Dope website…and I figured that I could ask a few questions, that nibble away at my mind…
Anyway, I go to three other BBSes (one of which is also on vBulletin), so I may not be able to stick around here for long…
Now, I know the frustration when putting up with newbies, but could you cut me a bit of slack?
When you take some water, put it in the ice cube tray, then freeze it, you get those little air bubbles floating up to the surface (usually leaving a trail…). However, when you go to a restaurant and you get a glass of water, their ice cubes are perfect. You can barely see them half the time…Why?
When I took a tour of the Consumer’s Ice Plant here your question was explained by the manager.
The professional ice providers pump out the air.
While we shivered in the main warehouse he proudly showed off huge blocks of ice that could have been thick glass. They were that transparent.
I don’t know what the motivation may be at your professional ice providers, but this guy said that pumping out the air (and providing clear ice) set his product apart and made the fancier restaurants feel like it was worth paying for.
In da restaurants they gob in the ice trays before filling with fresh water from the toilet. The cubes slide out easier and there is no bubbles cos the bacteria in the toilet has already eaten them.
An easier way to get clear ice than “sucking air out of water” is to freeze it essentially in a continuosly growing layer by slowly trickling new (clean) water over the growing ice mass and letting that freeze. It has a similar effect in that as the water freezes the air bubbles with certain impurities can migrate to the surface and escape, instead of getting stuck underneath the surface ice layer of an ice cube freezing normally in the tray.
It’s sort of like how icicles are formed, which are pretty clear despite the dirty water they often form from and their irregular outside shapes.
I think that this is how most clear ice is made, as you’d need either a big-ass vacuum chamber, or to boil every drop of water to reduce the dissolved gas content to zero, and then to keep it airtight until it is frozen… You can grow clear ice fairly easily at home sans expensive machinery - do a google search on “growing clear ice” or something similar; there are pages but I’m too lazy to look myself. (Of course if the ice manufacturer told all the visitors that the only equipment necesary to make crystal-clear ice were a couple feet of hose and a little pump, he might not do as much business
eons ago on a slow news day abc news did a report on a man in japan that makes ice. the ice was formed into large rectangular logs. he would slice off little squares of it to sell. he would ride around on a bike, sing a song and people would run out of homes, businesses, restaurants, bars, etc to buy the ice from him.
this ice was amazing. the sound of it… when he would slice pieces, it would go up a scale, making the most delicate sound. restaurants and bars that bought the ice would make a ceremony out of building drinks on the ice. the sound of the ice cracking would be a symphony.
i want to know how he makes his ice. i’m not sure but i believe the news report said he sold his ice in kyoto.
I had read this a long time ago but couldn’t remember when I had tried it so just to make sure, I got two plastic cups and put about a quarter-cup of water in each. In one I put cold tap water and the other hot tap water, and put both side-by-side in the freezer. In my absence, somebody picked up the “hot” cup and shook it before it was totally frozen, so the controlled environment here is jacked.
When I checked back several hours later, the “hot” piece of ice (shaped like the bottom of the cup) was almost totally clear in the top 50%, but had the usual tiny bubbles in the bottom half, along with a couple big ones from being shaken before it was completely solid. The hot piece pushed out the bottom of the cup only a little… -The cold piece was 100% bubbly, and had expanded so much that it cracked out the bottom of the cup completely. So we could say that temperature does seem to have something to do with it, but I agree with mmmiiikkkeee that icicles are also often totally clear and they are frozen from the inside-out- not the typical ice-cube way, which is outside-in. - DougC
Yeah, I had tried making ice cubes with hot water and cold water both a while ago too… one tray of each in the freezer - there was no difference in clarity that I could see. Freezing from the inside out seems to be the way to go (along with using very pure water from the start).
No doubt seriously though, - I would argue that this the Ice machine cleaning is one of the most neglected things at some restaurants. I’ve seen some nasty funk from restaurant ice before. I’d rather have control of the funk, than control of the bubble any day.
seriously though, - I would argue that this the Ice machine cleaning is one of the most neglected things at some restaurants. I’ve seen some nasty funk from restaurant ice before. I’d rather have control of the funk, than control of the bubble any day.