Ice Ice Baby

Recently, I had the opportunity to try out a stainless steel ice cube tray from The Tickle Trunk. With the move away from plastics, I was excited about an ice cube tray made out of metal.

Now this is not your ordinary plain-o looking tray. It is the fanciest ice cube tray I’ve ever seen: with it’s ultra-chic design and sleek metallic look. Even my hubby, who’s not interested in any type of gadgetry especially kitchen stuff, was amazed and remarked that it was impressively made. Built to last and yet recyclable, it is made of 18/8 stainless steel (18% chromium and 8% nickel). It comes in 2 parts: the actual tray and the divider.

Making ice cubes is as easy as putting the divider into the tray, filling it, and then freezing it. Within a few hours I’ve got myself 18 little cubes. Initially when I tried to remove the cubes, I had taken it out of the freezer and immediately tried to pull the handle up. I ended up with shattered pieces of ice. I learned from my little mistake and found that if I left it on the counter for a few minutes to melt a bit, I would end up with cute little cubes. Alternately, you could run the bottom of the tray under some warm water too.

I did a quick little search for stainless steel ice cube trays on the internet. They’re not that easy to come by. So I’m thankful that it’s available locally from Carolyn at The Tickle Trunk (though she ships internationally too). Besides this funky ice cube tray, she’s got a vast array of stainless steel products (like stainless steel straws!). And yes, $30 seems a bit steep for an ice cube tray, as compared to a plastic one from a dollar store. But if looking beyond that, this tray will outlast all the plastic ones, is better for our health and for the environment and therefore makes it money well spent.

My only disappointment is that I really wish I had this tray when I was making baby food for my kids when they were babies. Besides the non-leaching benefits of stainless steel, I wouldn’t have ended up with plastic ice cube trays stained with mashed blueberries or carrots and the sorts.

Oh well, there are other uses now: pesto cubes, chicken stock cubes, popsicle cubes, spice cubes, gravy cubes, lemon/lime juice cubes, leftover sauce cubes,…..oh the list could be endless……

Let us know what clever things you’ve frozen in your ice cube trays.

≡mar

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