I’ve got a new ‘instant’ ice block maker. It’s not the kind of kitchen gadget anyone could really claim to ‘need’ but boy does it make ice-block making more fun. The trouble with the old-style ‘put them in the freezer and wait for them to freeze’ technique is that it takes so long. By the time the kids have opened the freezer 500 times and poked them and asked ‘are they ready yet?’ everyone’s lost their rag and the whole thing seems like too much hassle so you all pile down to the dairy for jelly-tips.
So I’m feeling pretty good about my new piece of kit. Yesterday we squeezed fresh oranges and blended the juice with some raspberries – the kids were so excited watching them freeze before their eyes I didn’t dare try and delay the eating by taking a photo. Today we simmered some frozen blueberries and strawberries in a bit of water with chia seeds and a spoon of honey , blended it and 10 minutes later here it is.
March 27, 2012 at 4:42 am
hello! Nice ideas! that just what I am into! May I ask as to where you got your ice block maker??
Thanks a lot!!`
March 27, 2012 at 8:17 am
Hi , Thanks Aliesha -I got the ice block maker from Moore Wilsons – it’s a Zoku I think – there’s a big display of them on the 1st floor at the moment and I’m a sucker for that stuff – You can get small ones that make 2 at a time or the bigger one that makes 3 at a time – theoretically you can do 3 lots (so up to 9 with the big one before it needs to go back in the freezer) but we’ve found the first run is the most successful and then you need to be a careful not to use too thick a liquid – so if you want to use quite a heavy fruit puree like I’ve been using you might just get one lot out and then have to pop it back in the freezer for a bit. They take under 10 mins to freeze so they are a big hit with kids and in amongst all that excitement they are very open to new flavours.