Crushed, Cubes, Pellets: What Shape of Ice Do You Prefer?

When we were in high school, we used to drive to a specific chain restaurant just because they had the perfect ice. Little cylindrical pellets that crushed easily between our teeth as we drank our Dr. Pepper. Pellet ice was the best. It made the long, half-moon shaped cubes that came from our home ice dispenser look sooo pedestrian.

As we've gotten older, we've realized that different drinks call for different ice. Sometimes you want large cubes that melt slowly, so that they don't dilute your perfectly mixed cocktail (these are king in that category, although we'll admit we have the mold and it's not the easiest thing to fill).

Other times we love tiny bits of crushed ice that mingle with the flavor of the drink as we mull it over in our mouth.

Nora is the expert when it comes to the perfect ice for cocktails, and she has a method for getting crystal clear blocks of ice that melt just enough to mellow out a drink but not enough to water it down.

• Read her tips: How to Make the Best Ice Cubes for Summer Cocktails

But we're wondering if you have a favorite shape of ice. Maybe half-inch squares? Or squatty, rounded cubes with the dimple in the bottom?

We've found that ice can be a nostalgia-inducing subject. Some people have memories of a certain kind of ice that came out of the machine in their childhood home, and that will always be the definitive cube. What about you?

(Image: Flickr member Kim Joar, licensed for used under Creative Commons)

Comments (14)

Our new fridge makes half-moon shaped cubes -- I don't really them because they nestle against the inside of the glass and make it hard to sip the drink. Much prefer cubes or rectangular ice.

Pellet ice. Perfect for chewing. I am a child of the South.

I'm with Muirne, definitely pellets. You just can't find them anymore and it makes me sad.

Pellet ice! My high school cafeteria had a fountain pop machine that dispensed perfectly delicious sugary mountain dew along with pellet ice (in the mid 90's). I wish I could find a dispenser that made pellet ice now!

I do also like the little slivers of ice that make the drink a bit slushy, but that's hard to achieve and they melt quickly.

Pellets! I used to call it "Sonic ice" as a kid. Because Sonic fast food drive ins always had pellet ice.

But for spirits, I'd opt for cubes or half moons. They don't melt as fast.

I love that pellet ice! When I was a kid there was a local pizza chain that had the perfect crunchable pellet ice and birch beer--I didn't really like their food, but I was happy to go just for the drink. I also like crushed ice, at the consistency where it makes your drink slushy and chewable.

I love pellets!! I almost considered paying $$$ for a membership at Sports Club LA just for their pellet ice ;)

Cubes; we like the slow melting. You can get perfect 3/4" cubes from this tray:

http://www.amazon.com/Tovolo-Perfect-Cube-Silicone-Trays/dp/B000QIU7X6

We buy them for our friends all the time...great hostess gift.

My favorite type is the cylindrical kind that you usually find in hotel ice makers. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it's because they always remind me of vacation and traveling? :)

I currently live in the South, and pellet "sonic" ice reigns supreme. It is fantastic for any nonalcoholic beverage.
That said, it has nothing on the crushed ice of my childhood in the Northeast. Pepsi over crushed ice in the pizzeria? Heaven. It is similar in feel to pellet ice, but somehow more fun, since the pieces are smaller and could get sucked up your straw.
I am a compulsive ice chewer, so the softer the ice, the better, at least in my little mind.

I love two kinds of ice: chips (as in, actual hand-chipped ice) for cocktails; and I had these HUGE CYLINDERS in Spain once... they were crazy! But awesome. I wish I could make them here.

Spherical ice -- I'm talking perfectly round globes -- is the best ever.

pellet or crushed! although if we're talking cocktails anything else that doesn't melt really fast and water down the drink :)

We call pellet ice "hospital ice" in my family--they always seem to have it there, and it's hard to get your hands on any where else.

My mother and I would eat it out of styro-foam cups--perfectly plain--and it was practically dessert!