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

Elizabeth Passarella
Elizabeth Passarella
Elizabeth Passarella is the author of the essay collection Good Apple and a contributing editor at Southern Living. A former editor at Real Simple and Vogue, she has spent more than 20 years writing about food, travel, home design, and parenting in outlets including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Parents, Martha Stewart Weddings, Coastal Living, Airbnb, and The Kitchn. Elizabeth grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and now lives with her husband and three children in New York City.
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published Aug 17, 2010
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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?

Related: Cool Idea: Fruit Juice Ice Cubes

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

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