Big square ice cubes. How have I missed this?

I love ice.  I love ice more than Harrison Ford’s character in the mostly forgotten mid 80’s movie the Mosquito Coast. 

I always like throwing that movie out there.  After supposedly wrapping up the Indiana Jones and Stars Wars franchises, why not make a movie about moving your family to the jungles of Central America for a simpler life?  And win the hearts and minds of the locals by building an ice machine (just watch out for rebel freedom fighters!)

Anyway, I put ice it literally everything and have my entire life.  From water to soft drinks to cocktails to even my coffee.  I even tried it in beer once and discovered you actually CAN water down Coors Light.  It is such a part of my life that when Nancy and I shop for a new fridge every other decade, the function and design of the icemaker is a critical consideration.

So after being such a full-on ice snob for what I’m pretty sure has been most of my life, how could I possibly learn something new?  Ah, that’s where my middle-school attitude kicks in.  I’m basically a thirteen-year-old nerd that hasn’t learned how to drive, is deathly afraid of girls, and is still very curious about the world.

Last Christmas I was staying with the family in an Air Bnb in southern California.  Of course, I’ve got to poke thru the fridge and look for any treasures left by the prior guests.  You never know what chilled gems might still have a few days left before spoiling. Naturally, I had to take a look in the freezer as well.   Check out the ice machine and make sure it can keep up with my insatiable consumption.  But what is that I spy?   Ice cube trays.   Hmmmmm….   Now that is interesting.

Not that I’ve never seen an ice cube tray before, but these were different.  Cool, silicon trays that made massive two-by-two-inch cubes. I was fascinated.  The entire week I skipped the ice machine and kept popping out those big blocks one or two at a time.  I was amazed at how they fulfilled my ice needs.   I would even say surpassed.

So when we got home I went to the Market Place of the Known World (Amazon) and found a two tray set.  One of the two-inch cubes and the other spheres.   Round is not my favorite shape for an ice cube, but what the heck?  Let’s experiment. 

Yeah, I’m never going back.  Sure, it’s nice getting the little half-moon cubes from the button on the door, but bigger is better.  I throw a couple in a big Yeti tumbler in the morning with whatever the beverage is for the day, and there is still something there by late afternoon.  They melt really slowly,  keep my fluids cold but not too cold, and do not water stuff down.

I even threw a couple of the spheres into a beer that I was slowly sipping.  Kept at the perfect chill without thinning out the flavor.  My only problem is I didn’t like those balls bouncing against my mouth.   Suddenly my Natural Light was not so natural anymore.

I’ll stick to the cubes.