Ice cubes with flowers and herbs are super easy to make (if you avoid the three mistakes I
made when I tried this for the first time!). But why would you even need floral ice cubes to begin with?
FOR TABLE DECOR
Pretty ice cubes in your freezer can serve you as a perfect ready-to-go table decor if you decide to throw an impromptu party at your house. If you don't have fresh flowers or a table centerpiece or much time to decorate the table anyway, you can just use flower ice. Just fill up an ice bucket, put a bottle of rose in there and it will immediately make your table look like a perfect spot for a happy hour.
FOR COCKTAILS
Flower ice looks great in water or cocktails. Just make sure you use flowers that are non-toxic and edible. The most popular ones are honeysuckle, citrus blossom, clover, hibiscus, daisies, dandelions, lilac, roses, lavender, sunflowers, violets, calendulas, chives, alliums, just to name a few (always check if you're not sure).
FOR SKINCARE
While florals look great in drinks (be it an ice bucket or an actual cocktail) that's not the only way to use them. You can also make floral ice a part of your skincare routine. Try adding roses (for hydration) or camomile (for soothing) and just roll it over your face in the morning while your coffee is brewing. It will tone your skin, de-puff your eyes, close the pores and make you look fresh and awake.
So it seems really easy: you just put a bunch of flowers at the bottom of an ice tray, fill it up with water and put it right back to the freezer. When I did it this way I ended up with cloudy, cracked and not so-fancy looking ice though. So here's three things to consider if you want to learn from my mistakes:
Don't use tap water. All those minerals in it make it cloudy when frozen, so you won't be able to see what's on the display. I would recommend bottled water for this (even over filtered one).
Really pick your flowers. If you're putting the ice cubes in drinks make sure they are edible, like clover, daisy, calendula, etc.
Use a fancy assortment if you want the composition to look interesting. A big, complicated flower bouquet (with different size flowers, many colors and shapes) is what you want for the ice to carry the same image: sophisticated and artsy.
Most popular edible flowers are: honeysuckle, citrus blossom, clover, hibiscus, daisies, dandelions, lilac, roses, lavender, sunflowers, violets, calendulas, chives, alliums and others (always check if you're not sure).
So after that the process is pretty simple:
Step 1. Have some clean and dry ice cube trays (dust or drops of water in there will transform into impurities and bubbles in your ice).
Step 2. Arrange your flowers, petals, herbs, etc. in the slots facing the bottom.
Step 3. Fill the slots up with bottled water just barely covering the flowers (not all the way to the top) and place the tray in the freezer for 4 hours.
Step 4. Take the tray out of the freezer. Put some flowers on top of the newly formed ice facing the top of the tray.
Step 5. Add more water all the way up to the top and put the tray back to the freezer.
In another 4 hours you will have beautiful ice cubes ready to be used. Cheers!
