Using Artisanal Vegetable Ice Cubes In Cocktails And Mocktails
One of the markers of a good cocktail is its visual appeal. Garnishes aside, there is another way to elevate the look of your drink—artisanal ice cubes, but with a twist; veggies! Imagine sipping on your drink and watching the ice slowly melt, releasing the goodness of your pureed vegetable. Artisanal vegetable ice cubes are all the rage today, with many mixologists incorporating them into their drinks for added flavour. In this article, we will look at how you can create these frozen works of art as well as innovative cocktail and mocktail recipes that include them. Let’s get started!
Creating Your Vegetable Ice Cubes
There’s no rocket science involved when creating these frozen accents. All you need are three things—your choice of vegetable (carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc), water and ice cube trays.
Wash and peel the vegetables as needed, and cut them into small uniform pieces. If you’ve chosen a vegetable that requires some degree of cooking to bring out its herby flavour, blanching is necessary. To do this, bring a pot of water to boil and submerge your vegetable in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. To prevent it from cooking any further, retrieve the vegetables from the pot and submerge them in an ice bath.
Now, blend the vegetable pieces in a food processor until you arrive at a smooth puree. If you notice that the mixture is too thick, add a little water to dilute it until you reach the desired consistency. It’s time to get your ice trays out!
Spoon the puree into ice cube trays and leave it in the freezer to solidify. Once frozen, transfer the cubes into a jar or plastic bag, and place it back in the freezer. This will prevent any unwanted odours from mingling with the flavour of the cubes. Your veggie ice cubes are now ready to be used as and when you need them.
Let’s look at a few fun cocktail and mocktail recipes that can benefit from these healthy frozen accents.
Cucumber Basil Gin Fizz
To create the drink, you will need:
60 ml gin
30 ml simple syrup
30 ml fresh lime juice
Soda water
Cucumber ice cubes
Fresh basil leaves for garnish.
To prepare the drink:
In a cocktail shaker, combine gin, simple syrup and fresh lime juice with regular ice cubes. Shake well and strain the drink into a glass filled with the cucumber ice cubes. Top it off with soda water and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Tomato Rosemary Vodka Splash
To create the drink, you will need:
60 ml vodka
30 ml tomato juice
15 ml lemon juice
15 ml agave syrup
Tomato ice cubes
Rosemary sprig for garnishing
To prepare the drink:
In a mixing glass, add vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice and agave syrup along with regular ice cubes. Stir the mixture well and strain it into a glass filled with the tomato ice cubes. Complete the drink with a sprig of fresh rosemary.
Carrot Ginger Zinger
To create the drink, you will need:
1 cup carrot juice
½ teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
30 ml honey
30 ml lemon juice
Carrot ice cubes
Mint sprig for garnish
To prepare the drink:
In a blender, mix the carrot juice, grated ginger, honey and lemon juice along with regular ice cubes. Blend the mixture until you arrive at a smooth consistency. Strain it into a glass filled with carrot ice cubes and serve with a sprig of fresh mint.
Zucchini Mint Lemonade
To create the drink, you will need:
1 cup zucchini
30 ml simple syrup
30 ml fresh lemon juice
Zucchini ice cubes
Mint leaves for garnish
To prepare the drink:
Add the zucchini juice, simple syrup and fresh lemon juice into a shaker filled with regular ice cubes. Shake the mixture well and strain it into a glass filled with zucchini ice cubes. Serve the drink with a garnish of fresh mint leaves.
Don’t these recipes sound exciting? Why don’t you give them a try today?
