We are in the countdown to the end of summer, so now is the time to enjoy warm weather drinks. An easy way to dress up your summer drink is with flavored ice cubes. Freezing a flower or herb leaf in an ice cube is another popular option, but the downside is that it eventually waters down your drink. To avoid this, you can make ice cubes out of your drink of choice, such as lemonade ice cubes for your glass of lemonade. However, I like to make things a little more exciting so I created strawberry ice cubes to pair with homemade ginger soda. As the ice cubes melt, the flavors mix and each sip you take is slightly different. |
Making these ice cubes is incredibly easy. You will only need: -1 cup water -1/4-1/3 cup sugar (to taste) -12 strawberries -small saucepan -ice cube tray First, cut all the strawberries into quarters. Place one strawberry quarter in each compartment of the ice cube tray and put what is leftover into the saucepan. |
Sprinkle the sugar over the strawberries and then add the water. If you have time, let the strawberries and sugar "rest" together for a little while before adding the water so that the juices are drawn out. You will notice that the proportion of sugar to water is NOT the same as making a simple syrup. These ice cubes will not be particularly sweet because I made them specifically to go into a sweetened ginger soda.
Cook over low heat, stirring regularly until the strawberries have released their juices. The fruit in the saucepan will begin to look white and limp. Pour the liquid into a separate container. You can use a strainer, but I found that the fruit was in large enough pieces that I could use a spoon to keep them from falling into my bowl. | As I mentioned above, I added these strawberry ice cubes to a super easy ginger soda. The ginger simple syrup is made by combining 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and chopped up ginger in a saucepan. Then heat on low until the water turns golden. The amount of ginger you should add depends on how much you enjoy the taste. Remember that the syrup will be diluted, so it is better to make it stronger because you can always add more seltzer water. |
I served the drink in stemless wineglasses, but any lowball glass will be fine. Fill the glass about 2/3 full with seltzer water and then add 1-2 fingers of ginger syrup. Then sit back and enjoy your colorful and refreshing drink!