{
  "count": 1,
  "includesBody": true,
  "items": [
    {
      "api": "/posts/ice-is-an-ingredient/index.json",
      "collection": "posts",
      "date": "2024-02-27T09:00:00-08:00",
      "description": "Most tropical drinks fail on ice, not on rum. Here's how to think about the form you're using and why.",
      "draft": false,
      "fields": {
        "author": "Martin Cate",
        "date": "2024-02-27T09:00:00-08:00",
        "description": "Most tropical drinks fail on ice, not on rum. Here's how to think about the form you're using and why.",
        "draft": false,
        "image": "",
        "lastmod": "2024-02-27T09:00:00-08:00",
        "publishdate": "2024-02-27T09:00:00-08:00",
        "tags": [
          "technique",
          "ice",
          "equipment"
        ],
        "title": "Ice Is an Ingredient"
      },
      "html": "\u003cp\u003eAsk someone why their Mai Tai at home doesn\u0026rsquo;t taste like the one they had at a\ngood bar and they\u0026rsquo;ll usually blame the rum. Nine times out of ten it\u0026rsquo;s the ice.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIce does two jobs in a drink: it chills, and it dilutes. Both are features. A\ntropical drink built without adequate dilution is a syrupy, boozy mess — the\ncitrus and the sugar never integrate, and the rum sits on top of everything.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"match-the-form-to-the-job\"\u003eMatch the form to the job\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCrushed and pebble ice\u003c/strong\u003e is the workhorse of exotic cocktails. Enormous\nsurface area, fast chilling, fast dilution. It\u0026rsquo;s what makes a swizzle work: you\nagitate the drink against the ice until frost forms on the outside of the glass.\nNothing else does this.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCubed ice\u003c/strong\u003e is for shaking and stirring. You want it to survive the process\nwithout shattering into slush, then get strained away.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA single large cube or block\u003c/strong\u003e is for spirit-forward drinks served on the\nrocks, where you want the drink to stay cold for twenty minutes without turning\nto water.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-home-bar-problem\"\u003eThe home bar problem\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost home freezers produce hollow, cloudy, fast-melting ice that\u0026rsquo;s been sitting\nnext to last month\u0026rsquo;s fish. It picks up odors, and it dilutes unpredictably.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo fixes, in order of effort. First, buy bagged ice for anything that matters —\nit\u0026rsquo;s cheap and it\u0026rsquo;s consistent. Second, if you\u0026rsquo;re making crushed ice, get a\nLewis bag and a mallet, or a dedicated crusher. Blenders and food processors\nproduce wet, uneven slush that\u0026rsquo;s already half-melted before it hits the glass.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"flash-blending\"\u003eFlash blending\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe technique that ties this together is flash blending: a drink mixer — the\nkind used for milkshakes, with a spindle rather than blades — spun with a\nmeasured amount of crushed ice for a few seconds. You get chilling, dilution,\nand aeration in one motion, and unlike a blender you\u0026rsquo;re not pulverizing the ice\ninto a smoothie.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe measured part matters. Twelve ounces of crushed ice, flash blended for\nten seconds, is a repeatable instruction. \u0026ldquo;Blend with some ice until it looks\nright\u0026rdquo; is not.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce you start treating ice as something you specify rather than something you\nadd, drinks stop being inconsistent for reasons you can\u0026rsquo;t name.\u003c/p\u003e\n",
      "id": "posts/ice-is-an-ingredient",
      "lastmod": "2024-02-27T09:00:00-08:00",
      "markdown": "\nAsk someone why their Mai Tai at home doesn't taste like the one they had at a\ngood bar and they'll usually blame the rum. Nine times out of ten it's the ice.\n\nIce does two jobs in a drink: it chills, and it dilutes. Both are features. A\ntropical drink built without adequate dilution is a syrupy, boozy mess — the\ncitrus and the sugar never integrate, and the rum sits on top of everything.\n\n## Match the form to the job\n\n**Crushed and pebble ice** is the workhorse of exotic cocktails. Enormous\nsurface area, fast chilling, fast dilution. It's what makes a swizzle work: you\nagitate the drink against the ice until frost forms on the outside of the glass.\nNothing else does this.\n\n**Cubed ice** is for shaking and stirring. You want it to survive the process\nwithout shattering into slush, then get strained away.\n\n**A single large cube or block** is for spirit-forward drinks served on the\nrocks, where you want the drink to stay cold for twenty minutes without turning\nto water.\n\n## The home bar problem\n\nMost home freezers produce hollow, cloudy, fast-melting ice that's been sitting\nnext to last month's fish. It picks up odors, and it dilutes unpredictably.\n\nTwo fixes, in order of effort. First, buy bagged ice for anything that matters —\nit's cheap and it's consistent. Second, if you're making crushed ice, get a\nLewis bag and a mallet, or a dedicated crusher. Blenders and food processors\nproduce wet, uneven slush that's already half-melted before it hits the glass.\n\n## Flash blending\n\nThe technique that ties this together is flash blending: a drink mixer — the\nkind used for milkshakes, with a spindle rather than blades — spun with a\nmeasured amount of crushed ice for a few seconds. You get chilling, dilution,\nand aeration in one motion, and unlike a blender you're not pulverizing the ice\ninto a smoothie.\n\nThe measured part matters. Twelve ounces of crushed ice, flash blended for\nten seconds, is a repeatable instruction. \"Blend with some ice until it looks\nright\" is not.\n\nOnce you start treating ice as something you specify rather than something you\nadd, drinks stop being inconsistent for reasons you can't name.\n",
      "readingTime": 2,
      "slug": "ice-is-an-ingredient",
      "summary": "Ask someone why their Mai Tai at home doesn’t taste like the one they had at a good bar and they’ll usually blame the rum. Nine times out of ten it’s the ice.\nIce does two jobs in a drink: it chills, and it dilutes. Both are features. A tropical drink built without adequate dilution is a syrupy, boozy mess — the citrus and the sugar never integrate, and the rum sits on top of everything.",
      "title": "Ice Is an Ingredient",
      "url": "/posts/ice-is-an-ingredient/",
      "weight": 0,
      "wordCount": 368
    }
  ],
  "slug": "equipment",
  "taxonomy": "tags",
  "term": "Equipment"
}