Freezing flowers and herbs in ice may be a fuss over nothing, but I really do love it

Every year around this time, Shaoyao has to chat with you about eating ice. This year I want to bring up an old topic again, this little pleasure of freezing flowers and herbs in ice cubes! This was also the very first post of our account. Once the ice tray is frozen, I'll pour you a cup of Shaoyao's summer

I remember that when I wrote that post back then, not many people were doing this. Starting this year, I've frequently seen people playing with ice cubes like this at small floral gatherings, and I knew it had finally begun to move from a niche pastime toward the mainstream.

Freezing flowers in ice cubes has no real practical use, but it is precisely because of this "fuss over nothing" that our summer takes on an irreplaceable meaning.

Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John

 ...Featuring

Belle and Sebastian 

00:00/04:25

{ Shaoyao Girl Vol.791 }

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A Fuss Over Nothing

I'm not exaggerating: after summer begins, every morning when I wake up, it feels like a hangover~

To cool down, those who want cola drink cola, those who want milk tea order milk tea. Only I remain unmoved, because,If you're not putting flowers in the ice cubes, you might as well skip it! Watching flowers and herbs freeze in ice is far more fun than eating ice!

The flowers are sealed inside the ice,

their clean, clear textures vivid and lifelike,

twinkling like little stars in the ice.

When ice cube after ice cube freezes the flowers and herbs,

summer is frozen too.

The flower-and-herb ice floating on the glass,

lazily giving off a sweet fruity fragrance,

is like adorable little creatures taking a bath.

Watching them stay still in the cold drink,

even a restless heart seems to settle down,

and the days rushing swiftly by are stretched out in this moment.

Toss a few flower-and-herb ice cubes into a transparent decanter,

and the ice cubes collide with the glass with a crisp sound.

The sparkling wine poured in sends bubbles flying,

and the ice cubes become even more crystalline.

As a rule, any non-toxic flowers and herbs can be used to make ice cubes, such as chrysanthemum, rose, nasturtium, lemon, mint and so on, all of which can be used for fun.You don't necessarily have to eat them; they work beautifully as a garnish too.

Of course,choosing flowers and herbs with brighter, more eye-catching colors will look even better once frozen.

Among them, pansy is used the most,

because each of its flowers has three colors:

purple, white and yellow, very beautiful indeed.

Flower-and-herb ice made with pansies

has a color that is both bright and cool,

and a lick of it tastes slightly sour~

Lavender has a light fragrance,

and the whole plant carries a faint sweetness of wood;，

to make ice cubes with it, you need to trim it a bit.

Cut a small sprig of lavender, freeze it into an ice cube,

and it is sweet and tasty even without honey or sugar,

and it can also soothe our nerves.

Roselle is itself a traditional Chinese medicine,

and people often pick its calyxes and fruit to eat.

Roselle brewed into herbal tea and then frozen tastes even better,，

red like waxberry, and both sour and sweet.

Remember the popsicles we ate as kids, several to a pack? I think they were called "Seven Dwarfs", because they came in red, green, orange and all sorts of colors, each color a different flavor, like little mushrooms, with thin, long little sticks. We can make our own too~

Put the little sticks and the flower-and-herb puree together,

freeze them in the ice tray ahead of time,

and they come out convenient and delicious,

full of childhood memories。

With molds in different shapes,

you can turn out flower-and-herb ice in all kinds of shapes,

and when children visit, you can keep them entertained,

guaranteed to make them happy all day long.

Adding some small red berries will make the flower-and-herb ice even more fragrant with fruit, not only making the colors brighter, but also turning it into a genuinely edible summer treat.

Take pomegranate, for example,

its seeds are so abundant and lush

that just looking at them makes you swallow.

Scoop out a handful of pomegranate, soak it in mint water and freeze it into ice cubes,

and holding it in your mouth gives you the cool, fresh fragrance of mint;

if it melts, just bite right down,

and your teeth are filled with the taste of pomegranate juice.

Cranberry is also called lingonberry,

and what we usually eat is mostly the jam and dried fruit made from it,

but actuallyfresh cranberry fruit has a flavor that is especially unique and captivating。

All fruits and mint are a perfect match,

lively red paired with refreshing green,

frozen into ice cubes and poured into Sprite,

“cool to the heart, spirits soaring”

So, how exactly do you make flower-and-herb ice?From Shaoyao's introduction above, you've probably noticed that flower-and-herb ice includes simple ice cubes as well as flower-and-herb popsicles that need sticks. In fact, there are even more and more fun ways to play.

Taking the pansy as an example,

let's first talk about how to make ice cubes.

We can use scissors to snip off the stems,

pair them with some herbs, soak them in the ice tray and let them cool.

After freezing them in the refrigerator for a few hours,

take them out and twist them left and right a few times,

and you can turn them out.

(Dipping them in hot water makes it faster~)

Put a whole large ice cube in a small glass,

and it will look very beautiful.

If the ice cubes are small, just put in a few more,

and you can also add a bit of lemon peel.

For large fruits,

you can choose to slice them.

Choosing some transparent vessels can help us observe whether the layout of the flowers and herbs is perfect.

Find a large transparent basin,

add the flowers, herbs, fruit and plain water.

Then find a plastic bucket one size smaller and insert it into the basin,

and the fruit will automatically rise with the water level,

to prevent the yellow basin from floating up,

you can find something heavy to weigh it down。

Put it in the refrigerator or freezer and freeze it overnight.

When taking out the ice bucket, there are some tricks. First pour hot water into the yellow plastic bucket to loosen it; after taking it out, then choose to use hot water to rinse and soak the outer container, and slowly take it out.

Then you will get an ice bucket full of fairy-like charm,

and using it to chill fine wine is simply delightful～

Besides this, you have a hundred more ways to play with flower-and-herb fruit ice, to hold on to this summer!

Using the same method as making an ice bucket,

you can also make a flower-and-herb ice candlestick,

light the candle and place it in the middle of the candlestick,

and you can feel what "ice and fire" really means。

An ice candlestick made from pine branches

gives off a cold light.

These ways of playing with flower-and-herb ice will make your party stand out,and if it can be placed at a wedding banquet, especially if an ice bucket frozen from a large peony appears, it will absolutely be unforgettable for a lifetime!

Flower-and-herb ice brings us coolness,

and also gives the time friends spend together a greater sense of ritual.

Making flower-and-herb ice seems like a fuss over nothing, beautiful but useless, and people often laugh at it as a trivial little pleasure. Butif everything were only about convenience, directness, simplicity and practicality, how many chances to dance with life would we miss?

Flower-and-herb ice is not just a kind of ice cube; it is our heart that refuses to forget to treat life seriously even in the scorching summer.

There is nothing more delightful

than seeing flower-and-herb ice become popular!

When we freeze flowers and herbs in ice cubes,

we also freeze a part of the lazy, radiant summer

in time.

Do you like this way of doing things?

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