A quick and fun way to make blue ice cubes naturally!
We were crafting our mermaid-themed cocktail (you can see here), and wanted to add a charming touch to make the cocktail blue. We wanted the blue color to come from a natural source, but needed that dark blue, vibrant color you see in the picture. We knew we couldn’t get that color from blue fruit since it would be a darker shade and a lot less vibrant, so we opted for something else…
First, let’s just talk about how amazing nature is and what we’re surrounded by, especially vibrant herbs! There are so many beautifully dried flowers and herbs used for tea, but we can use them to our benefit in other ways, like changing our cocktail’s and ice cube’s colors! We found a very special little flower called Butterfly-pea. It belongs to the Fabaceae family and is native to tropical areas, such as Thailand and Malaysia. There is also a pod that grows on the plant which looks similar to a pea pod, thus the name Butterfly-pea flower. It has a very mild, earthy flavor and when made into ice cubes, you really can’t taste it.
Article Chill Ice Molds
Dried Butterfly Pea Flower
Sauce Pan
Sieve – This is a great set and we use all three sizes constantly!
You’ll also need measuring cups and a bowl with a spout to pour into the ice molds.
To make the blue water, heat 2 cups of water in a sauce pan and add in 1/4 cup dried Butterfly-pea flowers. You can buy them on Amazon and we used these, which worked perfectly, plus they will last a long time stored in the bag! Let the water and flowers simmer for a few minutes, then remove from heat and let them infuse the water. You can make it as dark or as light as you want. Once the water comes back down to lukewarm, strain the flowers out and pour water into ice cube molds. Freeze overnight.
When you add citrus to it, the blue color will turn purple! So technically, if you want to make purple ice cubes, add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice in the water!
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