- Ice cube trays are made of different materials and produce ice cubes of different sizes, shapes, and flavors.
- The best everyday ice cube tray for most people is the OXO Good Grips Ice Cube Tray.
Baby, it's hot out there. But there's a simple way to beat the heat this summer: Enjoy a cold drink over ice. While many of us have refrigerators with built-in ice makers, you may well choose to make additional ice cubes, too.
Americans have been making their own ice cubes since the advent of home refrigeration in the 1930s. Back then, aluminum trays were the norm. In the 1950s, stainless steel trays showed up on the scene, but they were mostly replaced by plastic in the 1960s. By the 1980s, ice cube trays with lids started appearing. In the early 2000s, silicone trays popped up. Their pliable nature meant you could pop out innovatively-shaped ice cubes with relative ease.
Today, there are hundreds of different styles of ice cube trays on the market that will transform water into ice of different sizes and shapes. Novelty or gimmick ice cube trays have become increasingly popular in recent years, likely because they are a relatively inexpensive way to add a blast of fun to a special occasion.
For the purpose of making "regular" ice cubes at home, there are several things to consider. Basically, you are looking for a tray that allows you to extract the ice easily and one that doesn't impart distasteful odors - or freezer-burn - to the cubes. You'll also want trays that let you pop out ice easily unlike those awful hard plastic ones from your youth.
These are the best ice cube trays you can buy to keep your drinks cold this summer. We've included trays with lids, silicone ones, an old-fashioned metal option, and a cool ice ball mold.
Here are the best ice cube trays you can buy in 2019:
- Best ice cube tray overall: OXO Good Grips Ice Cube Tray
- Best ice cube tray with a lid: Peaks Ice Works Everyday Ice Tray
- Best silicone ice cube tray: Tovolo Perfect Cube Ice Trays
- Best stainless steel ice cube tray: Onyx 18/8 Stainless Steel Slot Ice Cube Tray
- Best ice ball mold: Zoku Ice-Ball Ice Sphere Mold
Updated on 05/29/2019 by Malarie Gokey: Updated prices and formatting.
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