You may ask what the connection is, rightly so. It stems from family advice passed down through the generations – if you wanted your puds to rise and stay light and crispy during roasting in piping hot oil, ice-cold water was needed for the batter mixture. According to my Mum’s Nan, the best Yorkshire puds resulted from snapping off icicles and adding those to the batter.
It would seem that with the current weather we’re experiencing harvesting icicles for baking is a doddle. Now that we have that best baking tip sorted out, next we look at if it’s safe to use icicles or snow for your drinking water.
Generally speaking, it is safe to eat clean ice and snow during the winter in the wild outdoors. The same is not always true in urban areas where pollutants may be present. In the outdoors, pay attention to where you gather icicles. Gathering icicles from an evergreen tree in the countryside is one thing; snapping icicles from a roof edge another. If you hold an icicle up to the light and it looks clear and clean, it’s usually safe. However, there are other toxic reasons not to crunch on a snowball or lick an icicle.
Eating snow and icicles is tempting, especially when working up a sweat outside. However, you’ll want to consider where you find your seemingly delicious snow or ice. For instance, icicles formed on older homes may contain lead or other metals that are unsafe for consumption.
As we continue with self-isolation, working remotely or at a distance in the office or you if you have set up a home office, you may well ask if the chilled water from your AquAid water cooler is suitable for your food batters. It may be, however, although the cold water dispensed from your water cooler may be the perfect temperature, we would suggest that you reserve your water cooler water strictly for drinking. Especially if you are in a shared office. Whereas some of your colleagues (or family) may be delighted with your resourcefulness using chilled water from your water cooler in your baking efforts, others may not be.
Remember, for all your chilled, cool and hot water dispensers, whether Bottle-Fed or Mains-Fed; Hot Water Boilers; Hot and Cold Instant Taps as well as our range of Touch-Free Water Dispensers, speak to us at AquAid.
We remain operational and continue to take all precautions and necessary steps to reduce any risk to both staff and customers. Read our Covid-19 risk assessment.
