I recently had a stunning carvery at An Poitín Stil, that iconic pub on the Dublin-Kildare border. They have one Michael Flatley brogue in a glass case, and a walking stick that once belonged to Michael Collins behind the table groaning with already poured glasses of water, a true sign of a trustworthy carvery. Amid the lovely dinner and the historic knick-knacks was a micro experience that made my day. Just before reaching the till, as one queues up with one’s brown tray, is a little ice dispenser, flanked by a mini soda fountain and a drinking-water tap. The ice machine, with the gentlest of encouragement, released a collection of perfectly carved cubes. The thrill was small but it was mighty.
I should explain. I’ve been radicalised by ice cube TikTok. Culture writer Anne Helen Peterson recently commented that TikTok is more than a social media platform. She was responding to new data that showed Americans are spending more than an hour a day scrolling on the app and claimed that an hour on TikTok is akin to watching an hour of TV. An hour of micro programmes, covering every genre, location, interest and whim, and yet tailored so specifically to the itchiest alcoves your brain needs to be scratched. I had been through the gauntlet of ADHD TikTok, which funnelled me into Cleaning TikTok, or “CleanTok”. From there I was into “Restocking” TikTok – filling up cupboards, presses, fridges and so on with elite treats and products – before landing on IceTok.
TikTok is often accused of fuelling hyper-consumption with fast-fashion clothing hauls, repeated decoration of spaces and food used for aesthetics rather than eating. An abundance of ice is arguably an extension of this
The Americans do ice like nobody else. They do fridge freezers like nobody else. Giant double-door contraptions with increasingly elaborate shelves and drawers and aesthetically pleasing storage solutions. The giant fridges are slowly making their way into Irish homes, if the affluent Instagram accounts on my timeline are anything to go by, but I believe we are years, possibly decades behind the Yanks when it comes to ice. I’m not sure I’ll see an ice dispenser in the door of a fridge I own in my lifetime. I’ve yet to own my first fridge and could be accused of incredible notions if I launch straight into one with a dispenser to rival the ice influencers of TikTok. One woman went viral after she revealed she has a freezer exclusively for ice. She was making different flavours and shapes – large balls, small balls, a variety of cubes, roses, butterflies, nuggets and pebbles.
TikTok is often accused of fuelling hyper-consumption with fast-fashion clothing hauls, repeated decoration of spaces and food used for aesthetics rather than eating. An abundance of ice is arguably an extension of this. Obscene amounts of frozen water in a world where millions are dying because of lack of access to a clean drop. Even the vessels the ice and drinks are decanted into are eyebrow raising. How environmentally aware can you really be if you insist on purchasing your favourite enormous reusable cup in 17 different colours? And the enormofridges? They don’t scream “climate savvy”.
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The latest beverage phenomenon on TikTok is flavoured water. We’re not talking a dash of Miwadi or a splash of Robinsons. “WaterTok” is the home of deranged concoctions of syrups and powders and flavourings and – you guessed it – mountains of ice. There’s “birthday cake water” and “cookies and cream water”, all in the name of encouraging hydration. These trends tend to be driven by US-based Mormon TikTok users, rolling in cash but abstaining from alcohol. They’re so mesmerising that they’d have even the most Teflon of cynics online shopping for a pale brown tracksuit and a giant keep cup.
You can get fridges with doors that go from opaque to transparent with just a touch, truly aspirational for us chumps still opening our fridges the old-fashioned way
You know that ice cube tray you got for your brother two Christmases ago? The one that made the giant round orbs that are said to be perfect for whiskey, and you saw him drinking whiskey once so he absolutely must have one? Well, you can get a fridge now that makes those on demand. You can get fridges with doors that go from opaque to transparent with just a touch, truly aspirational for us chumps still opening our fridges the old-fashioned way. Some friends and I treated ourselves to a few days in a fancy villa in Tenerife as the pandemic eased off. The fridge door claimed to dispense both water and ice, but actually did neither. We all agreed that maybe it was for the best that it was broken, seeing as we were returning to our Irish kitchens with their tap water, sad ice cube trays and freezer drawers in desperate need of defrosting. We needed to be humbled.