Annabel Karmel Freeze Cube Tray Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I really wanted to love these little trays. I'm doing all homemade baby food for my youngest child and really wanted a good system for safely and neatly freezing and storing batches of purees. I liked the look of these and was glad to see they came with a lid (NOT airtight, but better than nothing) for easy stacking in the freezer and for limiting the food's exposure to air. I ordered two. BOTH of those original two arrived with tiny (pinhead size) holes in them, one in each tray, as well as a pencil-eraser sized weak spot, where the silicon was thinner, in one section of one of the trays. Amazon has some of the best customer service around and made the exchange for two more super easy, even upgrading me free of charge to next day shipping so I'd have them quick. The next two that arrived were perfect, at least in terms of being hole free. I made a batch of puree and tried them out...when it came time for popping the frozen cubes out to store in freezer bags, I was disappointed to find that they didn't really "pop" out at all. In fact, they were stuck pretty fast in there. It took running the bottom of the tray under warm water to release them. That isn't so much extra effort, but I had really hoped that the silicon would just release the cubes cleanly without any trouble so that I could keep the entire amount totally frozen until needed.
I haven't tried any other baby food storage trays, so I have nothing to compare these to. I question whether they'll hold up well over the long term and I hope that they will. I do like their form factor and it is great to have something I know won't leach chemicals or something in my baby's food. I love the convenience of grabbing a few cubes from the freezer to microwave for baby's dinner--just as easy as opening a jar from the store and a lot cheaper & better for baby.
In conclusion: If you decide to give these a try, inspect your trays thoroughly for holes and weak spots before using. In something that stores pureed food or liquid, hole = MESS. And if you have a baby, you probably have enough of those to deal with already. Also expect to have to dunk the bottom or run it under warm water to release the cubes.
EDIT 3/14/11: Well, I've been using these trays regularly for a number of months and they've held up well. Not only that, but I've discovered that letting the frozen trays sit on the counter just 5 minutes or so makes popping the cubes out a snap! Changing my rating to 4 stars.

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Oxo 34881 Good Grips Ice Cube Tray Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Every other Good Grips product I own was designed thoughtfully: they're high quality, attractive, and very easy to use. Unfortunately, this ice cube tray is an exception on every count.
The single biggest problem with this product is the tray cover. OXO started with a good idea: use a cover to keep the cubes fresh and to make it easy to remove just the cubes you want. Unfortunately, this tray's cover is so poorly designed that it's not nearly worth the trouble.
First, it's very difficult to remove the cover to get your ice cubes out. The cover supposed to slide off easily, but it usually gets stuck, because it doesn't fit properly and because little bits of ice easily obstruct the path.
Getting cubes out is bad enough, but the cover is even worse when you're filling the tray. Again, because it doesn't fit very well, it requires a lot of force to push the cover on. Inevitably, you'll have to force it into place and end up splashing a lot of the water out of the cube compartments. This makes your cubes smaller, and the splashed water freezes into little bits of ice that make the cover harder to get off later.
As for asthetics, the tray isn't as good as other OXO products either. It's missing their signature black-rubber grips and offers little else in return.
So, my recommendation is to wait for version 2 before you leap for this product. But, in the meantime, check out other Good Grips products. Fortunately, this product's poor design is an exception for OXO.

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Innovative and ever finding of solutions, OXO impresses again with their Good Grips ice cube tray. Like other trays, you need simply fill it with water and freeze to make ice. However, what really sets this tray apart from its peers is the cover tray; not only does it guard the ice cubes from resists odors, but you can partially slide it off to choose the number of cubes you want. Once you have made you selection, turn the tray over to dump the cubes out. This system allows you, guests, family, and friends to quickly remove the desired amount of ice. It is recommended you close the tray before freezing on the counter top, for stability and to help avoid spills.
OXO was founded on the philosophy of Universal Design, which is the concept of designing products that are easy to use for the largest possible spectrum of users. In the case of OXO, it means designing products for young and old, male and female, left- and right- handed and many with special needs. These ergonomically- designed, trans-generational tools set a new standard for the industry and raised the bar of consumer expectation for comfort and performance.

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