I sometimes feel like "Oxo" is the "Apple" of the kitchen. Oxo seems to have developed a cult following of sorts, to the degree that no matter what they produce, no matter how "so-so" a particular item might be*, people are going to be handing out the 5-star reviews to that new smart watch with the 8-hour battery life like they’re handing out bargain-basement Halloween Candy. [*See also:OXO Good Grips Cast Iron Pan Brush , a grill pan brush which can't remove much of anything from a grill pan, and which inexplicably has jutting plastic appendages which only limit maneuverability... nearly five stars across the board] "How can an ice cube tray actually be *bad*?" you might ask. "I mean, at worst it'll at least be just an ordinary ice cube tray, right?" Well, I used think as you do, theoretical person whose dialogue I just made up. But that was back in my younger, more naïve days when I thought that as long as an ice cube tray could hold liquids, then it was “good enough.” That was back before I realized that sometimes when a product promises to re-invent the wheel with all kinds of new bells and whistles, that not only can those bells and whistles not add anything positive to the product's performance, but that they may even turn that wheel into a lopsided oval. CONS (and it's mostly cons): 1) The ODD SMELL/FLAVOR of the ice: Seriously, this reason alone is why I can’t put these trays into permanent storage fast enough. This is why I dread having guests over who want cold drinks. (As you watch them sip their drink, you’ll be closing your eyes and crossing your fingers, trying to do the mental calculus regarding how many drugs your friends did in the 90’s. Were the drugs powerful enough, and in great enough volume, to render your friends’ taste buds dead enough that they are no longer able to register “freezer burn” in the year 2017?) I know this can be an issue with *all* ice cube trays, particularly ones made of anything other than metal. It stands to reason that, over time, those trays are going to pick up some off smells from the freezer, and in turn, impart those smells into the flavor of the ice. The thing is, that phenomenon happens almost *immediately* after using these Oxo trays a few times. Worse still, that weird off odor/flavor is stronger here than with any other tray I’ve ever used in the past. I hope you and your guests enjoy the hint of “newly discovered Wooly Mammoth” in your iced tea, because that’s what you’re getting with these ice cube trays. I figure the problem is this tray’s much touted, weirdly-floppy, silicone lid, the lid which happens to rest flush against the water as it freezes. One thing I’ve noticed about silicone in general is that it tends to pick up foreign flavors and odors, permanently, moreso than just about any other common kitchen material. So that silicone lid you used to cover that bowl of kimchi with? That’s now your permanent kimchi cover, unless you happen to be one of those weirdos who likes his whipped cream with that subtle garlic and fish sauce flavor. There’s nothing to be done about that stale freezer-burn smell either. I’ve tried soaking these trays in a water/bleach solution. I’ve tried scrubbing the floppy lid with a paste made from baking soda. Never mind the fact that I shouldn’t even have to resort to this much work just to get neutral-tasting ice. Neither attempt did anything. 2) The FLOPPINESS: If off-tasting ice isn’t enough to steer you away from these trays, please consider the pretentiousness of the lid itself. When you first receive these trays, you’re immediately surprised that the lid you saw in the product image turns out not to be a conventional lid at all. It’s not a stiff cover that rests above the tray. No. It’s a new-fangled floppy layer of silicone that actually comes into direct contact with the water in the tray. You see, it wasn’t enough for Oxo to simply create a lid that helped prevent stuff from falling into your ice cube tray and help prevent spills. No. They had to do it in a way that would make you “Ooh” and “Ahh” over Oxo’s audacious sorcery. “What in the world!” the designers at Oxo imagined consumers saying, as they gleefully rubbed their hands together and fidgeted with their granny glasses and flexed their ultra-tight jeans**. “I knew the covers would be able to prevent spills and enable the trays to be turned sideways, but not like this! Why, these are floppy layers of silicone. Floppy, I say! How in the world can such floppiness prevent water from spilling out?” [**I think it’s a safe assumption that the Oxo headquarters are populated exclusively by hipsters.] Okay, I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t know what’s going on here, people. The weird floppy lids do in fact prevent liquid water from spilling out, even when the trays are angled a bit. I don’t know if it’s the magic of air pressure, inertia, photosynthesis, or quantum physics. Damnit, I’m an Amazon reviewer, not a doctor. All I can tell you is that floppy weirdness works. But only sort of. You see, while one technically *can* gently fill their Oxo Ice Cube Tray with liquid water, slap on that silicone cover, and then turn the tray at an angle without a spill happening—I’d like to see a show of hands of any of these five-star reviewers who actually elect to *store* their filled trays this way. You see, it’s one thing to gingerly perform this scientific demonstration once, just to see if it works. It’s another thing to feel confident enough in this vacuum magic trick to fill the tray with water, apply the lid and slam the tray into your freezer sideways.*** [***Hint: You really shouldn’t do this. One jostle of those floppy lids, and the magical seal is broken, and then you’ve got water everywhere. Hence, the lids’ ability to “seal in” water is a novelty at best.] 3) THE ROOM required to store these trays: This is another wildly inconvenient aspect of these trays. They take up WAY more room than a normal ice cube tray. You see, there’s this big trough around the outside of the cube compartments themselves. I don’t know if that trough is a necessity for the magical (and impractical) vacuum seal to work. Or maybe it’s another pretentious bell and whistle, trying to sell people on the fact that one can be really sloppy during the filling process and not have to worry as much about spills. I don’t know the reason for the trough. But the end result is that there’s an extra inch or two of basically useless space along the length and width of these things. That makes for some pretty inconvenient storage issues, especially if you’re like most people and freezer space is at a premium. The PRO: 1) Once frozen, the ice cubes come out pretty easily, with a minimum of fidgeting required. Yeah, that’s it for the pros. The ice may taste and smell weird, but at least you can get that odd-smelling ice into your drink with a minimum of hassle.
