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By Nick Guy, Ganda Suthivarakom and Ciara Murray Jordan Pastry Mat
We tested two metal trays against our top pick, but we found them to be impractical. Our pick remains the same.
Novelty ice cube trays are cool (forgive the pun). But a decent basic ice cube tray—the kind that doesn’t dribble, crack, or cling to the ice—can improve your daily life in a small but meaningful way.
For a good ice cube tray that allows you to make plenty of ice without worrying about freezer burn, we recommend the OXO Good Grips Ice Cube Tray, which comes with a rigid, sliding plastic lid for clean stacking. Each tray makes 14 half-moon-shaped cubes, which can be pushed out of the tray easily.
This tray makes easy-to-remove cubes and has a lid to keep out freezer smells.
The 14-cube OXO Good Grips Ice Cube Tray’s biggest advantage over other ice trays is its rigid plastic lid, which resists freezer smells, allows for easy stacking, and prevents spills while the tray is transported from the sink to the freezer. After many years of using this tray, we haven’t noticed it becoming brittle or exhibiting any other durability issues, unlike some of its competitors.
There are countless styles of ice cube trays to turn water into ice of every size and shape imaginable. We decided to narrow our focus to plastic or stainless steel trays in traditional ice cube shapes (we didn’t test silicone trays, since they can make your ice taste like freezer burn).
Most traditional ice cube trays make 12, 14, or 16 cubes, which tend to be about 20 grams each. We found that their shape (whether half-moon or square) makes little difference when it comes to melt rate or cooling ability. We considered trays of various shapes and sizes, since they all have similar capacity and efficacy.
Lids keep the tops of ice cubes clean when you stack multiple trays. We also found that they can be great for keeping smells out and for preventing spills when trays are being moved from the sink to the freezer. So we looked for trays with lids that were effective at both of those tasks.
During our testing, we noted whether trays could stack, if they could be set at an angle or on a non-flat surface, how likely they were to spill when full of water, how easy they were to fill, and whether ice cubes stuck to the tray. We also drank glasses of water with ice from each tray to check for anything that tasted off.
This tray makes easy-to-remove cubes and has a lid to keep out freezer smells.
The OXO Good Grips Ice Cube Tray makes 14 elegant, easy-to-remove half-moon cubes. And it has a rigid, sliding plastic lid that protects the ice without retaining freezer smells, the way a silicone lid would. (You can buy one tray, but the set of two is generally a better deal.)
OXO sells an identical version of our pick but with a teal lid; it advertises this one as a baby-food freezer tray. This tray typically costs a bit more, but we’ve seen it on sale. We recommend getting whichever version is cheaper at the time.
We love that it’s stackable. Unlike the cheaper plastic trays we tested from Sterilite and Rubbermaid, the OXO trays come with a lid, so you can stack them without dirtying the tops of the ice cubes. Small feet on the bottom corners keep trays steady while stacked.
The ice cubes pop out easily. The half-moon ice cubes usually slide right out of the tray with a gentle push on one end. If they do stick, you can flex the tray with the lid on, so there’s no risk of any cubes jumping out (and onto the floor).
If you prefer to turn the tray over to dump out ice cubes, the sliding lid’s wavelike edge lets you do so, for as few or as many ice cubes as you’d like.
It’s easy to fill. There are small channels for runoff between each ice cube groove; that means you can fill the tray by pointing the water spout at one end of the tray and tilting it. The lid stops water from sloshing out as you transport the tray from the sink to the freezer (though it’s not totally leakproof).
Although cheaper ice cube trays we’ve tried have cracked after becoming brittle in the freezer, we haven’t had any problems with the OXO tray so far. In any case, if you do have a problem with its durability, you can contact OXO and request a replacement under the company’s satisfaction guarantee. We’ve always found OXO’s customer service to be very responsive and helpful.
It’s not totally spill-proof. The plastic lid may keep some smells out, but it’s far from air- or water-tight. If you tilt the tray at an angle, the water will come gushing out.
The lid will stick if you overfill the tray. If you overfill the tray into the ¼ inch of space between the cubes and the lid, the ice will expand and make the lid stick. Just don’t fill past the tops of the grooves, and you should be fine (though even if the lid does stick, a little bending should break it free).
The rise of specialty ice brought with it a plethora of silicone ice cube trays, from large spheres for cocktails to butterflies and hexagons. However, though silicone’s flexibility works well for ice molds, silicone has a tendency to absorb freezer smells, which isn’t ideal.
In our tests, ice from silicone molds imparted the distinct taste of freezer burn to our drinks. If you have hard water, silicone can also accumulate white residue from the minerals in the water. While the white residue can be removed with a vinegar solution, we found that the only way to remove smells from silicone molds was to bake them.
Silicone trays also have less structural integrity than rigid plastic or metal, so unless they’re reinforced, they can be a bit floppy. A wobbly tray makes the already-daunting trip from the sink to the freezer a lot more difficult.
We’ve decided not to include silicone molds in our recent testing because those issues make them difficult to maintain. Though cocktail ice is tempting, it’s not worth ruining a glass of the good stuff with an acrid taste.
If you were drinking ice-cold drinks in the 1950s and ’60s, you probably remember using a metal ice cube tray. Though they have a charming vintage look and are a plastic-free option, the models we tested were also a bit impractical.
To remove the ice, first you have to let the tray sit out for a couple of minutes (in other words, thaw), and then you pull a lever to loosen the divider. Then you can either remove the divider and store the cubes in their tray or decant the cubes into another container so you can refill the tray.
These trays require some level of foresight before you enjoy a cold drink (you can’t immediately pop out ice cubes—we tried). And unlike with plastic trays, with metal ones you can’t remove just a few ice cubes and replenish the empty wells with water since the entire divider needs to be removed to access even one cube.
Overall, we think plastic trays are a more-convenient use of precious freezer space, but if you’re set on a metal tray, the Onyx Stainless Steel Ice Cube Tray is the best one we tried. Read our thoughts below about that tray and the other metal one we tested.
The OXO Good Grips No Spill Ice Cube Tray was formerly a pick. We liked the innovative silicone lid, which lets you stack the tray at an angle without spilling the contents. However, over time we found that the silicone lid imparted a freezer-burn flavor to the cubes. Also, the moat around the outside of the tray created useless and messy shards of ice that would fall out.
Made from thick, brushed stainless steel, the Onyx Stainless Steel Ice Cube Tray is sturdy and well built. The tray makes 18 cubes, and the lever separating them is durable—it resists breaking, even under stress. If you’re looking for a metal ice cube tray, we expect the Onyx will be a long-lasting choice. But it’s expensive and subject to the same pitfalls faced by all metal trays.
The RSVP Endurance Stainless Steel Ice Cube Tray also makes 18 cubes, and even though we appreciated that it’s lighter, it does feel flimsier than the Onyx tray. The stainless steel is thinner and more prone to fingerprints, and the lever doesn’t feel as sturdy (if you try to remove ice without thawing the tray, you could break the lever mechanism).
Joseph Joseph’s QuickSnap Ice Cube Tray, which has been updated to include a lid since we tested it, offers a unique way to remove the cubes. Each of the 12 divisions has a silicone switch mechanism embedded in it. Water freezes into it; then when it comes time to remove a cube, you move the rubber back and forth to loosen it, and the cube pops up at you. It’s a cool idea, but it didn’t always work.
The Sterilite Stacking Ice Cube Tray and the Rubbermaid Easy Release Ice Cube Tray are both pretty much quintessential, white plastic ice cube trays. They each hold 16 cubes, and neither comes with a lid. They stack just fine and make perfectly acceptable ice, but there’s nothing special about them.
The Container Store’s Covered Ice Cube Tray makes 21 cubes. But because the tray is made of rigid plastic and has a middle row, removing individual cubes is hard; it’s more of an all-or-nothing experience.
The Mumi&Bubi Solids Starter Kit is marketed as a baby-food freezer tray, but we found it worked just as well for ice cubes. Each tray makes 21 large cubes and has a lid for clean stacking. But the trays take up a good chunk of freezer space and are pretty pricey—you can buy three of the OXO Good Grips trays for less.
This article was edited by Marguerite Preston and Marilyn Ong.
Nick Guy is a former senior staff writer covering Apple and accessories at Wirecutter. He has been reviewing iPhones, iPads, and related tech since 2011—and stopped counting after he tested his 1,000th case. It’s impossible for him not to mentally catalog any case he sees. He once had the bright idea to build and burn down a room to test fireproof safes.
Ciara Murray Jordan is an updates writer on the kitchen team at Wirecutter. She previously worked as an artisanal cheesemaker on a small farm in Vermont.
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Ice Cube Tray With Lid Wirecutter is the product recommendation service from The New York Times. Our journalists combine independent research with (occasionally) over-the-top testing so you can make quick and confident buying decisions. Whether it’s finding great products or discovering helpful advice, we’ll help you get it right (the first time).