If you are looking to avoid another cheap plastic or aluminum part in your kitchen, then a stainless steel ice cub tray is a great place to start. They aren’t the cheapest option, but if you want something that lasts and something that’s safe, it’s a great way to go.
Onyx Stainless Steel Ice Cube Tray Basics
This is an ice cube tray made of 18/8 food grade stainless steel. It has no plastic parts, no aluminum, no lead, and no BPA. It’s made in South Korea. The Onyx tray has no top and it uses an old fashioned pull handle in order to remove the ice from the tray.
The bottom component (the tray) is a heavy piece of stainless steel which is practically indestructible. I’ve been using this tray for over 4 years now (!) and it’s in just as good shape was it was the day I bought it, less some small surface scratched from the metal on metal contact.
The tray and ice cube separate are both dishwasher safe and quite sturdy. And while I assumed the hinge would degrade over time an it would eventually break because of the ice-buildup and wear-and-tear from heavy pulling as you break apart the cubes, it has had no problems.
In fact, I liked this initial purchase so much that I know have 4 of these ice cube trays and it’s the only way I make ice in my home (our Samsung fridge’s ice cube maker broke early in its life).
Why The Onyx Ice Cube Tray Works
An ice cube tray might seem like a simple purchase but we’ve had a lot of problems with them in the past. We wanted to avoid plastic — it grosses us out and is something we are actively removing from our lives. Glass is not an option. And while we’ve all owned any number of silicon trays, they always seemed to leave ice tasting vaguely of plastic.
So what’s the solution? Back in the day ice cube trades were made of metal. They lasted forever, they had no plastic parts, and they has a cool handle that breaks the ice apart. Some of these were steel and others aluminum. As aluminum is something we’ve been avoiding in the kitchen, food grade stainless steel was the goal. After some searching, it’s clear that the Onyx is the leader in the category.
After over 8 months of usage, we can confirm the reviews and tell you that the Onyx stainless steel ice cube trays is the real deal, and does its job quite nicely.