StyloPhora Ice Ball Mold: My Long-Term Review and Uses

Disclaimer: The reviewer has received the product/service at a reduced price or for free. All opinions contained in this post are my own and are my honest thoughts based on my own experience with this product.

I had more than one reason for wanting to try the Ice Ball Mold by StyloPhora. I was experimenting with molecular gastronomy, and I also liked the idea of large round ice for drinks.

Years later, I still have this mold and can still use it. My uses for it are basically the same as the other sphere ice mold I own: drinks, flavored ice, frozen herbs or fruit, small molded desserts and kitchen experiments.

I also liked the larger size for beverages because the ice lasted longer than a glass full of tiny cubes. That meant fewer pieces of ice melting quickly and diluting the drink.

An Ice Ball Mold Is More Than a Drink Gadget

What made these molds interesting to me was not just the shape. A silicone sphere mold gives you a small, reusable mold for all kinds of food experiments.

You can freeze plain water, of course, but you can also work with fruit juice, herbal infusions, edible flowers, pieces of fruit, flavored syrups or other liquids that freeze well.

That makes a mold like this especially useful when you want to use small amounts of garden or pantry ingredients without turning them into a whole separate recipe.

 

Easy to Fill and Reuse

One thing I liked about this StyloPhora mold was the filling system. It came with a collapsible funnel, and the molds had fill lines that helped show when to stop adding liquid. I did overfill them a few times, but the excess water was easy enough to pour back out.

The molds also came apart easily once everything was frozen. Because the spheres are large, they naturally take longer to freeze than ordinary ice cubes.

When I wanted to keep a supply ready, I would refill the molds after removing the frozen spheres and keep extras in a freezer bag.

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Good for Homestead Ingredients Too

For a homestead kitchen, molds like this can be a fun way to use small amounts of herbs, berries, fruit juice or edible flowers. You can freeze those ingredients into water or another suitable liquid and use the finished spheres in drinks or other cold presentations.

It is also a low-risk way to experiment with flavor combinations before making a larger batch of something.

 

Durability Has Been Good

The molds felt durable when I first reviewed them, and the fact that I still have this set years later supports that first impression.

I found it easiest to remove the bottom portion of the mold first and then use the small opening in the top to help push the frozen sphere out. Just be careful not to drop the finished ice ball because the frozen sphere itself can crack when it hits the floor.

The video below shows the basic idea of how this style of mold works, even though my method was a little different.

My Long-Term Take on the StyloPhora Ice Ball Mold

I don't need to pretend this is an essential homestead tool. It isn't.

But it is a fun, reusable kitchen item that has lasted well for me and still has a place in my kitchen experiments. I use this one for the same kinds of things as my other sphere ice mold: drinks, flavored ice, small frozen portions and molecular gastronomy-style experiments.

That long-term durability is probably the strongest endorsement I can give it now. I still have it. I can still use it. And when I want a large frozen sphere instead of ordinary cubes, it still does the job.

Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.