How to Design an Ice Mold for Shrimp
- 1). Assess the quantity of shrimp you will place in your ice mold, or in each ice mold if you will be serving more than one shrimp platter. Select the depth and width of the basin of the ice bowl to accommodate the amount of shrimp you plan to serve. Make a note of the approximate weight of the shrimp on paper to give to your vendor, so that when the ice mold is constructed, its load-bearing potential can be taken into account.
- 2). Choose an upright or horizontal orientation for your ice mold. Upright ice molds incorporate a decorative stand that accommodates the bowl holding the shrimp, which sticks out perpendicular to the stand. A horizontal ice mold allows for a wider bowl -- the stand supporting the bowl from underneath can be lower to the serving surface and decorated with etchings and texturing effects.
- 3). Sketch the outline of your ice mold on paper for your vendor to reference. Include as much detail as possible. Sketch decorative elements, whether you want to include scalloped edges around the edge of the serving bowl, vertical indentations surrounding the sides of the horizontal support or a certain shape for the vertical stand holding the serving bowl, such as a seahorse.
- 4). Make sure your sketched design can accommodate a bowl of cocktail sauce, if you choose to serve your shrimp on a communal ice platter. You may also wish to construct a bowl made of ice in which to pour the cocktail sauce, keeping your shrimp service uniformly cold and inviting. Make notes accordingly on your sketch.
- 5). Mark the dimensions of each surface of your ice mold on your preliminary sketch. Draw a line next to each surface and use the same units to identify each dimension; don't mark one surface in centimeters and the next in inches. Keep it uniform to make production of your ice mold as easy as possible.