One good thing about the summer heat is it makes great weather for eating frozen pops. Frozen pops are the perfect dessert option because you can make them with healthy ingredients like fruit and yogurt. If you’ve never made pops at home, here are some things to consider.
The Right Pop Mold
Frozen pop molds come in all shapes and sizes. Some molds are actually quite large, making pops that are 4.5 oz (in comparison, a Locopop is 3 oz.). If you want smaller pops, look for a pop mold for kids. (These often come in fun shapes!)
Some molds include reusable sticks, while some require you to use wooden sticks. If you plan to make only one batch of pops at a time, the reusable sticks will save money and materials. A bonus is that some reusable sticks are designed with a “drip tray.” However, if you plan to make lots of pops, removing them from the molds to make more, you’ll need a pop mold that isn’t limited by the number of sticks available, so you’ll want to go with wooden sticks.
Finally, if you’re on a budget, you can make mini-pops using an ice cube tray and wooden sticks. These pops may not look Instagram-worthy, but they’ll still taste cool and refreshing.
Method
A few basic methods can be used to make frozen fruit pops:
- Puree: All fruits, whether soft or tough, can be conquered by machine! Use a food processor to puree your ingredients, then pour the puree into the molds.
- Mash: Some fruits, like watermelon, are soft enough to mash by hand. Create your mash and pack it into the molds.
- Binder: Small fruits like blueberries, kiwi slices, or chunks of mango can be used whole in frozen pops, but you’ll need a liquid binder, like fruit juice, coconut milk, or yogurt.
With any method, you can fill the entire mold at once, or you can fill it in sections to create a fancier pop, for example, with stripes of color or pieces of fruit contained in one section.
Recipes
Here are some recipes we collected around the office for frozen pops made with summer fruits.
- Mango lime, pureed in a food processor, with optional chili powder
- Watermelon with lime and mint
- Whole grapes with a binder of lemonade
- Whole blueberries in rich and creamy Carolina Culture yogurt
- Adult pops, like a frozen lime daiquiri pop (use enough water or juice that the pop can freeze)
More ingredient ideas and tips are available here:
https://www.jessicagavin.com/make-your-own-homemade-fruit-popsicles/
And more recipe ideas—with inspiring photos—are available here:
https://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g830/popsicle-recipes-0709/
Our stores are filled with summer fruit like melons, peaches, plums, and blueberries. Take advantage of the season and enjoy frozen pops for dessert. And check our Facebook page next week (August 5, 2019) for a chance to win frozen dessert pop ingredients!