How To Make Slow-Melting Popsicles
DIY Frozen Treats are Cheaper, (and Sometimes) Healthier
Jun 23, 2009
Sticky hands often mean that sugar or juice is in the mix of a popsicle. When they melt, a runny, gummy mess ensues. Adding gelatine to your popsicle mix slows this process down, without taking away the flavour.
While making your own Popsicles from a powdered fruit drink mix isn’t healthy, it can be less expensive than buying the pre-packaged, store-bought version: Currently, Slow Melt Popsicles are sold between $5 and $6 CAD. Wrappers and wooden sticks also wind up in landfills, which means more waste is generated, not to mention the carbon footprint it creates through mass production, transportation and storage.
Making Your Own Popsicles
While there are a variety of cute shapes from rockets to sailboats, a fancy mould isn’t a “must” to make popsicles. While choosing a reusable, BPA-free option is ideal, paper cups with a wooden Popsicle stick or re-usable plastic spoon work just as well.
Here are some Popsicle recipes that are as easy as using a powdered fruit drink, and are healthier: The added gelatine slows the melting process, by jelling the contents together. The loose rule is one teaspoon of unflavoured gelatine for every cup of liquid, but you can experiment with your batches.
- Blend some fruit and/or berries together and strain them to get the seeds out.
- Pour the fruit into a saucepan, and add 1 teaspoon of unflavoured gelatine for every cup of liquid.
- Once the fruit comes to a boil, remove from heat and pour into the popsicle moulds:
Make sure the moulds are cooled before putting them into your freezer. Always remember to leave a ¼ to ½ inch space at the top, to leave room for the liquid to expand when it freezes.
Popsicle Recipe Ideas
If you want more vitamins, and less cooking, throw the fruit into a blender, strain out the seeds, and pour them directly into your moulds. Without the gelatine, they will melt faster, but the flavour will still be much the same.
- Use a pastry brush and “paint” the sides of your mould with melted chocolate, or chocolate syrup. Freeze the mould, and fill with fruit or lightly thawed ice cream.
- For creamy tasting popsicles, fill moulds with a vanilla flavoured yogurt or coconut milk, and combine with your choice of fruit.
- Layer different kinds of flavours: Blend one kind of fruit, like blackberries and fill the mould one third of the way with it. Let it freeze for an hour, then fill the other third with puréed cherries, and the final third with a flavoured yogurt, for a striped Popsicle.
- Use beets as a natural colouring: It mixes well with fruit, being sweet itself, and adds a deep rich purple or pink, depending on how much you use.
- Make your own pudding pops: Make an instant pudding and fill the moulds with your favourite flavour.
Alcohol-Infused Popsicles – For Grown Ups Who Refuse to Grow Up
Alcohol freezes at a much lower temperature than fruit or dairy. A fruit and/or cream mixture, such as fruit mash or yogurt can be added to most low-volume liqueurs, and make sure your freezer is set at its lowest possible setting. An alcohol that is between 3% to 4% alcohol, and combined with fruit would be one way to get the mixture to freeze.
One popular example is the Midori Melon Pop: A combination of Midori melon liqueur is diluted with ripe honeydew melon so it can freeze. When making alcoholic popsicles, keep them out of the reach of children, or label them accordingly.
The Popsicle is a registered trademark; so many commercial recipe sites may refer to their creations as “pops” or “ice treats,” so keep that terminology in mind when searching for recipes on the web. A look at Epicurious.com can yield some great ideas as to what to make for an easy summertime treat.
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