Popsicles

[heidih]

45 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

They really do! I've thought about how much fun it would be to visit @blue_dolphinand raid her freezer!  😆

 

I think she is one of those special people who shares them all with her circle of friends and acquaintances   So maybe not a packed freezer.

[blue_dolphin]

How fun would it be to have everyone come by for popsicles! I love to share them.  At Thursday's farmers market, my stone fruit peeps from Tenerelli Orchards got peaches & cream and satsuma plum & yogurt pops.  I received a bag of white nectarines from them which will be making their popsicle appearance soon.  The Harry's Berries guy got strawberries & cream pops and my herb guy got a  strawberry & mint pop.  It was dreadfully hot so they were appreciated. 

I have a small box packed up for my next door neighbors and another one waiting for me to make more non-dairy pops to be sent to a friend with a vegan daughter but there are still pops to share and more to be made!   

Peaches are roasting in the CSO at the moment for some peach & ginger pops.... 

 

[teonzo]

5 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

That fig/saffron combo really sings!

 

I'm really glad you liked it! I was really surprised the first time I tasted it, I wasn't expecting something so good.

If you want to try other pairings with figs: rosemary; chestnut honey (add it with a light hand); savory herb (tried this the other day just for curiosity, loved it).

 

 

 

Teo

 

[blue_dolphin]

Peach & Ginger:

 

Peach, Ginger & Cream:

 

I wasn't sure about adding cream to these, but I made some roasted pear with ginger & cream one time that were good so I figured it was worth a try.   Now I have pops for the creamy pop neighbors and the friends' vegan daughter!

[blue_dolphin]

Plum & White Nectarine.  These were the last of the vibrant Satsuma plums and the white nectarines were freebies from my farmers market peeps.

I wanted to do something to show off their pretty color but they are clings, not freestone so pretty slices weren't going to happen and this was the next best option. I'll be sharing these when I visit their booth on Thursday. 

[blue_dolphin]

White Nectarine & Raspberry

Pock-marked pops!

Edited August 26, 2020 by blue_dolphin (log)

[heidih]

No just raspberries asserting themselves - as always

[blue_dolphin]

On 8/17/2020 at 3:48 AM, teonzo said:

If you are open to experiments then I would suggest to try pineapple + coconut + star anise.

Thanks for another great flavor combination!

Coconut and Pineapple with Star Anise:

 

The pineapple part has the star anise added, the coconut does not.  I liked pineapple/star anise combo a lot.  I made an infused syrup with whole star anise and also added some ground. Could have used more.  

Maybe I should have mixed the layers together but the contrast of the two is kind of nice. 

 

Edited to add that the guy I buy the figs from at the farmers market liked the saffron & fig pops.  He thought my idea of figs on pizza was an abomination so I wasn't sure what he'd think of the pops 🙃

Edited August 28, 2020 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Edited to add that the guy I buy the figs from at the farmers market liked the saffron & fig pops.  He thought my idea of figs on pizza was an abomination so I wasn't sure what he'd think of the pops 🙃

 

Wonderful example of individual taste and taste imagination.    Figs on pizza are a given for me, but I have to think a moment about a fig pop.    However, if you say so....

[blue_dolphin]

The coconut pops were a big hit last time so I made another batch:

The original recipe from Paletas included sweetened condensed milk and half & half.  I substituted sweetened condensed coconut milk, coconut cream and cashew milk to make them non-dairy for my friend's vegan daughter.

[BeeZee]

@blue_dolphin How do you wrap your pops once you remove them from the molds?

Edited August 29, 2020 by BeeZee
Grammar (log)

[blue_dolphin]

2 minutes ago, BeeZee said:

@blue_dolphin How do you wrap your pops once you remove them from the molds?

 

 

I use the snack-size zip-top bags.  I know plastic is the devil but it keeps them from picking up freezer odors and it's easy for giving them away.

After unmolding, I put them back into the freezer for a little while to firm up before I bag them up.  If you try to bag them as you unmold, the bags get smeary. 

[heidih]

3 minutes ago, BeeZee said:

@blue_dolphin How do you wrap your pops once you remove them from the molds?

 

 

Great question (do I sound like a horrible media person) but it is a great question. When we were kids the moms just left them in the molds until we wee begging.

[BeeZee]

I’m jumping in on this, ordering molds from Amazon. DH loves having fruit pops after dinner and I like the idea of mixing in some coconut milk, or yogurt, for variety.

[teonzo]

On 8/28/2020 at 11:22 PM, blue_dolphin said:

The pineapple part has the star anise added, the coconut does not.  I liked pineapple/star anise combo a lot.  I made an infused syrup with whole star anise and also added some ground. Could have used more.  

Maybe I should have mixed the layers together but the contrast of the two is kind of nice.

 

Visually you made the best choice possible, those look wonderful. I think that having the 2 distinct layers is much better for the consumer, people can choose which layer to get with each bite, if you mix the layers you limit this choice. Besides that, it's the best visual appearance, at least to my eyes.

About star anise, if you can make the infusion with the whole spice then it's the better choice for the visual. If you add the ground star anise then the pineapple layer will turn brown... a strong yellow like the ones in the photo is a much better color.

 

I'm glad you liked my suggestions!

 

 

 

Teo

 

[blue_dolphin]

I had a basket of nice Harry's Berries strawberries that needed to be used so I made a variety of pops. 

From left to right:  

Strawberry & Cream - pour ~ 1T cream down one side of the mold and fill with lightly sweetened strawberry purée

Strawberry & Milk - this is from Anna Jones book, The Modern Cook's Year.  She blends ~ equal quantities of milk (cow, oat or nut, I used cow) with the strawberry purée.   

Strawberry & Yogurt - fill molds half & half with strawberry purée and yogurt sweetened with honey and thinned with a little milk, then swirl with a stick

 

I've made the cream and yogurt versions before and prefer the contrast of separate fruit and dairy over the blended version in the middle.  The punch of the fruit is diluted and it's kind of boring. 

 

[blue_dolphin]

Excessive heat warning in effect here through Monday night.

 

Passion fruit & yogurt:

Got the passion fruits at the farmers market.  Should have bought more but this was sufficient for a test run

 

Peach & yogurt:

 

Fig, goat cheese & honey

I considered adding some chopped, toasted walnuts to the goat cheese mixture. Consulted with my cousin, who thought it was a bad idea so I left them out.  I've got a bit of that mixture left so I'll try freezing up a little ice cube with nuts so I can see.  

 

 

[BeeZee]

My first pops...had 1/2 cup blueberries so made a half batch blueberry yogurt swirl. The blueberries are cooked just a couple of minutes and mashed with a bit of sugar to make compote. I added a bit of creme de cassis. For the cream portion, it is greek yogurt or skyr (my choice), sugar, and heavy cream. Very delicious. I have to work on my stick insertion skills.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

Nice pops, @BeeZee!  I love blueberry and the addition of cassis sounds perfect.  

 

On 8/29/2020 at 10:16 AM, BeeZee said:

@blue_dolphin How do you wrap your pops once you remove them from the molds?

 

 

Re-answering your question because I ran out of snack-sized zip top bags the other day and didn't need anything else from the store so I ordered these popsicle bags from Amazon.  

They have an adhesive strip so don't need separate stickers like some similar bags.  You put the pops into the bags, peel off the protective strip to expose the adhesive and fold it over. The result is a more professional appearance than the zip tops.  Also, less bulky for freezer storage.

The price, $6.99/200, is comparable to what I pay at Target for the zippies.  I'm sure the pros have better options for volume purchases of such things but these seem a reasonable option for me. Since they're just folded over instead of zipped, there may be implications for odor transfer or freezer burn.  Right now, I'm giving them away at a brisk pace so I'm not too worried but will keep an eye on it. 

[BeeZee]

Good to know about the bags. I wrapped my pops in saran and put in a tupperware type of container, I loathe wrangling saran wrap.

[blue_dolphin]

It's supposed to be 108°F today.  These roasted peach & bourbon pops will be on the menu for later in the day. 

Note they are modeling their new bags 🙃

 

 

[FauxPas]

3 hours ago, BeeZee said:

I loathe wrangling saran wrap.

 

Such a great word to describe the process! I know exactly what you mean, and it applies in a wider context as well.  😃

[heidih]

53 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

Such a great word to describe the process! I know exactly what you mean, and it applies in a wider context as well.  😃

 

Oh I have tried customer service with the big kids, not just the generics - "we will get back to you". Is there no quality control on foil or plastic wrap? It is over compressed and squished at the ends so it does not unroll as it should. Those bags looks great for the pops and a nice presentation when gifting.

I have no allotted freezer space but it is nasty hot here - 97F - so just looking at Kadir Nelson's cover which is pinned to my  board cools me a bit. Rocket pop - right?  

Edited September 6, 2020 by heidih (log)

[blue_dolphin]

While the layers in my pops don't look quite as pretty as the one held by the young gentleman above, they do taste pretty good. 

Blueberry, mascarpone & peach

[BeeZee]

No photo, because really they aren't visually exciting (dull brown), but I made "old school" chocolate Jello pudding pops. Not quite the same texture as I remember from the 1980's, but fun for the whimsy factor and my husband was happy.