Popsicles

[blue_dolphin]

1 minute ago, Smokeydoke said:

@blue_dolphin I'm thinking of making a bunch of these in ice cubes, then popping them in my blender in the morning and drinking it on the way to work.

 

That would work - less risk of melty drips in the car!

[Martin Fisher]

Made any savory popsicles?

“You could probably mix chicken stock and soy sauce, freeze it on a stick, and get a pretty interesting popsicle out of it.”

[Martin Fisher]

I used to think that Switchel (Haymaker's) electrolyte popsicles would be interesting during haymaking season—but I never did get around to making some.

We had Tupperware popsicle molds back in the day.

[BeeZee]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

That would work - less risk of melty drips in the car!

or...pop those chocolate cubes into some coffee for iced mocha coffee

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

Made any savory popsicles?

“You could probably mix chicken stock and soy sauce, freeze it on a stick, and get a pretty interesting popsicle out of it.”

 

Not truly savory, as they did contain some sugar, but back here I made paletas de sangrita (spiced tomato-tequila pops) - fresh tomatoes, simple syrup, tequila, lime juice and hot sauce.   There were also these spicy pineapple pops (paletas de piña con chile), sweeter than the tomato version but still spicy. 

A recipe recipe that intrigues me, but that I haven't tried yet are the Mexican Street-Corn Paletas .

 

1 hour ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

I used to think that Switchel (Haymaker's) electrolyte popsicles would be interesting during haymaking season—but I never did get around to making some.

Using a chicken stock base, a really jellied one, would be a good idea if you really wanted a truly savory pop since the sugar plays a role in texture that would need to be replaced if they're going to be popsicles and not just ice cubes.  

Not that electrolyte ice cubes wouldn't be a good thing during haymaking season !

[blue_dolphin]

Two more pops from Nopalito 

Paletas de Fresas (Strawberry Popsicles):

 

Paletas de Mango con Chile (Spicy Mango Popsicles):

 

Both of these are a fairly thick fruit purée (4 cups fruit + 1/4 cup orange juice) sweetened with agave nectar.  Strawberries were fresh from the farmers market but I used frozen mango chunks from Trader Joes. The strawberry version gets a little lime zest and the mango pops have chile powder added.  I reduced the amount of chile in the mango pops so it can be added to taste - I like Tajín for dipping because it has that little hit of salt & lime. 

 

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I've been admiring and drooling over @blue_dolphin's paleta-style popsicles for years now. When I was a kid we had the Tupperware molds, but just froze Kool-Aid in them. 

 

I don't have any molds now, and haven't had any way to get them, but I did find some paleta-style popsicles in the low end grocery store, Food Lion the last time I went and they are really quite good. The brand name is Solero, sounds Mexican, right? Well they are distributed by Iris Brands, LLC Minneapolis, MN. BUT, the ingredients on the box of six I bought (6-2.75 fl oz bars, net 16.5 fl oz, 487 ml) are only strawberries, water, sugar, lemon juice concentrate, carob gum, guar gum. So pretty good stuff.

 

I really like them. They are only 80 calories apiece, so not overly sweet, and you can really taste the fruit and the texture is there as well. Now, they are not tart enough for me, but I really like tart to offset sweet, so YMMV. I think they would benefit from a touch of citric acid to be perfect. I paid $3.00 for my box on sale, and they are normally $4.49 for the box of 6. So much more expensive than the colored sugar and artificially flavored ones, but not even in the same category. They also had pineapple ones in this brand on offer, but I didn't but any. Now I wish I had, plus more of the strawberry ones too! I can really recommend these commercial popsicles, which I would imagine are distributed on a national scale.

[blue_dolphin]

I turned 2 big, ripe peaches into 8 popsicles. 

Top row: Roasted peach & bourbon.  These are a little melty. I may have exceeded the recommended % EtOH for freezing 

Bottom row:  Peaches & cream

Both based on recipes in people's pops. Only 6 of 8 pops pictured due to QC testing. 

[blue_dolphin]

My first pass at El Diablo pops, based on the El Diablo cocktail as it appears in the Nopalito cookbook:  Tequila, lime juice, ginger beer and just a few dashes of cassis.

Not bad.  I added a little cassis to the mix, then added 2-3 drops to each mold to get sort of a gradient effect and that worked pretty well.  They are kind of icy since there's no fruit pulp, just juice. 

I think I'll try adding some cucumber purée to the next batch to see if that helps. 

Edited July 19, 2018 by blue_dolphin
to add link (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Blueberry, Buttermilk and Lime Parfait Popsicles

 

This is a riff on the Blueberry, Buttermilk and Lime Parfaits in Vivian Howard's Deep Run Roots cookbook.  In that recipe, she layers a blueberry jelly, buttermilk panna cotta, lime curd, buttermilk whipped cream and fresh blueberries in small jars or glasses.

The top layer is equal parts buttermilk and heavy cream, with a little vanilla extract, lime juice and some simple syrup to sweeten - similar to what's in the buttermilk panna cotta except for the gelatin. I dropped fresh blueberries, cut in half into this layer.

The middle layer is lime curd made with this quick blender method.  The curd was fairly thick so I didn't get a smooth layer between it and the blueberries.  I'll have to see if I can smooth it out better next time.

The bottom layer is pureed and strained blueberries, lime juice and zest and simple syrup.  Again, the same ingredients as in the parfait except for the gelatin.

 

The parfaits get topped with a Spiced Pecan and Pumpkin Seed Crumble but I left that off for now and called these close enough!

[blue_dolphin]

Two more peach pops.  Peach & Jalapeño from People's Pops

These use a jalapeño-infused simple syrup so I saved some of the chile slices to decorate the pops

 

The Paprika Peach Pie from Four and Twenty Blackbirds has been getting a lot of love lately in a baking group I follow so I used the same spices to flavor these pops: paprika, white pepper, allspice, ginger and Old Fashion bitters

I'd probably just call these spiced peach pops as the paprika doesn't really jump out head and shoulders over the rest. 

 

[blue_dolphin]

I'd made 5 each of the above jalapeño and paprika peach pops.  I sampled one of each and the remaining 8 pops went down to the folks manning the peach stand at yesterday's farmers market.  They gave me a bunch of free peaches so I can make more   

In the meantime, Galia melon & lime

 

Galia melon & blueberry

 

Edited July 27, 2018 by blue_dolphin (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Peach & Buttermilk

Top layer is 2 parts buttermilk, 1 part heavy cream, vanilla extract and a little simple syrup with chunks of fresh peach, bottom layer is roasted peach purée

 

Peach, buttermilk & bourbon

Roasted peaches, roughly blended with the same buttermilk mixture as above plus a little bourbon.

[blue_dolphin]

More peach pops using the peaches the farmers market guys gave me last week.  Both of the pops below are based on a purée of roasted peaches and also contain small chunks of fresh peach.

Roasted Peach & Basil

These are flavored with basil-infused simple syrup

 

Roasted Peach & Manzano Chile

I love the fruity flavor of manzano chiles and wanted to see how they would work but was disappointed that the fruitiness of the chiles just blended in with the peaches and didn't really stand out.  

They taste like peach pops but spicy.  Not bad, but the bright green flavor of jalapeño in the pops I made a few posts back makes for a more contrasting flavor. 

Below, you can see how pretty the slices of manzano chile looked after being simmered in the simple syrup to flavor it.  

I added some finely minced bits of candied chile to the pops and I think I'll try making a chile preserve or jelly with these chiles at some point.

 

[blue_dolphin]

Ambrosia melon & blueberry in the afternoon sunshine

 

[blue_dolphin]

Roasted peach & buttermilk, sweetened with a piloncillo syrup

 

A Cliff's Old Fashioned pop with roasted peach, coriander syrup, bourbon and angostura bitters

 

[blue_dolphin]

Watermelon & Parsley

This recipe is from People's Pops.  I made them previously with yellow watermelon.  Both times, I added small cubes of melon for texture.  

 

Later this AM, I'm packing up all the recent melon pops and taking them to the local farmstand where purchased the melons.  I checked last time I was there and they have a fridge with freezer where they can be kept.  We've got a heatwave starting today so I think they will be appreciated!

 

[Anna N]

55 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Later this AM, I'm packing up all the recent melon pops and taking them to the local farmstand where purchased the melons.  I checked last time I was there and they have a fridge with freezer where they can be kept.  We've got a heatwave starting today so I think they will be appreciated!

 What a very lovely idea. I am sure they will be very much appreciated.

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

 What a very lovely idea. I am sure they will be very much appreciated.

Yes, they were!  

And they gave me a free watermelon.  Now I can make more!

[blue_dolphin]

Peach & Blueberry - made with July Flame peaches which have a lot of red shot through the flesh, hence the bright color and yes, they really look like this!

I've been roasting the stone fruit and using them skin and all as recommended in People's Pops but these peaches were dead ripe so I figured I'd try peeling and puréeing them.  I added diced peaches after blending. The color and flavor are brighter this way.  Roasting adds deeper, warmer flavors from the caramelization and a creamier texture.  Both good.  I think this goes well with the blueberries and I think the peach guys at the market will like them.

Edited August 8, 2018 by blue_dolphin (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Cucumber, Lime & Ginger

[Duvel]

3 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Cucumber, Lime & Ginger

Lovely! Which ratios did you use ?

[blue_dolphin]

On 8/9/2018 at 1:43 PM, Duvel said:

Lovely! Which ratios did you use ?

 

Apologies for my tardy response.  I don't have exact ratios but here's what I did. 

I made a lime-ginger simple syrup by combining 200g granulated sugar + 220 ml water + the zest of 4 limes + ~ 2.5 cm ginger, microplaned, bringing it to a simmer for a min or two then setting it aside, covered to steep and cool  before straining through a fine sieve.   You can use more ginger and let it steep overnight before straining for more ginger flavor.

I used 1.5 cucumbers (~500g total), peeled, chopped and blended until fairly smooth. I add the lime and syrup to taste.  I believe I stirred in ~ 150 ml lime juice and 150 ml of the ginger-lime simple syrup.  

 

That made more than I needed for my 10-pop mold so I added the other half of the cucumber, a little regular simple syrup and used it in these Cucumber & Watermelon Pops.

 

 

[Shelby]

I always sit here and wish I was a recipient of your pops.  I should take time to make some of my own.   Laziness takes over lol.

 

Also, your handwriting is impeccable.  There is no way I could write that small and have it look that good.

[lindag]

8 minutes ago, Shelby said:

 

 

Also, your handwriting is impeccable.  There is no way I could write that small and have it look that good.

 

I was impressed with that too.