All of a sudden I needed popsicles. This has happened to me before, though. I knew I didn’t want the super sugary ones from the store, or even the purchased fresh fruit ones. I wanted to make some just the way I wanted them. I perused popular recipes online, then remembered how I had made popsicles from home canned pears not too long ago. I went to search my basement pantry for remnants of last year’s fruit canning efforts. Hmm. I seem to have not over canned fruit last year. That is the ONLY thing I didn’t store way too much of. Sigh. But I did have a couple of jars of Kirkland canned peaches, because I can never tell when cottage cheese and peaches will be just the thing for lunch, even with all the fresh summer fruit around.
The home canned pear popsicles I had made previously turned out quite nicely AND they were SO easy. All I did was pour a couple quart jars of the pears and their liquid into the blender and chop it all up. I use a medium sweet syrup when canning fruit. This was an excellent level of sweetness for the pear popsicles. After a light blending, that still left some pieces of pear, I poured the mixture into little plastic cups that were set up inside a plastic container that would serve as a shelf and spill guard in the freezer. I put clean popsicle sticks in the cups and set it all in the chest freezer. (click on any photo to enlarge)
The frozen pearsicles were a delicate, pleasing taste. I even can pears with the skins still on them, but skin was not at all noticeable after the blending and in the popsicles. To get the popsicles out of the plastic cups, I just had to hold the outside of the cup in my hand for a bit or run it under some water. Then, the popsicle slipped right out. They were not frozen as hard as ice cubes of pure water, but they were more the kind you suck on, rather than the kind you nibble on.
I decided to go ahead and make Peach-Strawberry-Cream popsicles this time around. I keep frozen strawberries in stock year round for making my fruit smoothies. (I didn’t just want to use my smoothie “recipe” because I freeze leftovers of that all the time and I wanted something that didn’t freeze quite as hard. The smoothies have enough ice in them that they freeze more like water.) I had cream (I wasn’t in the mood for anything too tart), and I would add 2 Tablespoons of granulated pure cane sugar and 1 Tablespoon of RealLemon juice. I didn’t measure the strawberries, but estimated the volume to be equal to that of the jar of peaches already in the blender. So, here is the ingredient list:
- 24 ounce jar of Kirkland brand peaches
- Frozen strawberries in amount equal to the peaches
- ½ cup fresh cream
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice concentrate
I should have put the frozen strawberries in first, since the blender would have been able to break them up better if they started on the bottom while I used the “crush ice” button. However, a little careful prodding with a long spatula helped them relocate. Even with this little issue, it hardly took a minute to blend it all.
Being inspired after my pearsicles, I had purchased a set of Tovolo Groovy Ice Pop Molds
Three hours later, they were ready to try. They were definitely nibbling popsicles, which I was very pleased about. They were frozen solid, but not hard, apparently having enough sugar and cream in them to made them easy to take little bites out of. The flavor was mild, as would be expected from peaches and strawberries. I couldn’t even taste the lemon in there. I might be tempted to put a bit more sugar in next time, but then I am known for liking my sweets. The current batch has been approved of by my fruit-loving daughter who thinks I often make things too sweet.
I think frozen and canned fruit may be the way to go for making quick, nutritious popsicles. Frozen fruit is basically the same as fresh fruit nutritionally. It is easy to store and easy to use. Canned fruit is not too bad nutritionally, and is extremely convenient for certain types of fruit. Pineapple, in particular, comes to mind. (Pina Colada popsicles are in my future with the coconut milk someone bought for a special baking project.) Of course, there are some kinds of fruit that are really only available fresh. It just depends on how much you want to peel and dice for your popsicles!
Six popsicle molds are not going to be enough for me, I can tell. The plastic cups are good in a pinch, but I find that making SOME popsicles has made me want to make MORE popsicles. I do have grandchildren to impress, after all. 🙂 I have put several types of popsicle molds in my amazon cart, but not checked out yet. There is one mold that is especially made with a handle easy for little people to grip and a much smaller popsicle. Who wants to go to Lulu’s and have a popsicle?!
In my amazon shopping cart:
Munchkin Click Lock Fresh Food Freezer Pops
Zoku Slow Pops: Classic Pop Molds
Sunsella Mighty Pops – 6 High Quality BPA Free Silicone Ice Pop Popsicle Molds
I started a pinterest popsicle board, too: Lulu Needs Popsicles
