[Heineken]

As long as you have all that freezing air going to waste in your freezer, why not make your own popsicles?

Instead of, say, buying a pack of six Edie's strawberry popsicles for a ridiculous $3.25.

I recently bought some popsicle molds and will be making my own--a batch of 14 at a time. Just dump stuff like yogurt, bananas, and fruit juice into your mixer, churn it up, pour into the molds, insert the sticks, and freeze. You can tailor the flavor in any way you please, unlike the rigid choices the stores lock you into.

Since I also make my own yogurt for just 20 cents per six-ounce container, my popsicles will cost vastly less than even a quality fruit popsicle like Edie's. And they'll be just as good or better (I've already experimented using a primitive mold of my own---a glass).

The popsicle sticks you can recycle instead of throwing away. Over a lifetime of popsicle eating, you'll save a tree---more than that when you factor in the packaging you won't be buying.

A low-cal, healthy way to satisfy your hungry urges, get more control over what you eat, and waste less money in supermarkets.

[ohanian]

These things run in cycles.


(1) Everyone used to make their own XXX for $1 each

(2) Commercial companies starts to market prepackage XXX for $0.20 each

(3) Over time, everyone stop making their own XXX

(4) Commercial companies starts adding "premium" ingredients to justify raising the price to $0.40

(5) Over time, greed for profits drives commercial XXX over $1.60 each

(6) Everyone started to make their own XXX for $1 each again

[gg3]

I remember having something like that when I was a kid; the molds came with lids that had built-in plastic sticks so they were reusable forever.

Wash them like any other dishes when done, though look for molds that are rated "dishwasher safe" for high temperature water. You do not want to get bacteria growing in the corners & crevices of those things.

If you can't find molds, get an ice cube tray and pour the stuff in there. Then you can also grind up the resulting ice cubes into something like a sno-cone, or grind 'em up and mix in some unfrozen fruit juice for something like a slush drink. For this you can use a hand-powered ice crusher, which costs about $10 - 20.

Regular fruit juice works nicely, any type you like. Also lemonade and similar types of summer beverages. If you're using fruit juice made from concentrate, e.g. frozen orange juice, use less water than otherwise, so it's sweeter when you freeze it.

Strictly speaking the air in the freezer isn't "free," but the added energy consumption for freezing juice into popsicles is minimal.

One more safety note. Don't chew on ice cubes, that is a good way to cause invisible cracks in your tooth enamel that can become painful and expensive to fix years later.

[ohanian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gg3', 'I') remember having something like that when I was a kid; the molds came with lids that had built-in plastic sticks so they were reusable forever.

Wash them like any other dishes when done, though look for molds that are rated "dishwasher safe" for high temperature water. You do not want to get bacteria growing in the corners & crevices of those things.

[Heineken]

Mold and bacteria growth shouldn't be an issue, since the popsicle forms are seamless. Just wash as you would wash dishes.

The marginal cost of freezing popsicles along with the other stuff in your freezer should be truly minuscule.

Since the popsicles are rather yielding and chewy in the mouth, and not at all like ice cubes, there should be no danger to your tooth enamel.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ohanian', '(')3) Over time, everyone stop making their own XXX

[WisJim]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gg3', 'I') remember having something like that when I was a kid; the molds came with lids that had built-in plastic sticks so they were reusable forever.

[gg3]

Ahh yes, lots of moulds in various colours.

Bloody Americanised English....

[Heineken]

deleted---dupe post

[Heineken]

[quote="WisJim]I think that the last time I bought popsicles in a box at the store they were 29cents for the box--does that make me older than dirt??[/quote]

There's still a tremendous range in popsicle prices, Jim, just as there is a tremendous range in quality.

I'm talking about a healthy adult food here, not the syrupy-sweet, artifically colored, artificially flavored trash this society feeds its children. You can still get the latter fairly cheaply (although not for 29 cents a box, certainly).

The only thing that begins to qualify as the former are the Edy's fruit popsicles, which at the local store run around $3.25 for a box of six.

I think that the homemade fruit popsicles I will make can contribute substantially to my diet, since I've been eating a couple of the Edy's items every day for several years now. They're fairly healthy, just not healthy enough, and as I say they cost too damned much.

[Fergus]

We do this with kool-aid. Make a batch and pour it in Ice trays and cover with saran wrap. poke a tooth pike through for the stick and freeze. Haven't put in fruit or other stuff, but thats not a bad idea. We have a food chopper up thingy, maybe blend the fruit to a liquid and pour in. May have to try that.

[Heineken]

That's the idea, Fergus. Dump the Kool-Aid and use yogurt, fruit, and fruit juice. Bananas in particular impart a smooth, creamy consistency.

[Fergus]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'T')hat's the idea, Fergus. Dump the Kool-Aid and use yogurt, fruit, and fruit juice. Bananas in particular impart a smooth, creamy consistency.

[keekles]

Nice thread.

You have to wait until winter, but you could also scoop yourself a big, heaping bowl of newly fallen snow from your yard and mix it with a can of sweetened chocolate condensed milk.
Depending on your level of trust in the amount of pollution in your area, it is quite a tasty treat!

[Heineken]

Alas, it doesn't snow much here in central VA, keekles. Used to, but the rain/snow line has migrated north, gratis of global warming.

[Heineken]

Tip for healthy-popsicle chefs: Don't use a blender. It injects too much air into the material, which subsequently doesn't freeze hard enough and ends up containing large ice crystals. The resulting popsicles don't hold together well and melt too fast, and those large crunchy ice crystals aren't very palatable.

Or, if you do use a blender, let the mixture sit overnight in the fridge so that the air bubbles can dissipate.

As you may gather, my popsicle molds arrived, and I'm learning how to achieve the perfect healthy popsicle. So far I've had the best results with plain ol' grape juice. My experiment with the bananas, yogurt, juice, etc., in the blender didn't go well for the reasons discussed. Might have worked if I had let the mixture sit overnight.

[Heineken]

Another tip: Unfortunately, I've found it's necessary to add about 1 teaspoon of sugar for each popsicle you make. This retards the formation of large ice crystals, which are a significant problem otherwise. A little coffee creamer or something similar containing a vegetable gum also helps provide smoothness.

Never thought I'd be a food chemist.

Here is one recipe I've already designed. It's for making eight 3-oz popsicles (provided by "Castle" popsicle molds, a brand I recommend, and available via Amazon.com).

In a blender, mix together 1 20-oz can of Dole's pineapple chunks and their juice, 1 oz of Welch's grape juice, 1 oz of orange juice, half a small banana, 8 teaspoons of sugar, and a tablespoon of International Delight coffee creamer.

Let the mixture stand in the refrigerator for two hours to allow some of the air injected by the blending action to escape.

Insert the sticks and freeze.

And enjoy real fruit popsicles better than Edy's for less than half the price!

[mommy22]

One other thing you can do along those lines is with your jam jars. When you get to the end of your jam jars, fill with water, add a little sugar or sweetener of your choice, put the lid on and shake. Pour into your molds, and pop into freezer. One of my methods of recycling! Use it up!

[gg3]

Re. plain grape juice: Yes, plenty sweet enough to do the job. However be careful how many of those you eat at one sitting. Grape juice, frozen or otherwise, can be a very effective laxative.

Re. blenders: Slow-speed mixing with an eggbeater may be a viable alternative. Overnight in the fridge may not be sufficient to get out all the air bubbles, due to the viscosity of the mix. Some kind of vibration or shaking might help.

[Heineken]

I've refined my techniques. I'm back to using a blender. And I use only three teaspoons of sugar for every eight popsicles (for me, one batch).

Add a lot of things like pineapple, apple, and banana---they create suspended solids that interfere with ice-crystal formation. Yes, grape juice works well. And a dash of half-and-half.

It would be good to get a hold of some guar or locust bean gum, but I haven't been able to find a way to purchase any despite a lot of Googling. Guar gum really kills the ice crystals and provides smooth consistency. It's also good for you.