There is nothing quite like a popsicle to cool you off on a really hot summer day. And while it’s easy to keep a box or two in the freezer, ready for when the temperature rises, knowing how to make a great popsicle means you’re only about five hours away from eating your own bespoke mixture.
You might think you do nothing more to make popsicles than pureeing some fruit, adding a bit of sugar, pouring them into a mold, and popping them in the freezer, but it’s good to remember that water plus freezing equals ice, and all fruit has a high percentage of water. Yes, you want your popsicle to be ice-cold, but you don’t want it to be ice-hard. Texture is as important as flavor in a popsicle. So your goal is to keep ice crystal formation small rather than large, which will result in a softer texture. You don’t want to break a tooth on a popsicle.
Press Play Producer Sarah Sweeney and I both made popsicles this weekend. She had the best result by following a tried and true recipe. Try the Classic Dole Whip Popsicles.
There are many ways to create popsicles with a pleasing texture and avoid the rock-hard bite. Sugar, dairy, cornstarch, gelatin, pectin, and alcohol all help keep ice crystal formation small, which makes for a softer texture. Most recipes use sugar and dairy to ensure good texture, but often recipes are oversweet, and even with dairy, you can get a rock-hard popsicle, so it’s fun to experiment by adding a bit of cornstarch, the easiest to use in my opinion to your recipe. Cornstarch prevents ice crystal formation, and adding just a tablespoon to your mixture when blending will help keep the result more creamy, even when you don’t use cream. Try it! It’s a trick some ice cream makers use. If your recipe calls for adding water, try using coconut milk instead of the flavor aligns. That bit of fat can make the difference.
Adding a bit of cornstarch to a popsicle recipe made with cucumber, water, and golden syrup creates a softer, more pleasing texture. Photo by Evan Kleiman.
Although many of us avoid sugar as much as possible, it performs two tasks in popsicles. Freezing dulls our sense of sweetness, so think of sugar as a flavoring aid. It’s also key to taming ice crystal formation and thus helps avoid rock-hard pops. Sugar is hygroscopic, aka water attracting, and it lowers the freezing temperature of water. While there are many types of sugars you can use — from agave syrup to honey to invert sugars like corn syrup — granulated sugars work just fine and allow the main flavors in your popsicles to shine.
Let’s talk about “seasoning” popsicles. I don’t mean the addition of flavors, but rather the additions that will round out the flavor profile you’re choosing and will make your popsicles, well, pop. A pinch of salt and a tiny hit of acid in the form of lemon or lime (whichever best suits your fruit) makes a world of difference.
Another way to manage texture in popsicles is to add dairy. This carefully tested recipe for Mango Yogurt Popsicles uses full fat Greek yogurt and a bit of heavy cream to ensure a yielding texture. Use the sweeter Ataulfo mangos, which are smaller with a pointier end than the fibrous and much less sweet variety more often seen in supermarkets. You can usually find the Ataulfo variety in Indian, Latino, and Filipino markets, as well as from vendors selling on the street.
When I go to Mateo’s, the famed Mexican paleta chain here in the Southland, for my popsicle fix, I always end up getting tamarind pops. I’m addicted to the particular type of spiced sourness that tamarind provides. I found this recipe for Tamarind and Palm Sugar Popsicles with Chile Salt from gifted recipe developer Sohla El-Waylly. The recipe is next level for tinkerers. She uses a little bit of gelatin to keep the texture from freezing hard, as well as the palm sugar we talked about a few weeks ago for a more complex sweetness.