We are sure the first thing you would have done this summer is gone out and bought yourself an air conditioner. However, if there’s one more thing we learned during a heatwave is that there is no easier way to stay cool than slurping on some tasty homemade icy popsicles. Homemade delicious pops are super easy to make and help in keeping those creative juices flowing because you have an infinite number of combinations to play with. It is a much healthier alternative as you get to pick all the ingredients and sugar contents in them.
Why So Nutty?
This season has been all about mixing and matching to find that perfect recipe that’s not only delicious but uses natural ingredients to add colour and flavour that makes them that much more mouth-watering. The texture of a popsicle is almost as important as the taste if not more! If you prefer a drier, less sticky pop, then add fewer ingredients to the mix and more water. The more sweetener you add, the softer and more biteable the texture will become. For all the sour candy lovers out there adding a bit of citric acid to the mix can help give you that unique sour flavour and some extra bite as well. Pureed fruit, either fresh or frozen, can be mixed in to give the popsicles a sorbet-like texture. Milk (either cow, almond, soy or coconut), whipped cream, coconut cream, Greek yogurt, and condensed milk can all be used to help create a creamier, more ice-cream-like popsicle.
The blue matcha powder is one ingredient we have recently brought in and have fallen in love with everything about it. These micro milled butterfly pea flowers are handpicked and dried from a cooperative of over 100 sustainably run and women-led micro-farms in rural Thailand. Once milled they form an indigo-colored powder that has been trending on social media for quite a while now. You may have seen them being used in soothing turquoise-toned smoothie bowls, electric blue baked goods, or in unicorn-coloured cocktails at bars and restaurants.
Other than its mild taste and being naturally caffeine-free, the blue matcha, like blueberries, contain a high concentration of a blue-violet pigment called anthocyanin. The colour of this natural pigment changes with the acidity of its environment. It starts out vibrant blue and is slowly transformed into purple and then magenta as you add an acidic ingredient, like lemon juice to the mix. We know what you thinking, rainbow popsicles here we come!
There are so many ingredients that are perfect to make popsicles! For example berries, bananas, apples, pineapples, and melons can all be incorporated into your pops to make them even more satisfying. Cookies and candies help make your popsicles sweeter, super fun, and more kid-friendly. Tapioca pearls are an amazing option too because they are both sweet and savory, and become enjoyably chewy as the popsicles thaw.
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