The physics of freezer pops

[Otto]

I've recently become addicted to Kool Aid Kool Pops. Why don't they freeze uniformly? They come 24 to a box and aren't arranged in any particular pattern. If I leave them in the box, they don't freeze. If I take them out of the box and spread them out on the floor of the freezer compartment, they freeze but in odd order. The ones on top freeze faster than the ones on the bottom. Sometimes of two that are attached, one will be frozen solid and the other totally liquid, then when I separate them the other freezes quickly. This doesn't happen with water in the ice cube trays. Obviously, the other ingredients are having some effect on the freezing point of the pops. Anyone have any idea though why there would be such a radical difference from pop to pop? They come in four flavors and colors, but I haven't noticed any flavor or color that tends not to freeze any more than any other. The longest I've let them sit in the box without any of them freezing is about 24 hours.

[Padeye]

Your Kelvinator has bad mojo.

Barring that your freezer may not have good air cirulation. It's rare to find one that freezes things uniformly.

[douglips]

Given enough time they should all freeze. Be patient.

Or, turn down the temperature setting in your freezer. The rule of thumb is to turn it so that ice cream is not soft.

What Padeye said, plus it depends on how full the freezer compartment is. The ideal is supposed to be not crammed full all the way to the top; leave some room for air circulation. And yeah, 24 hours is about right for a whole box of Kool Pops to freeze. Be patient--it just means you have to plan ahead, see...

Or buy a big mo-fo 14 cubic foot chest freezer. Total elapsed freezing time for 24 Kool Pops in one of those babies is about 90 minutes. (Your results may vary.)