Freezy Pops

I love them. But I have always wondered how they get them to freeze in a consistent, flaky manner? Even if frozen solid, it will flake with little pressure. If you freeze Kool-Aid you get a solid block of ice surrounded by a sludge of sugar and flavor.

My guess is there is an added emulsifier that somehow gets the sugar-flavor sludge, if not to freeze, at least not to seperate from the liquid and coloring. I may have answered my own question, but clue me in anyway. The brand I got did not list ingredients.

not to ignore your question… but if you bought it in the US it’s gotta list the ingredients.

I’d be willing to bet the answer has somethign to do with the amount of sugar in it.

Oh, I know this one. I spend all summer making popsicles so as to save on the Sno-Cone Man bills. :rolleyes:

It’s not an emulsifier, and it’s not only the sugar–you have to add gelatin to get that popsicle texture.

Here’s my recipe from the Jello booklet:

[ul]
[li]1 large package (6 oz.) Jello mix[/li][li]1 package Kool-Aid (in a matching or complementary flavor–duh)[/li][li]2 cups sugar (yes, that’s 2 cups :eek: )[/li][li]4 cups boiling water (and it has to be a really rolling boil, otherwise the Jello won’t dissolve properly[/li][li]4 cups cold water)[/li][/ul]

Dissolve the Jello in the boiling water (you can dump the Kool-Aid and sugar in there, too.) Then add the cold water. Now, I find that it turns into actual popsicles faster if you pour it into a wide shallow heavy glass or crockery bowl and let it cool off on the counter for a few minutes.

I use 5 oz. paper Dixie cups (not the 3 oz. bathroom size, which aren’t big enough to keep a kid happy–“hey, how come these are so teeny?”) and you can get those wooden popsicle sticks at any craft store (Hobby Lobby, the craft department of Wal-Mart, etc.), in big boxes. Don’t get stuck paying through the nose for those tiny packets of, like, 20 popsicle sticks for $2.99 that the upscale “arts and crafts for Grandma” stores sell. Go to Hobby Lobby and get the huge 2 lb. box for $1.99. And try not to think about the fact that trees died so you could have popsicle sticks. :smiley:

Set the Dixie cups in a cake pan, so when somebody opens the freezer door too fast and things spill, you have containment.

It takes about 3 hours in my freezer for slushies (can be eaten with a spoon), and 5 to 6 hours for “hard enough to slide it out of the cup and eat it”.

Eat it over a bowl, or outside, as it’s too big to get it all in your mouth (unless you’re a porn star :smiley: ) and it will drip.

DDG, my mom made popsicles using what must have been a very similar recipe. Thanks for posting it and reminding me of the wonderfulness. She used a set of Tupperware popsicle molds, though, which were just the right size. The “sticks,” which were attached to little lids which eliminated the freezer-bumping problem, became permanently stained with Jello colors and were great for chewing on after the popsicle was gone - no splinters!