Ah, summertime.
If there are only two things I know about summer, they’re these:
1. Fresh food proliferates. Whether it’s in your garden or the blackberry bushes by the side of the road, the bounty of the harvest all summer long is truly that… bounteous.
2. Most of the time, it’s hot.
So, given these 2 axioms, what better way to celebrate summer than to indulge regularly in cold, refreshing, nourishing popsicles, packed with seasonal delights?
Many of these popsicles are a pairing of fruit and herbs. This is inspired by the Mexican tradition of adding herbs or spices to fruit juices and nectars before they’re made into paletas. This stimulates the immune system to help cool you more efficiently and arouses the senses, thus helping you relish your cold treat all the more.
Each of these recipes makes approximately 3 cups of liquid, which is about 1 batch of popsicles in this popsicle mold. I developed and tested each of these recipes in that mold, so I can’t guarantee exactly how many ice pops each recipe will make in other molds, but I can more or less guarantee the volume of each recipe, which will have to suffice, I’m afraid. 🙂
Sugar Syrup in Popsicles? But I Want to Avoid Sugar!
You may also notice that many of these recipes include an added sugar syrup — which may seem ridiculous when most of us are trying to avoid the stuff and we’re already blending fruit! However, there are 3 reasons why we include a sugar syrup (made with evaporated cane juice or honey, of course):
1. Sugar provides a better flavor.
Like salt, sugar helps bring out flavor. Surprisingly, many of these popsicles are actually rather bland without a bit of added sugar — freezing juices requires a deeper, more intense flavor just to taste “normal”. The herb flavors also dwell more harmoniously with the fruit flavors when there’s a bit of sugar present.
2. Sugar provides a better texture.
The water content in most fruit and some vegetables is quite high, so it causes popsicles to freeze more like an ice cube than like a creamy, slightly bite-able treat. Thus, fruits which have a high water content (such as watermelon, cucumber, and strawberries) freeze into very solid popsicles and by adding a bit of sugar, we change the phase a bit, resulting in a slightly softer, more manageable popsicle.
It also helps with separation. Anything with a high water content will separate slightly during the freezing process, with the water ending up at the tip and the creamier ingredients on top. Granted, Jennifer McGruther capitalizes on this in these gorgeous Cultured Coconut Mango popsicles where the coconut water separates out slightly, so perhaps this separation isn’t a bit deal. It’s up to what you like, but just know that a sugar syrup helps minimize separation.
3. Sugar provides a medium for the herbs.
If you blend the herbs directly into the popsicle mixture, the herb pieces will float to the top as the popsicle mixture sits in the freezer. This results in a not-very-present flavor at the tip of the popsicle, but an overwhelming flavor closer to the bottom as you’re eating.
If You Must Go Sugar-Free…
Go ahead and make any of these popsicles without the added sugar syrup. To do so, steep the herbs in an equal portion of boiling water to the amount of sugar syrup called for in the recipe, then proceed with the recipe as described when the water is cool. Sugar-free popsicles will be “icier” than regular popsicles.
With that, go enjoy the summer!
Need a sugar-free popsicle for your toddler to help with dehydration? Make breastmilk popsicles!
Tips for Making Perfect Popsicles
1. If you are using molds that require wooden popsicle sticks rather than preformed handles, don’t add the popsicle sticks right away. Instead, pour the popsicle mix into the molds, let freeze for about an hour (set a timer!), then add the popsicle sticks. This will help the popsicle sticks stay upright in the lid, it keeps the sticks from floating to the top, and helps the popsicle mixture adhere better to the sticks. (It’s always frustrating when you’re removing popsicles from the mold and the stick comes out but the popsicle does not!)
2. When making especially creamy popsicles, such as the Carrot Pops or Honey Avocado Popsicles below, you may also want to soak the wooden handles in water for about an hour before adding them to the popsicles, as this also helps the popsicle stick adhere to the popsicle mixture.
Herbal Sugar Syrup
Basic herbal sugar syrup. Use the amount of herbs listed in the popsicle recipe of choice. Makes 1/2 cup.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pure water
- 1/4 cup evaporated cane juice OR honey
- herbs * coarsely chopped
Instructions
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Place water and sugar in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
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Let boil for about 1 minute, then pour into small heatproof bowl and add the chopped herbs.
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Stir to make sure the herbs are entirely covered with the syrup, let sit for at least 10 minutes, then strain the herbs out with a fork, pressing them to release any remaining syrup back into the bowl.
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Let sit until cool, then use in the recipe as directed.
Recipe Notes
*use herb amounts listed according to each individual recipe
Cucumber Mint Popsicles
Light and refreshing!
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber any variety, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup pure water
- 1/2 cup mint sugar syrup *
Instructions
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Blend the cucumber and water in a blender to form a fine puree.
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Add the minted sugar syrup and blend just until well mixed.
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Pour into the popsicle molds and freeze until completely firm, at least 4 hours.
Recipe Notes
*Use 8 to 10 mint leaves in Herbal Sugar Syrup, recipe above.
Rosemary Lemonade Popsicles
Ingredients
- 3 cups lemonade *
- 10 4-inch sprigs fresh rosemary if you don't have a 10-cavity mold, you just need one sprig per cavity
- orange juice **
Instructions
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Fold one sprig of rosemary into each popsicle mold, then pour the lemonade over to cover each sprig.
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Freeze until completely firm, at least 4 hours.
Recipe Notes
*Use your favorite lemonade, this homemade lemonade, or this homemade lemonade concentrate.
**Blood oranges, or pink lemonade may be substituted
Watermelon Basil Popsicles
A taste of summer!
Ingredients
- 3 cups watermelon fresh
- 1/2 cup basil sugar syrup *
Instructions
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Scoop watermelon into a blender and pulse until it's mostly liquified.
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Add the basil sugar syrup and blend on low until smooth but not frothy.
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Pour into the popsicle molds and freeze until completely firm, at least 4 hours.
Recipe Notes
*Made with 2 to 3 large basil leaves in Herbal Sugar Syrup, recipe above.
Honey Avocado Popsicles
Ingredients
- 2 large avocados
- 3/4 cup raw honey
- 1 1/4 cup pure water
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
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Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until very smooth.
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Spoon into the popsicle molds and tap them gently on the countertop to get rid of bubbles.
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Freeze until completely firm, at least 4 hours.
Sweet Carrot Pops
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 medium carrots peeled, cooked, cooled, and coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1/2 cup cultured cream or raw cream
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger grated
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raw whole milk or pure water, if needed
Instructions
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Place the cooled carrot chunks in a blender with the honey, cultured cream, ginger, and cinnamon.
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Blend until completely smooth, adding water as necessary to keep the mixture moving.
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Pour into the popsicle molds and freeze until completely firm, at least 4 hours.
Red Raspberry and Beet Popsicles
Ingredients
- 3 cups red raspberries *
- 1 tablespoon fresh beet juice more as desired
- 1/2 cup plain sugar syrup **or honey
- 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
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Pulse the raspberries and beet juice several times, then add the sugar syrup and lemon juice and blend until smooth. (If desired, pass the mixture through a sieve to remove seeds. Personally, I never bother.)
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Pour into the popsicle molds and freeze until completely firm, at least 4 hours.
Recipe Notes
*I suppose you could use golden raspberries if you also use golden beets : )
**Use Herbal Sugar Syrup, recipe above, omitting herbs.
Blackberry Sage Popsicles
Blackberry + Sage = A winning combination.
Ingredients
- 3 cups blackberries
- 1/2 cup sage sugar syrup
- 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
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Pulse the blackberries several times, then add the sage sugar syrup and lemon juice and blend until smooth. (If desired, pass the mixture through a sieve to remove seeds.)
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Pour into the popsicle molds and freeze until completely firm, at least 4 hours.
Recipe Notes
* Made with 4 to 6 sage leaves in Herbal Sugar Syrup, recipe above.
Strawberry Cheesecake Popsicles
Strawberry Cheesecake in a popsicle? Yes, please!
Ingredients
- 1 pound strawberries hulled and halved
- 1/2 cup cultured sour cream
- 1/2 cup plain sugar syrup *or honey
- 1/2 cup pure water or raw milk, if necessary
Instructions
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Place the strawberries, sour cream, and sugar syrup in a blender and pulse a few times.
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If the mixture looks like it's just being chopped rather than blended (as strawberries can vary greatly in their juiciness), add the milk.
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Otherwise, blend until very smooth.
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Pour into the popsicle molds and freeze until completely firm, at least 4 hours.
Recipe Notes
*Use Herbal Sugar Syrup, recipe above, omitting herbs.
Your Favorite Smoothie
Turn your favorite smoothie into a popsicle! Add a bit of extra water to make it perfectly pourable into the molds, then let it freeze.
More Recipes You May Enjoy
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Kresha these look so good. I have never really been crazy about homemade popsicles for the reasons that you mentioned: they are too hard and just like a large ice cube. For someone who is very sensitive to icy cold things, they aren’t much of a treat. However, I’m inspired to try some of these. The blackberry and raspberry ones especially.
Those look amazing!
I love these recipes and am pleased to know your strategies!!! You have really figured out some nuances that I had not. The recipes themselves look amazing!! And the breast milk popsicle idea is a revelation! Sharing this week! 🙂
Thanks, Megan! We do love popsicles around our house. 🙂
What can I use instead of sour cream my husband is lactose in tolerante? For the strawberry cheescake one?
Hmmm…. well, you could use pretty much anything you would typically use for dairy-free substitutions, and the thicker the better. Perhaps a cultured coconut yogurt? Or even just coconut cream?
Enjoy!
As the temperature creeps higher and higher here in Kathmandu, Nepal, I’m constantly looking for new flavour combinations to cool us all down. These look fabulous! So far, our favourite combination has been fresh mango, over-ripe bananas, coconut cream and whole milk kefir. Planning to try out pineapple/lychee this week, as both are in season here now. We don’t get too many berries here — strawberries seem to be the only ones and it’s a short season — but the abundance of fresh tropical fruits makes up for that loss!