But I have to admit that I have fallen in love with a $50 popsicle maker.
Williams Sonoma's Zoku popsicle maker is a loaf-sized gadget that you store in your freezer. There is some liquid sealed inside. You pour juice or some other liquid into the three holes on top, and, in less than 10 minutes, you have popsicles.
You can have popsicles of almost anything. We started with a peach puree. We used lemonade. My nephew made a batch of lemon-lime. A touch of sugar, but they were far more sour than I had ever expected an eight-year-old to enjoy.
The Zoku's beauty is that you can freeze almost anything. (Except diet soda.) Simple juices. Adult recipes like cilantro and lime. Creams. Crazy mixes like layers of red watermelon topped with a layer made from melon rind and lime. Even people who don't love to cook can play with popsicles without a fuss.And let's be honest: It's instant gratification. You can buy popsicle molds
for way less. You can even buy popsicle cookbooks
. But the Zoku freezes three popsicles in less than 10 minutes. Then freezes three more. (Up to nine, says the box.) A kid's snack or an adult dessert. You can have what you want in minutes, and it's a blast. We have bought two as gifts so far this year.
Just curious, why doesn't the diet soda freeze?
ReplyDeleteI don't know exactly. We assume it has something to do with the artificial sweeteners and how they freeze (or don't freeze?) in the popsicle.
ReplyDeleteDiet sodas freeze faster than regular sodas, because sugar lowers the freezing point of a liquid. I'm guessing that the diet sodas (which apparently freeze around -3C) would probably freeze instantly on contact with the sides of the container, and so you'd end up with lots of holes and sheets of ice, rather than a solid block.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a cool toy.
I was just curious why you wrote that it freezes "up to 9."
ReplyDeleteDoes it quit for the day after that?
@Matt -- I think it just warms up enough that it won't freeze a fourth batch. You throw it back in the freezer. I haven't hit that point yet. I mostly make 2-3 at a time.
ReplyDelete