People’s Pops

The basic popsicles that you ate as a kid were probably made mostly with water and sugar, with some flavoring or even some fruit juice mixed in. They were brightly colored, thanks to some food coloring, too. And while they were enough to cool you down on a hot day, they weren’t always the most flavorful snacks out there. For these reasons, popsicles are often thought of as a kids treat, one that is fun to eat but doesn’t have enough flavor to draw adults away from ice cream or other frozen snacks. People’s Pops is a Brooklyn-based popsicle business founded on the idea that people – adults included – wanted a better ice pop that would taste as good as it looked. Their pops are made with locally grown, sustainably produced, in-season ingredients that include fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh herbs. In People’s Pops: 55 Recipes for Ice Pops, Shave Ice, and Boozy Pops from Brooklyn’s Coolest Pop Shop, they share their recipes for these high quality ice pops so that anyone can enjoy them without having to make a trip to New York.

Just like the shop, the recipes in the cookbook focus on fresh, seasonal and high quality ingredients. Most of the pops are made primarily with fresh fruit, rather than sugar or water, for their main ingredient. Many pops also use cream or other dairy for a creamier treat, so there is a lot of variation to be found and not just the same pop recipe with different fruits. The recipes will require a little bit of prep time, whether you’re preparing the fruit for use or making a batch of simple syrup (no corn syrup here) to sweeten the pops, but the results are worth it. Even the photos in the book make these pops look irresistible. Each of the recipes is accompanied by a description of the ingredients used or what inspired the pop in the first place. The book also gives helpful suggestions for picking out top quality ingredients and what other flavors you could pair with various fruits for original variations.

The one thing that you’ll want when working with this book is a good popsicle mold. It is possible to make popsicles without pop molds, but when you’re going to be making multiple batches of pops – and you just might get hooked on these fresh, frozen treats when you try them – it is much easier to have some molds to work with. Fortunately, pop molds aren’t too expensive and your fresh frozen treats will become a favorite (and healthy) summertime treat that will justify adding the molds to your collection of other kitchen goodies.