Homemade ice pops made with our Zoku molds

Popsicles and ice cream are two summer classics that are always appealing and never go out of style. Also now with the number of super-useful utensils available to make ice cream at home, we have no excuse. And we can make them as healthy and light as we want.

The best healthy dessert option for this summer

1. We can make them as sweet or as not very sweet as we please, controlling what our family consumes, especially the kids.
2. We avoid all the preservatives and colorings found in commercial ice creams and popsicles.
3. In the case of ice cream we also get rid of unhealthy fats.
4. For all these reasons making ice cream at home is very advantageous if there are people in the family with food intolerances or allergies.
5. The flavors you achieve at home with good ingredients are much purer and cleaner. Try a homemade ice cream and tell me.

Kitchen tools for making ice cream and popsicles

Currently there are a variety of items on the market to make ice cream and popsicles at home with great results.

To make classic, creamy ice creams:

1. We have the ice cream maker attachment of some food processors like KitchenAid. These tubs have a double wall that encloses a refrigerant gel. To make ice cream with them you must put them in the freezer for several hours and use them in the machine with a scraping attachment that turns and churns the ice cream.
2. Likewise, we have some products from the fun brand Zoku to make ice cream, such as the bowl for making individual ice creams. Previously you freeze the bowl in the freezer and take it out to pour in the ice cream mixture; you stir and mix the mixture which, in contact with the bowl, turns into a creamy ice cream.
3. Finally, we also have the Magimix Expert ice cream maker, with which you can prepare homemade ice creams and sorbets in less than 30 minutes thanks to its three automatic programs (artisan ice cream, creamy ice cream or sorbets), although it also has a manual mode for the more experienced. You just put in the ingredients, select the desired automatic program and in about 20 to 30 minutes your ice cream is ready. And let's not forget! It includes 2 tubs so you can make batch after batch of ice cream.

Zoku ice cream maker (for the ice cream recipe here) and Kitchen Aid ice cream maker

To make tasty popsicles:

Zoku offers a wide variety of popsicle molds of two types:

1. Molds that work the same way as described for the KitchenAid attachment, that is, they have a double wall whose interior is frozen in the freezer beforehand and the container is then used outside to freeze the popsicle mixture. This is the case of Zoku's Quick Pop ice cream maker. You pour the mixture into it and in 7-8 minutes your popsicles are ready.
2. Molds in fun shapes to freeze in the freezer:

• Classic-shaped molds, like the Mod Pop and the Classic Pop.
• Molds with fun shapes like the Safari Pop and the Fish Pops.
• There is even a mini popsicle mold Mini Pops.

All Zoku utensils are designed to release popsicles perfectly thanks to their special plastic.

As you might expect, these shaped or unshaped popsicle molds delight children. Also this company offers numerous toppings for decoration for ice creams and popsicles.

Some of Zoku's popsicle molds (Space Pop, Mod Pop and Mini Pops), and Zoku book

Ideas for popsicles

Without a doubt the easiest frozen desserts to make are popsicles, since we can make them with juices or dairy, for example, with or without sugar. I really like making them with smoothies or fruit shakes, especially if they include banana because they become creamier.

The Zoku brand itself has a quick popsicle recipe book very fun and in this article on our blog we give you several ideas.

If you are not motivated by childlike ice creams and popsicles because you left childhood behind some time ago, ahem, granitas and iced coffee are an excellent alternative, like those made with the Zoku iced coffee cup or the slush cup.

Iced coffee cup, slush cup and Zoku creamy ice cream bowl

Post updated in July 2018