My opinion on the Zoku fridge

Since the good weather arrived, Beatriz, author of To Be Gourmet , has enjoyed preparing delicious ice creams. She also enjoys eating them, because natural, freshly made ice creams at home have many advantages, starting with how good they are.

Since most people are surprised to know that you can make popsicles in 7 minutes, and given their experience with the Zoku ice cream maker , I asked them to give us their opinion and experience about it. I hope you find it interesting.

When I first saw the Zoku ice cream maker and the beautiful popsicles that appear in the photos on the box, I must admit that I thought that when the time came, they probably wouldn't turn out anywhere near like that.

I was thinking about the number of gadgets, kits, or toys that are advertised as promising one thing, and then when it comes to facing the task at home alone, there is no way to reproduce what is advertised as something easy and affordable.

So when I made my first popsicle with Zoku , something basic; a striped mix of lemon and orange juice (they recommend starting with simple things to get familiar with the utensil) I couldn't believe I had in my hands such a beautiful thing made by me, without any practice, and in less than ten minutes.

The first advantage, and it is something very important when we talk about a product that is aimed especially at children (although we adults are enjoying it a lot) is the fact that it is something whose result and purpose is to obtain a fresh and natural food to offer as a snack or snack.

Zoku popsicles are mainly made with juices, yogurts, milk, chocolate... As for juices, it is true that we can use industrial ones, but within these there are some more natural ones, and of course the ideal is to make them ourselves at home, crushing the fruit and in some cases adding a little water to dilute it.

Kiwi, melon, apple, banana, cherries, watermelon, apple… this summer our children can achieve the famous “5 a day” without any effort.

The Zoku ice cream maker comes in three sizes: for three popsicles, for two or for one popsicle. But inside the box there are sticks to make double the capacity (after making a batch of popsicles, you can immediately make another batch).

How the Zoku refrigerator works

The only thing you have to keep in mind is that the ice cream maker has to be in the freezer for at least 24 hours before being used. And you don't have to worry too much about space, because even the largest capacity (three poles; you can make six) is a very acceptable size to be kept in the freezer from June to September without affecting our routine too much.

To make popsicles, simply put the liquids and ingredients of your choice into the ice cream maker's wells, where the popsicle stick is also placed, and take them out in the form of popsicles after a few minutes! To add the liquids, you can use the cups that come in the Zoku accessory kit .

You can make the popsicles all the same or each one different. With stripes, fillings, with printed fruit... The instructions that come with the product are super easy to follow. Even our own children can make the popsicles themselves, since the machine does not need any kind of electricity and is absolutely harmless. To understand how it works, it is enough to know that the cavities of the ice cream maker are so cold that freezing is almost immediate.

If we want to stamp fruit, they must be cut very finely and with a stick, which is included, they are directed towards the walls of the cavity where they adhere when cold. The ones that stick best are the sugary ones, like pears. If we have trouble getting them to stick, or for example we are using chocolate that is more difficult to stick, the solution is to dip it in a sugary liquid, like syrup, honey, sugar water, etc.

If we want to make a single-colour popsicle, we will add the juice, or yoghurt, or horchata, or something prepared all at once. In 7 minutes we have it ready and we will remove it with the help of an accessory that is included; a kind of orange knob that fits onto the stick by turning it, and that helps us to pull it out.

If we want to make an ice pop alternating several flavours, we will add one liquid, wait two or three minutes for it to solidify, then add the other, wait again and so on until the ice pop is complete.

In addition to stamping fruit slices, you can stick hearts or stars made of hard fruit such as apples on them, it looks great.

It is advisable to purchase the Zoku ice cream maker kit that includes the cups , which are also measuring cups, the wand, the star and heart molds and a pipette that is used to make popsicles filled with another flavor in a very easy way. It is very economical and is an important accessory to be able to get the most out of our Zoku ice cream maker.

The possibilities are almost endless, in terms of flavours and aesthetics. However, there are some things to keep in mind. If the product we want to introduce is excessively sugary (for example, dulce de leche), the 7 minutes that normally take to make the popsicle will not be enough, because the excess sugar prevents freezing. On the other hand, a lack of sugar makes the popsicle impossible to extract; it will freeze very quickly and become so hard that we will not be able to remove it.

So any liquid must be sweetened or have fat, like cream or yogurt. Some sweeteners also hinder a good result, and the same goes for some carbonated drinks. That's why it's best to start with what's simple and obvious, and then experiment.

In any case, if you ever find it difficult to remove the popsicles, it is a good idea to wait a while, the ice cream maker will lose its coldness and they will be removed easily. This time does not have to be more than 15 or 20 minutes and this circumstance would be exceptional. Zoku popsicles usually come out without any difficulty.

Refrigerator maintenance and cleaning

Maintaining the ice cream maker is very simple. As soon as you take out a popsicle, you can immediately make another one in the space left behind (we have already said that there are plenty of popsicles). And when you have finished, if there are no leftovers (which there shouldn't be), you can put it back in the freezer.

From time to time we let it defrost, we wash it with a little water and dish soap, we rinse it and we dry it well by putting kitchen paper in it, so that when we return it to the freezer it is free of water that could freeze, affecting the modelling of the following popsicles.

You'll find a couple of recipes for the Zoku ice cream maker in the post we published a few days ago ( here ). You can also find the delicious cherry and coconut popsicle recipe that you've seen in the photos in this other post . But imagination (especially that of children!) can be our greatest source of recipes for the ice cream maker and thus make new popsicles, but if we don't want to try and test, Zoku has a book full of ideas !

No less than forty ways to have fun and enjoy this summer by eating natural and healthy popsicles! Buying a Zoku ice cream maker has endless advantages as you can see.