Favorite New Kitchen Gadget

Both Herr J and I may independently have a "problem" with ktichen gadgets. Though we do actually use them, so it's yet to be decided if it's really a problem....

But there's a new one I'm really loving.  One of the best Christmas gifts this year was a gift certificate to Williams Sonoma. And being a gift, I decided to buy stuff I wanted but didn't really need or might not buy for myself. And I've been wanting the Zoku popsicle maker for a while now.

The big problem was the space it takes up in the European freezers and the weight it would take up in my suitcase on the flight home. Well, they now come in 1 and 2 popsicle sizes, which seemed more manageable.

I had wondered if these really work as well as claimed. Past attempts at popsicles using the plastic molds didn't work as well. Those pops were more icy than the soft popsicle texture that you get with the ones from the store. But, as (1) they don't have popsicles in the store here, and (2) I don't want to have all that sugar, making popsicles seemed to be a good idea.  I was a little sceptical of the claim that all you had to do was pour in fruit juice, but there were so many great recipes available online that I figured it would be useful.

The first batch we tried was a strawberry yogurt pop. I just put strawberries, sugar, nonfat yogurt, and a little lemon juice in the blender. Apparently you need to have a more liquid texture for the freezing to work, so I added skim milk to make it more liquid. They were great!

There's a little removal tool that screws into the hole in the handle and then lifts it out of the mold.

Then I bought some pomegranate juice at the store to test out if it really works with just plain juice. And it does - pomegranate was great! A little different taste, and a good balance of sweet with a little tart.

I'm sure the same is probably true in the US now, but Germany has a wonderful abundance of juice varieties. And though you can buy the expensive ones at the bio stores, they have some impressive range in the affordable section (i.e., under €3 for a box). There so many more to try, and to try mixing. But I brought home the Amarena Cherry and the Pineapple-Coconut for a taste test.

Yum!  I'm a huge fan of cherry, so I liked this one. It's very tart, though, so is a good lesson. If you don't like tart flavors, you should test the juice and then possibly add some sugar or honey. But loved it!

It's hard to pick a favorite - all 3 of the juice ones have been favorites so far. But there's something special about the Pineapple-Coconut...probably because it tastes like a beach holiday!

 

We'll be back in the US for a wedding soon and I'm seriously considering getting another one, especially since I have a $20 coupon at Williams Sonoma. I'm using it almost every day! Great for summer and also for winter sore throats!  

I'm sure we'll eventually try some of the more creative pops you can make...chili-chocolate paletas, pops with different color layers, or a different flavor center. But it's hard to beat the simplicity of just pouring juice out of the box into the mold.