Paletas de fresa aka Strawberry Ice Pops

A couple of years ago I came across an article in a food magazines about Mexican ice pops, more commonly known as Paletas. I had every intention of learning more about this authentic, frosty, traditional Mexican treat, but never quite got around to it…until now.

Authentic paletas make use of seasonal ripe fruits (when they’re at their sweetest), vegetables, nuts, spices and even edible, flavorful flowers. Leaving the fruit/vegetable(s) in some chunks or puréeing it is preference. Depending on the ingredients used and how ripe the main elements are will more appropriately determine how much of the sweetener ingredient you’ll need (if any). For the first go at homemade paletas de agua, I started with paletas de fresa (strawberry ice pops), made with a mere 4 ingredients:

• Fresh strawberries
• Fresh lemon juice
• Sugar
• Water

This recipe by Fany Gerson, uses 4 cups of fresh strawberries. It’s not your store-bought ice pop that’s usually made with 90% water, sugar corn syrup, gum, stabilizers, and other unpronounceable ingredients. These pops are loaded with fresh strawberries and flaunts a hearty texture that varies based on how much or little you purée the mixture when preparing. The flexibility is all your own as to how much sweetener needs to be added for your taste buds’ preference. This is NO ordinary ice pop…now how can I ever go back to just a store-bought ice pop?

I’m enjoying the discovery process about this traditional way of incorporating seasonal fresh ingredients into more healthy, frosty treats while also adapting some more modern complimentary flavor combinations. My goal is to become better accustomed on how to use the ingredients and be at a place where I can creatively develop paletas using healthful elements, whether it’s a traditional ingredient or not. It would be like experimenting with smoothies!

Besides learning about the cultural history, methods and authenticity of the paleta, this book, Paletas, is full of inspiring ideas to create icy treats with seasonal produce as the star ingredients. I’m looking forward to working through the book and also try the shaved ice, aguas frescas and some paletas de crema.

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Paletas de fresa aka Strawberry Ice Pops

source modified from:
  Paletas: Authentic Recipes for Mexican Ice Pops, Shaved Ice & Aguas Frescas
by Fany Gerson

Makes about 10 paletas

Ingredients

4 cups fresh strawberries, stemmed and quartered
3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Gently combine strawberries and sugar in a bowl and let sit until the strawberries start releasing their natural juice, 20-30 minutes.

Place the strawberries/sugar in a saucepan with the water over medium heat. Simmer until strawberries are slightly softened, about 5-8 minutes. Let it cool uncovered to room temperature.

Transfer cooled mixture to a blender, add the lemon juice and purée until smooth OR you can preferably leave some chunks of strawberries.

Evenly distribute among molds and freeze through for 5-6 hours to overnight.

Teenie Notes

• To add wooden sticks: Soak sticks before using. Start the freezing process of the ice pops for about an hour, then add the wooden sticks.
• To unmold the pops, set the molds in warm water and gently loosen the icy treats from their molds.
• Used the Progressive International PLP-1 Freezer Pop Maker molds.
• Store paletas in a freezer container or airtight freezer bags.

Cristina A-Moore | TeenieCakes.com

June 24, 2013