Edible Air Conditioning

the science of taste and temperature

Summer weather is throwing everybody for a loop this week. You’re either taking shelter from tornados, running from torrential flooding, and melting under excessive heat warnings. I think we all deserve a treat. This week in our handheld foods and grab-and-go snack series, we’re keeping things cool and light: homemade popsicles. Homemade pops are easy but truly great popsicles take a little finesse. Without the right mix of ingredients, they can end up icy, hard to eat, or worst of all- tasting dull.

We tend to forget how much temperature affects our ability to taste but it really does. Our capacity to taste sweetness is dulled as the temperature of the food gets colder. If you’ve ever tasted how insanely sweet melted ice cream tastes vs cold ice cream, you’ve already noticed this difference. Taken a step further, the temperature of your mouth along with the temperature of your meal all contribute to what you can taste in a dish. Fucking wild. In fact, scientists posit that North American’s preference for ice water with meals- in comparison with European and Asian countries- explains our strong affinity for highly sweetened, creamy foods since our lower oral temperature when eating means we need higher concentrations of those flavors to even register them. So don’t have ice cold drinks with your meals and everything will taste better. But that also means your mixes for homemade popsicles and ice cream need to be a little sweeter than you’d like because when they freeze, they’ll taste just right.

keep that water room temp for the ideal food experience no matter how much you miss ice

Another tip for homemade popsicle success is to add a little fat and a little cornstarch to the mix to insure you don’t end up with a block of ice on a stick. The cornstarch will keep the popsicle creamy and all you have to do is make sure that it’s thoroughly mixed in. One tablespoon is enough for most standard popsicle molds so keep this in mind no matter what recipe you use for your base. Also tiniest amount of fat makes the pop easier to eat and more flavorful as the fat coats your tongue in the smallest of ways. My favorite way to add fat is with a nondairy yogurt. You don’t need a ton but it’s a great way to ensure you get creamy, cohesive popsicles every time.

If your popsicle mold doesn’t tell you the total volume of liquid you need to fill all the wells- and they rarely do- grab a liquid measuring cup and fill it with 3 cups of water. Pour the water into all the wells until you run out or need more. Now you know roughly how large to make your popsicle base mixture. My 10-well popsicle mold needs about 3 ½ cups of liquid so that’s the total measurement for this recipe. Feel free to use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe, it won’t make a big difference. The amount of agave you add to the mix should be based on the sweetness of the milk, berries, and yogurt that you use. Start with 2 tablespoons, blend, then taste and add more as needed. Remember: it needs to be just a little sweeter than you’d want to drink so that it will taste perfectly sweetened when frozen. Other than that, switch out the berries, add lime instead of lemon, play with different yogurts bases and flavors, and you’ve got enough different popsicles to last you through the fall or whatever new season comes next.

Creamy Blueberry Lemon Popsicles

Makes 10 popsicles or 3 ½ cups of liquid to freeze

2 ¼ cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 cup nondairy milk, plain or vanilla

¾ cup nondairy yogurt, plain or vanilla

2-4 tablespoons agave or maples syrup

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Zest from ½ a lemon

Add all the ingredients into a blender and run until everything is incorporated and there isn’t a pocket of cornstarch hanging around someplace. Pour this mixture into your popsicle molds making sure to not overfill them since liquids expand when frozen. But you remembered that from school, right? Right.

Add a wooden stick to each mold and transfer to the freezer to set overnight. Then you know, eat them and appreciate the simplicity.

Creamy Blueberry Lemon Popsicles

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Thanks for supporting us here in The Broiler Room. Stay cool and dry out there this weekend!

Michelle