Popsicle

A green popsicle

Ice pop

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Alternative names	Freezer pop, ice pop, ice lolly, lolly ice, ice lollipop, ice block, icy pole
Place of origin	United States
Creators	Frank Epperson
Main ingredients	Water, flavouring (such as fruit juices)
Food energy (per serving)	200 kcal (837 kJ)

A green tea ice pop from South Korea

A popsicle (Canada and the United States), freeze pop (Ireland), ice lolly (United Kingdom and Ireland), ice block, icy pole (parts of Australia and New Zealand), ice pop, or freezer pop (U.S. and Republic of Ireland) is a water-based frozen snack. It is made by freezing flavored liquid (such as fruit juice) around a stick. Often, the juice is colored artificially. Once the liquid freezes solid, the stick can be used as a handle to hold the ice pop. When a popsicle does not have a stick, it is called, among other names, a freezie.

History

Frank Epperson of Oakland, California, popularized popsicles after patenting the concept of "frozen ice on a stick" in 1923. He initially called it the Epsicle. A couple of years later, Epperson sold the rights to the invention and the Popsicle brand to the Joe Lowe Company in New York City.
Epperson claimed to have first created an ice pop in 1905 at the age of 11 when he accidentally left a glass of powdered soda and water with a mixing stick in it on his porch during a cold night. However, the evidence for this is scant.

Terminology

In the United States and Canada frozen ice on a stick is generically referred to as a popsicle due to the early popularity of the Popsicle brand, and the word has become a genericized trademark to mean any ice pop or freezer pop, regardless of brand or format. (The word is a portmanteau of pop and icicle.) They are also called an ice pop or freezer pop in the United States. In Ireland the product is also referred to as a freeze pop. In the Caicos Islands it is referred to as an ice saver. In the United Kingdom the term ice lolly is used. Ice block is used in parts of Australia and New Zealand.

Homemade ice pops

An alternative to the store-bought ice pops is making them at home using fruit juice, drink mix, or any freezable beverage. A classic method involves using ice cube trays and toothpicks, although various ice pop freezer molds are also available.

World record ice pop

On June 22, 2005, Snapple tried to beat the existing Guinness Book of World Records entry of a 1997 Dutch 21-foot (6.4 m) ice pop by attempting to erect a 25-foot (7.6 m) ice pop in New York City. The 17.5 short tons (15.9 t) of frozen juice that had been brought from Edison, New Jersey in a freezer truck melted faster than expected, dashing hopes of a new record. Spectators fled to higher ground as firefighters hosed away the kiwi-strawberry-flavored mess.