March 6, 2011

Mexican ice pops

Yesterday we went to Mi Pueblo supermarket in Pittsburg to get burritos for dinner, some Mexican bread (pan dulce), and a few other things.  It's a lovely market, bright and big and clean and very festive.  The food court is quite good (Ethan gave the burritos 9 sombreros out of 10).

On the way out, Sam noticed a huge bin of ice pops and begged to get some.  It was just a buck fifty for a big pack of them, so we figured even though the unfrozen liquid glowed like it had been packaged in Chernobyl, we could try it.  I knew we'd be in for some hilarity, however.

How the #@?# are you supposed to eat an ice pop in this shape after it's frozen?


First, Sam cut off the thin end.  He quickly realized that unlike with an Otter Pop, you can't squeeze the thick frozen part out through the tiny opening.  Also, sucking on the end of the plastic was somewhat less than satisfying.  We ended up slicing the whole thing open and dumping it into a bowl.

We've puzzled over it for some time.  The boys even googled the manufacturer to see if they had an owner's manual or instructions on how to eat the damn thing.  Personally, I'm fascinated by the crimp in the middle.

So how about it, friends?  How does one effectively eat one of these things?  I am baffled by the design.

16 comments:

B. Nagel said...

You twist them apart so you can share or have one in each hand (therefore the crimp). I like to think of the tiny opening as an encouragement to be patient, or you could only freeze them most of the way.

Not the best design, but the twisting part is tons of fun!

Sylvia said...

That sounds messy but fun!

PJD said...

I was thinking twist in the middle and end up with two minipops. Definitely cutting the little end off was unsatisfying.

fairyhedgehog said...

You're sure they were ice pops, not glowsticks?

Ash said...

You snap them, with a quick flick of the wrist.

Ash said...

You snap them, with a quick flick of the wrist.

PJD said...

Thanks, Ash. :-)

Unknown said...

I am eating one of these now that I bought at the grocery store, the twisting thing is not so efficient either and a but messy, it remains a struggle to get and continue to cut open with a knife to get out. Perhaps my freezer is to cold.

Unknown said...

Hi Peter- do you happen to recall the brand???
Thanks!

Tony

PJD said...

Hi Tony, sorry, I do not remember the brand. We picked them up out of a huge bin at the front door of a local market... I think it might have been Mi Pueblo, but the pops were not a store brand as I recall.

Anna Schafer said...

Close your eyes and take a lick of this sweet Royal Blueberry Ice pop! It's a refreshing way to stay cool this summer!gluten free ice pops

Unknown said...

I know its been awhile since you post this but no one seems to have answered your question. First tip just give it a quick rinse with water since your going to be chewing it in order to crush the ice. What I do is i just remove the tip and then chew the end in order to soften the ice and then it will be easier to slurp it out as for younger kids take it out of the freezer give a quick rinse and let it get soft over the counter that way it will be easier to crush the ice with your teeth. Just don't chew trough the plastic instead use it to crush the ice with your teeth over the plastic. Once you get it going you just squeeze where the middle crimp is to push the rest of the ice up and once again chew on it to crush the ice and slurp it up. Once your done with one half cut it where the crimp is and repeat the process of chewing/ crushing it with your teeth and slurp it up. I guess you could also use a mallet put the ice pop in a kitchen towel and give it a few smacks to soften the ice of course while trying to avoid pricing the plastic but for me its better to crush with my teeth. I like the blue ones and since its currently hot I been craving them.

Unknown said...

When it is completely frozen solid, you snap it in half where the crimp is located in the center. I use to eat these when I was a kid (grew up with many Hispanic friends), & this was how we were showed to open them. (Did like the quest for the instruction manual though! 😊)

Recently I saw these treats again for the first time in over 25yrs. So I bought a package & introduced my sons to them...they were very puzzled at first as to how to enjoy the treat. Like your son, they too cut the tip and realized they're not like OtterPops. After a while when the finished the "let's try chewing it, oh forget it, just wait for it to melt!" trick, I showed them the REAL "trick". :-)

Unknown said...

When it is completely frozen solid, you snap it in half where the crimp is located in the center. I use to eat these when I was a kid (grew up with many Hispanic friends), & this was how we were showed to open them. (Did like the quest for the instruction manual though! 😊)

Recently I saw these treats again for the first time in over 25yrs. So I bought a package & introduced my sons to them...they were very puzzled at first as to how to enjoy the treat. Like your son, they too cut the tip and realized they're not like OtterPops. After a while when the finished the "let's try chewing it, oh forget it, just wait for it to melt!" trick, I showed them the REAL "trick". :-)

Unknown said...

When it is completely frozen solid, you snap it in half where the crimp is located in the center. I use to eat these when I was a kid (grew up with many Hispanic friends), & this was how we were showed to open them. (Did like the quest for the instruction manual though! 😊)

Recently I saw these treats again for the first time in over 25yrs. So I bought a package & introduced my sons to them...they were very puzzled at first as to how to enjoy the treat. Like your son, they too cut the tip and realized they're not like OtterPops. After a while when the finished the "let's try chewing it, oh forget it, just wait for it to melt!" trick, I showed them the REAL "trick". :-)

PJD said...

Thanks, Edgar and Angelena! So you can snap it in half when it's frozen, eh? If we get some more, we'll try that.