An ice pop is a liquid-based frozen snack on a stick. Unlike

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

sorbet Sorbet (), also called "water ice", is a frozen dessert made using ice combined with fruit juice, fruit purée, wine, liqueur, honey, etc. Generally sorbets do not contain dairy ingredients, while sherbets do. Etymology The word "sorbet" en ...

, which are whipped while freezing to prevent ice crystal formation, an ice pop is "quiescently" frozen—frozen while at rest—and becomes a solid block of ice. The stick is used as a handle to hold it. Without a stick, the frozen product would be a

freezie A freezie or a freeze pop is a water-based frozen confection similar to an ice pop. It is made by freezing flavored liquid such as sugar water, fruit juice or purée inside a plastic casing or tube, either round or flat. Since freezies come in ...

. An ice pop is also referred to as a popsicle in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, flash in Algeria, paleta in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

and parts of

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, ice lolly in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(the term ''ice pop'' refers to a

in the United Kingdom), ice drop in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, ice gola in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, ice candy in India and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and kisko in

the Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. The term icy pole is often used in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, but is a brand name for a specific type, so ice block is also used.

History

As far back as 1872, two men, doing business as Ross and Robbins, sold a frozen-fruit confection on a stick, which they called the Hokey-Pokey.

Francis William "Frank" Epperson (August 11, 1894, Willows, California – October 22, 1983, Fremont, California) of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, popularized ice pops after patenting the concept of "frozen ice on a stick" in 1923. Epperson claimed to have first created an ice pop in 1905, at the age of 11, when he accidentally left a glass of powdered lemonade soda and water with a mixing stick in it on his porch during a cold night, a story still printed on the back of Popsicle treat boxes. Epperson lived in Oakland and worked as a lemonade salesman. In 1922, Epperson, a realtor with Realty Syndicate Company in Oakland, introduced the Popsicle at a fireman's ball. The product got traction quickly; in 1923, at the age of 29, Epperson received a patent for his "Epsicle" ice pop, and by 1924, had patented ''all handled, frozen confections or ice lollipops.'' He officially debuted the Epsicle in seven fruit flavors at

Neptune Beach Neptune Beach is a beachfront city east of Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida, United States. When the majority of Duval County communities consolidated with Jacksonville in 1968, Neptune Beach, along with Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach ...

amusement park, marketed as a "frozen lollipop," or a "drink on a stick." 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.

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 A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...

to mean any ice pop, regardless of brand or format."8 Common Words That Are Still Trademarked: Popsicle."
at Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved August 10, 2018. ''"It might be surprising, but Popsicle is trademarked..."''Mark Abadi
"Taser, Xerox, Popsicle, and 31 more brands-turned-household names."
''Business Insider.'' June 3, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018. The word is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordspop'' and ''

icicle An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water falling from an object freezes. Formation and dynamics Icicles can form during bright, sunny, but subfreezing weather, when ice or snow melted by sunlight or some other heat source (such a ...

''; the word is genericized to such an extent that there are decades-old derived slang meanings such as "popsicle stand". The term ''ice pop'' is also used in the United States. In Ireland the term ''ice pop'' is predominantly used. In the United Kingdom the term ''ice lolly'' is used to refer to ice pop while the term ''ice pop'' refers to a

(flavoured ice inside a tube). The term ''chihiro'' is used as a slang term in the Cayman Islands, partially derived from ''chill''. Different parts of Australia use either ''ice block'' or ''icy pole'' (which is a brand name), and New Zealand uses ''ice block''. In the Philippines the term ''ice drop'' is used with coconut flavor ice pops being called

ice buko Ice buko, also known as buko ice candy or coconut popsicle, is a Filipino frozen dessert made from condensed milk, young coconut (''buko'') strips, and coconut water. It is basically a frozen version of the buko salad. They can be sold on pop ...

s. India uses the terms ''ice gola'' and ''ice candy''. In Japan the term ''ice candy'' is used.

Paleta

After a trip to the United States in the early 1940s Ignacio Alcázar returned to his home city of Tocumbo, Michoacán, México, bringing the idea to manufacture ice pops or ''paletas'' (little sticks) using locally available fresh fruit. He and some family members expanded by opening a shop in Mexico City which became very popular and he began to franchise ''

Paletería La Michoacana La Michoacana is a group of different Mexican ice cream parlors, with an estimated 8 to 15 thousand locations in Mexico. The "chain" is a successful business model network of family-run businesses, no single company operates them as a formal fr ...

'' to friends and family from his town. The popularity of paletas and association with Tocumbo has increased to the status of a national Mexican food. Paleta flavors can be divided into two basic categories: milk-based or water-based. The composition of each flavor may vary, but the base is most often fruit. Paleterias usually have dozens of flavors of paleta including local flavors like

horchata Horchata (; ), or (), is a name given to various beverages, which are generally plant-based, but sometimes contain animal milk. In Spain, it is made with soaked, ground, and sweetened tiger nuts. In Latin America and other parts of the Americas ...

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs ...

, mamey and

nanche ''Byrsonima crassifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malpighiaceae, native to tropical America. Common names used in English include nance, maricao cimun, craboo, and golden spoon. In Jamaica it is called hogberry. It's val ...

along with other flavors like

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

and

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

. Distinctly Mexican ingredients like

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

, chamoy, and

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

are often present in these paletas. Paleterias adapt their flavors to the tastes of the community and local availability of ingredients.

Paletero

A ''paletero'' (roughly equivalent to the English "ice cream man"), is a street seller of paletas and other frozen treats, usually from a pushcart labeled with the name of the enterprise that made the paletas (paletería). Today, many paleteros are now commonly found in American cities with significant Mexican populations. Vending requirements for paleteros vary widely by city.

Homemade ice pops

An alternative to the store-bought ice pops is making them at home using fruit juice,

drinks A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...

, or any freezable beverage. A classic method involves using ice cube trays and toothpicks, although various ice pop freezer molds are also available. In the UK, there is an increasing number of people making alcoholic ice lollies at home by putting alcoholic drinks inside the mould. Buckfast,

Kopparberg Kopparberg is a locality and the seat of Ljusnarsberg Municipality, Örebro County, Sweden, with 4,200 inhabitants in 2015. It is famous for one of the most valuable postage stamps in the world, the Treskilling Yellow from 13 July 1857, Kopparb ...

and Strongbow Dark Fruit ciders are popular choices used.

Innovations in ice pop creation

In 2018, the UK food-focused design firm called Bompas & Parr announced that they had created the world's first 'non-melting' ice pop. The ice pop does melt but not as fast as other ice pops. This is due to the strands of fruit fibers inside the ice pops which makes them thicker than regular ice pops. The thicker the ice pop the slower it melts. This design was inspired by the material called

pykrete Pykrete is a frozen ice composite, originally made of approximately 14% sawdust or some other form of wood pulp (such as paper) and 86% ice by weight (6 to 1 by weight). During World War II, Geoffrey Pyke proposed it as a candidate material for ...

, which was invented by

Geoffrey Pyke Geoffrey Nathaniel Joseph Pyke (9 November 1893 – 21 February 1948) was an English journalist, educationalist, and inventor. Pyke came to public attention when he escaped from internment in Germany during World War I. He had travelle ...

World record ice pop

On June 22, 2005,

Snapple Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper and based in Plano, Texas, United States. The company (and brand), which was originally known as Unadulterated Food Products, was founded in 1972. The brand achieved som ...

tried to beat the existing ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' entry of a 1997 Dutch ice pop by attempting to erect a ice pop in New York City. The of frozen juice that had been brought from

Edison, New Jersey Edison is a township located in Middlesex County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub, home to Menlo Park Mall and Little India. It ...

, in a freezer truck melted faster than expected, dashing hopes of a new record. Spectators fled to higher ground as firefighters hosed away the melted juice.

References

External links

How do people refer to the frozen treat pictured here?
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The University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ice Pop California culture Cuisine of the Western United States Food and drink in the San Francisco Bay Area Ice-based desserts Skewered foods Snack foods