almost instant icecream on a stick

I confess to being a bit of a gadget tragic. Some (ok, more than some) have been consigned to the useless kitchen items drawer, but not this one.

Yes, I have an exciting new gadget!  It is an instant single icy pole/ice cream/popsicle maker from ZOKU. And yes I paid for it myself, ($19.95) so the glowing enthusiasm is all genuine. 🙂

As it write this it is a 40 degree C day in Melbourne and I have spent my time hiding inside, making and eating several of these this morning.

It is pretty low-tech really. It uses the same principle as any freezable icecream maker, but without the complications of electricity, paddles, stirring and possible failures. Failures, sigh I have had several – I consider my icecream maker to be one of those aforementioned useless kitchen items.

Anyway back to successes. You store the maker in the freezer to keep it frozen. Then when you feel like an icecream, just puree anything you like and put in the gadget on the benchtop.  Seven minutes later,  you have some heaven on a stick.  You can make 3 before it runs out of oomph. I’ve been playing with it and making a few wonderful tasting things. Watermelon, frozen raspberries, coconut milk, banana, apples, oranges, chocolate, hard cider! Not all together obviously.

You can make them without any sugar but I find that they are better if you add a little bit as it stops any ice crystals forming and they are a smoother texture.

Here are a few photos of using various combinations of frozen raspberries, frozen bananas and coconut yoghurt that I made today.

Coconut inside raspberry (bite taken for demonstration purposes)

Raspberry, banana and coconut yoghurt (left)

Raspberry top, with a bit of leftover raspberry and coconut bottom (right)

They really are yummy, you get to decide what ingredients you want, AND there is the added factor of almost instant gratification. Next stop might be a chocolate and orange mousse icecream.