Beets & Berries Popsicles

A Jerry James Stone Recipe

Categories

Blue, Red

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound strawberries
  • 4 ounces raspberries
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 ½ pounds beets
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • Pinch ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons water
Jump to instructions
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 7 minutes

Instructions

  • It goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyway: tasty popsicles start with tasty ingredients. While it might seem like a good idea to “use up” fruits and veggies in this fashion, it actually isn’t. Frozen items usually lose some of their flavor as a result of being frozen, so it’s best to use the best stuff you have. Check out these gorgeous raspberries from the farmers market. Yum!
  • Now let’s create our berry compote. Combine the 1 pound of strawberries, 4 ounces of raspberries and 6 tablespoons of the sugar into a small pot. Cook the berries over a medium-low heat, mashing them in the process, until the sugar is combined and the berries have released some of their juices.
  • Remove the berries from the heat and add in 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of ground black pepper. These savory ingredients will heighten the flavor of the berries, making them seem (oddly enough) sweeter.
  • Let the mixture cool a bit, stir in 2 tablespoons of water, and then divide it amongst your popsicle mold, placing it in the freezer. This is how you get the two-tone effect. We are just going to let that firm up a bit while we make our beet juice.
  • Go ahead and juice your beets. You’re going to want about 1 and 1/4 cup juice total. While 1.5 pounds of red beets might do the trick, it might not. You might need 2 or so depending on how juicy your beets are. There is no way to really judge this when buying them.
  • Add the remaining sugar to the beet juice and then top off the popsicles. The beet juice will work its way into all the nooks and crannies, giving the pops a tie-dye effect, once you add in the popsicle sticks.
  • Freeze the popsicles for at least 10 hours before serving. To remove the pops from the mold, submerge it in lukewarm water for just a few seconds. Enjoy!