The other day, our local greengrocer had some very squishy apricots, sweet plums and soft kiwis all baking outside in the sun. I bought them at a knockdown price and turned them into colourful, orange, purple and green ice lollies for our daughter (although, admittedly, I’ll probably eat more of them than she will).
Conscientious greengrocers, like some supermarkets, often sell their imperfect fruit and vegetables at a reduced price, but the payoff is that some, if not all, of it will be too ripe to enjoy whole, so be prepared to process them into a dish, be that an Eton mess, a simple smoothie or today’s popsicles.
Our daughter likes her lollies unsweetened, so we make them without sugar, but if you’d prefer to sweeten them, add sugar, honey or another sweetener such as yacon syrup to taste when blending the fruit (sugar has the added benefit of preventing ice particles forming). To help give the lollies a creamy texture and boost the nutrition of an already very healthy treat, I add chia seeds; a tablespoon of cornstarch or alcoholic spirits (for adults) will also do the trick.
Wonky fruit ice lollies
Hot weather means fruit can turn ripe very quickly if it isn’t refrigerated, but the upside is that fruit is at its sweetest when ripe and the best choice for smoothies and lollies, especially if you don’t want to add any sugar. It seems a sweet and virtuous cycle that, by preserving fruit that’s ripened in the sun, we can create a refreshing treat that can help abate the heat.
Makes About 6 x 80ml lollies
350g fruit – I used kiwis, plums and apricots, but almost any will work
150ml milk (or plant-based alternative)
3 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
Sugar, honey, yacon syrup, or other sweetener, to taste
Ice lolly moulds
Wash, stone and/or destalk the fruit, then peel and discard any inedible skins and cut out any mouldy or badly bruised bits.
Put the fruit in a blender with the milk, add the chia seeds and sweetener, if using, then blitz. Pour into lolly moulds, pop in the sticks, then freeze.
To make rainbow lollies, blend each fruit separately, then divide the chia seeds and sweetener, if using, evenly between them. One by one, pour each fruit puree into the moulds, layering them one on top of the other, then add the sticks and freeze as above.
