Paletas Mexicanas (Mexican Fruit Pops)

Makes eight 2 ounce pops

On warm days all throughout our neighborhood, I can hear the jingling bells of the paletero signaling to all of us the arrival of his sweet frozen fruit on sticks from guana¬bana and papaya to coconut and tamarind. Given that there are several types of molds available in cookware stores and discount department stores, you'll be able to make these frozen fruit pops easily at home. Lacking the molds, partially freeze fruit purees in small paper cups, then stand wooden sticks (available at craft stores) in them (for added support lay a piece of cardboard over them with holes to keep the sticks upright). Frozen tropical fruit purees are available in Mexican grocery stores, but they're even better made from fresh fruit.

Ingredients

Scant 2 cups coarsely pureed, peeled and pitted fruit (for really thick purees, like mango, you'll probably want to use 1 ½  cups fruit and ½ cup water; with looser purees, I wouldn't add any water 
I to 4 tablespoons sugar superfine sugar works best here (buy it or make it by grinding granulated sugar in a food processor for several minutes) 
½ to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Method

1 . In a medium size bowl or a 1 quart measuring cup with a pour spout, combine the pureed fruit with the minimum quantities of sugar and lime. Taste and determine what your fruit needs. Remember, when the mixture is frozen, flavors will be slightly muted; go for slightly sweeter and slightly tarter than you'd normally like. Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved com¬pletely. Fill your molds, leaving about ¼  inch headspace to allow for expansion, set the lids in place and insert the sticks through the holes, leaving 1½  to 2 inches exposed.

2. Freeze until firmly set (this should take a couple of hours, though feel free to make them sev¬eral days ahead if that's more convenient). To remove the pops, first remove the lids, then squeeze the sides of the molds, twisting them slightly, to dislodge the pop. (If necessary, rinse the molds quickly under hot water first.) These look festive and fun set out for your friends in a chilled bowl, all the sticks poking up.

Mexican
Children
Source
Rick Bayless, “Salsas that cook” p.118.