Ginuary 26th: Ginberry Iceblocks.

The extreme heat a couple of weeks ago made me lament the fact that I had not prepared some frozen gin treats earlier in the month. I quickly leapt to action to remedy that, despite crossing my fingers that the heat and humidity wouldn’t return as viciously. Of course as soon as I put said treats in the freezer, Brisbane was treated to days and days of clouds and rain. But today? Today was a stinker. Happy Australia day.

Gin, Watermelon & Blackberry Iceblocks

• 750g-1kg seedless watermelon (coarsely chopped, chilled)
• 45ml lime juice, or to taste
• 25ml gin
• 15g pure icing sugar (sieved)
• 40g blackberries
• 30ml blackcurrant cordial
• 30ml crème de mure (or cassis)

 

To get 300ml watermelon juice, process 300-450g watermelon in a food processor and pass through a coarse sieve. Add lime juice, gin and icing sugar and stir well to dissolve sugar. Half-fill all your iceblock moulds and freeze until starting to firm (1-2 hours).

While you’re waiting, process blackberries and remaining watermelon in a food processor and pass through a coarse sieve to yield ~400ml juice. Add cordial and crème de mure and stir to combine. Once the first halves have been freezing for around an hour, divide the blackberry mix among moulds. Freeze until just firm (1-2 hours), insert paddle pop sticks and freeze until completely frozen (minimum 2-3 hours, though overnight is smarter).

When eating time arrives, unmould iceblock and consume immediately before it melts all over you.

 

There are so many different words for these things, even just within the English language. In Australia, a frozen treat on a stick with a non-dairy base is an iceblock. Google tells me that across the English-speaking world, this delicious frozen treat is also referred to as: an ice pop, an ice lolly/lollipop, a lolly ice, a freezer pop, a popsicle, an icy pole, and a freezie. “Popsicle” and “icy pole” are genericised trademarks (like calling all vacuum cleaners “hoovers”). Can’t we all just stop this confusion and call them DELICIOUS?