Food & dining

Shira Gold and Wild Pops take the fake out of popsicles

Strawberry popsicle from Wild Pops
Wild Pops
Strawberry popsicle from Wild Pops

Ripe avocados give the Avocado popsicle from Wild Pops in Jamaica Plain its creamy texture. The frozen treat is sizable and as dense as ice cream. Another choice, Dark Belgian Chocolate, is made from Callebaut chocolate and blended with coconut milk and is likely the most chocolate-y fudgsicle you’ll ever encounter. The Mango Coconut Sticky Rice popsicle embedded with flecks of rice is chewy and icy at once. Shira Gold, 35, recently opened the storefront but had been selling her artisanal popsicles ($4) to local businesses and at farmers’ markets. She crafts the frozen treats in small batches using only fresh ingredients. “We juice every lime, lemon, and grapefruit, and cut every strawberry, mango and pineapple,” says Gold. The Brookline native lived in Los Angeles for a decade and it was there she got the idea for the icy pops after tasting inventive herbal teas brewed by a friend’s mother who was raised in Ecuador. “We tried freezing them and just played around with flavors,” says Gold. The frozen teas didn’t quite work, but they inspired her to create popsicles with bold flavors, some with spices, like Tamarind Thai Chili and Spicy Pineapple. “They’re my own version of paletas,” says Gold, referring to the Mexican flavor-packed iced pops. Among the other popsicle flavors at the shop are a refreshing Strawberry Mint and Pink Lemonade, which gets its rosy color from beet juice, and Lime. “People can’t figure out why the lime isn’t neon green,” says Gold. 3213 Washington St., Jamaica Plain, 617-775-5005. Wild Pops popsicles are also available at Chilacates, 224 Amory St., Jamaica Plain, 617-522-6000 and 658 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, 617-522-4500; Wildflower Pantry, 575 Washington St., Brighton, 617-276-6299; Judith’s Kitchen, 1371 Washington St., W. Newton, 617-916-9282; Coolidge Corner Theater, 290 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-734-2501; SoWa Open Market and Brookline and Roslindale farmers’ markets. www.wildpopsusa.com.

ANN TRIEGER KURLAND

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