Yummylicious Ice Candy

Ice candy is one of the most favorite summer treats of Filipinos. It is frozen juice(or smoothie) in a plastic like pop ice. The only difference is that ice candy is home made from fresh fruits, though there are some that you can buy from sari-sari (variety) stores that are made from artificial fruit flavoring. 

In the Philippines, ice candies come in different flavors. Most common are orange, mango, buko (coconut), avocado, melon, grape and chocolate. They are in these little plastic bags, the end of which you nibble on to sip or bite the frozen fruit juice.

My mother used to supply ice candy to our school cafeteria since I was in grade school until I was in high school. So yes, I grew up enjoying ice candy all year round. I don’t remember any time when our freezer didn’t have ice candy. And after I graduated from college, my parents started their sari-sari store in Batangas. There they sold ice candy the whole year…the flavor depends on what fruits are in season.

Yesterday while I was cleaning our pantry, my daughters saw the ice candy plastic bags that my mother-in-law sent us last year…and came after that was their request that I make ice candy. We always have fruits in our refrigerator, so there’s really no way I could say no. 

To make ice candy, you will need ice candy bags (which I haven’t seen in Oriental stores here in Texas so ours came directly from the Philippines), funnel, a blender if you want it smooth in texture, and fresh fruits or juices, depending on the flavor you wish to make. Yesterday, I made avocado, strawberry and chocolate.

Ice candy is a frozen delight that my daughters enjoy a lot! Ryan & I love it too! Such a wonderful treat for the whole family!

Yield 16-18 pcs for each flavor

* I shared this on Miz Helen's Country Cottage's Full Plate Thursday,  It's a Keeper Thursday and Sweeet Tooth Friday.

Ingredients:

Avocado

• 1 cup avocado (3 ripe avocados)
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ cup all-purpose cream
• 2 ½ cups fresh milk

Strawberry

• 10-12 pcs. strawberries
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ cup all-purpose cream
• 2 ½ cups fresh milk

Chocolate

• ½ cup Hershey’s Cocoa
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup all-purpose cream
• 3 cups fresh milk
• ½ cup condensed milk

Procedure:

1. For each flavor, place all the ingredients in a blender.

2. Blend the ingredients until smooth.

3. Pour in a large bowl. Prepare the funnel, ice candy plastic bags, and a plate to hold the ice candy.

4. Place the funnel spout inside the opening of the ice candy plastic bag.

5. Stir the mixture before scooping a little more than ¼ cup of the mixture. Pour into the funnel. Make sure that you are holding the spout and plastic tightly so that the mixture won’t spill.

6. Twist the plastic just on top of the filled part then make a tight knot. A little bubble is normal. The ice candy has to be firm but not too tight so the plastic won’t rip.

* It can be hard for first timers, but practice makes perfect! You can practice by knotting some ice candy plastic with water in it. 

   

7. Once you have done all your ice candy, wash them one by one to remove all the sticky spill. I also trim each plastic and just leave about an inch above the knot.

8. Place them in a flat surface in your freezer. You can stack them on top of each other in a maximum of 3 layers but don’t put anything else on top of them. Freeze  overnight or until hard enough. Serve and enjoy!