Thrilling Chills by Susan Campbell Aruba’s restaurants run the gamut from upscale fine dining to homey comfort food, and just about everything in between. But what they all have in common is a soft spot for sweets! And when it comes to what’s trending in desserts these days... everything cool is hot again!
A cold treat on a hot day: it’s a classic, and some things never get old. Especially when you consider that Aruba has many hot days! Classics can always stand to be reinvented, though, and when it comes to desserts and frozen treats-togo, a little innovation puts a whole new spin on things. We’ve made the rounds of the best tables, the hippest joints, and the best take-outs and found original flavorings and novel serving methods in the cold and frozen dessert arena. The “Popsicle” goes way back
The word “popsicle” is thrown around a lot, but the name was actually copyrighted by the man who claims to have “invented” the frozen treat on a stick. In 1905, Frank Epperson left his soda pop with a stir stick in it on the porch outside one night and it froze. He was 11 years old. It wasn’t until he was 27 that he applied for a patent on it. He initially wanted to name it the “Eppsicle”, but his children convinced him to call it the “Popsicle”. And like a child’s tongue on a frozen fence, the name stuck! Epperson can’t claim to have invented flavored ice, however, that honor goes way, way back. Nobility in the Roman Empire would often send their slaves up to the mountains to fetch ice and would then have it flavored with syrups made from fruit and spices. The ice pop goes gourmet
For decades, the simple popsicle was nothing more than an inexpensive treat reserved for school-aged children and sweet tooths. Today, creative chefs, food artists, and even barkeeps are doing crazy things with the frozen treats, crazy good. And the new flavors aren’t just for kids, either – avocado-mango-chili popsicle, 68
anyone? Or how about a “cocktailsicle” made of beet, citrus, rosemary, watermelon, black pepper, and rhubarb-rose Riesling, or a pomegranate-Merlot pop? One thing is for certain, these are not your grandmother’s popsicles! E 69