Would-be Paletera

September 1, 2008 12:18 AM

I want to make popsicles. Actually, quiero hacer paletas. I can NOT find paleta molds. Help??

Good popsicle, ice pop, paleta molds, without this "drip guard" horseshit that makes it a freaking trial to eat the last 8% of your popsicle. Popsicle eating must not feel like a trial. Drip guards? If your kid can't finish their popsicle in a timely manner, your kid shouldn't be allowed to eat popsicles.

The amazon reviews for this style are abyssmal.

Preferably large and rectangular.

posted by Ambrosia Voyeur to food & drink (15 answers total)

You can use one like the first one without having to use the plastic/dripguard handle thing. All you really need is the molds themselves and a way of making them stand up.

After you have that, you cover all the molds in cling wrap, or use rubber bands. Buy some popsicle sticks and carefully poke them through. Thats how I/my family made them. Also, since the cling wrap thing isnt perfect you do end up with occasional popsicle sticks at a slight angle. But its the imperfections that make them more authentic.
posted by vacapinta at 1:53 AM on September 1, 2008

I just scrolled through that amazon selection until I came across this one which looks like what you want.
posted by b33j at 2:00 AM on September 1, 2008

Ooh, and more.
posted by b33j at 2:02 AM on September 1, 2008

b33j, those are the abyssmal ones. A user brought up the point that the sticks go crooked any which way which then makes it impossible to remove the lid. Additionally, the mold is all one piece, which means you have to run the whole thing under the tap to extract one pop. And if the mold is plastic, as my current mold is, it takes a while. Metal seems a lot more sensible.

I want them to be rectangular so I can wrap and stack them to store them out of the mold, a la paletas. I think "Skimo" here is basically what I want, but this is a foreign wholesale company, so non-optimal.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 2:10 AM on September 1, 2008

From searching around, it looks like you may want stainless steel molds, as that's evidently what are used in restaurants and paleterias. Of course, I can't actually find any stainless steel molds online for purchase, but I wonder if you might have some luck with specialty cooking/kitchenware equipment stores. Or perhaps going to one of the large Latino/Mexican grocery stores? You might even see if you could call some of the paleterias listed in the LA Times article to see if they'd give you a hint on a supplier.
posted by scody at 2:16 AM on September 1, 2008

Paper cups, popsicle sticks. Fill, freeze and remove the cup when serving. Reverse cup, pierce with stick so now the cup serves as a drip reflector.
posted by watercarrier at 7:23 AM on September 1, 2008

A cursory google search for "moldes para paletas" turns up companies in Mexico (and Argentina) that manufacture the molds (example), most or all of which would probably have a US importer or two. (The Brazilian company linked above also claims to have a US importer.)

In your shoes, I'd start making phone calls — either to the companies overseas asking for their US importers, or to local paleterias and tienditas with good selections of housewares. Even if they don't sell the molds themselves, whomever they are buying their comals and other things from will probably know where to get them. Most people will blow you off, but someone is going to be helpful and know exactly whom to put you in touch with, if you have make enough calls.

If you can live with a different shape of paleta, Indian kulfi molds will work just fine.
posted by Forktine at 9:03 AM on September 1, 2008

(And if you do go the kulfi route, remember that the spelling will probably be "mould" not "mold," which makes a big difference when searching in google.)
posted by Forktine at 9:04 AM on September 1, 2008

OK - I used to see these at the 99 cent store - and they were just as nice as these
posted by watercarrier at 9:10 AM on September 1, 2008

My answer will be semi-useless because I don't know what brand mine are, but I thought I'd just describe them so you know that such a thing does in fact exist. Mine are individual plastic molds that lock into a metal frame, then there is a metal lid that goes over the top with slots for the sticks. Once you wrestle the lid off the sticks, then you can just pop one mold at a time out of the frame. Or you can use Glad Press-n-Seal instead of the metal lid. I'm a paleta lover too, and have lots of different molds. These are the best. Hope you can find them.
posted by HotToddy at 10:07 AM on September 1, 2008

HotToddy: The mold you're describing is the same one I have, which is the Progressive/Norpro one described above as "abysmal"

Here's my perspective: I do not find it an abomination unto popsicle making. I made two types of pops - one with lemonade, and one with a banana "smoothie". I had no problem keeping the sticks vertical in both cases. The only dumb mistake I made was sinking the popsicle sticks really deep so I barely had a handle on the pops once I unmolded them.

Slipping the lid off and back on is a little tricky, but not the ordeal some reviewers make it out to be. The pops are slightly tapered, not perfect blocks, so if you're really hung up on that I guess it would be a problem. As HotToddy mentions you can snap individual molds out of the metal frame. And you do not have to run the whole thing under water to release a pop - you just need to position the popsicle you want under water to release it.
posted by O9scar at 11:49 AM on September 1, 2008

If you waited until the liquid was semi-solid before inserting the sticks in the "abysmal" ones, they probably wouldn't slip around as much.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:56 AM on September 1, 2008

Commercial aluminum or steel molds show up on ebay every once in a while, but are priced for collectors, not people who want to make popsicles. I looked into this earlier this year and ended up just buying Helados Mexico brand paletas from 7-11 to satisfy the craving.

The thing about commercial molds is that they have a sealed and raised lip above the level of the paleta itself, so you can suspend the whole thing in a freezing salt water bath for faster chilling, and not flood the molds. And the metal is a better conductor of heat than the plastics home molds are made of. If you do end up finding a place to buy small quantities of commercial molds, please drop me a line--I'd be happy to go in on an order to split shipping costs.
posted by hades at 12:14 PM on September 1, 2008

Hmm. I hadn't seen this company last time I looked. I should give them a call to see what their prices are like. Hideously expensive for home use, I'm guessing.
posted by hades at 12:35 PM on September 1, 2008

These look interesting.
posted by contraption at 3:54 PM on September 1, 2008