Ice Candies

Yummy Icy Treats

The weather has been really weird the last couple of days.  July is almost over but it seems like it is still summer.  Then in the afternoon a brief rain shower would occur, then be gone in about an hour, making the weather sticky and humid.  I feel like I am in a sauna.  Good thing we have ice candy in the freezer to keep us cool in this weird weather. 

In the '80s it seemed iced candy was all the rage. During summer several houses in our village would put up signs - Iced Candy For Sale.  My parents did not want us to eat ice candy, they claimed we would get sick because the water used to make them was dirty.  And apparently my parents never had iced candy when they were young.  It seemed to me that I and my brothers were the only kids that have never had ice candy.  My Lola took pity on us, so she decided to make these treats herself. She used  powdered juices  Kool Aid or Tang, whichever was available.  And then there was this  liquid juice concentrate that I can't recall the name, this one produced the most flavorful iced candies. It was such a treat when we finally were able to take the candies out of the fridge, turn them over to bite off the plastic from the bottom end, and then finally start licking and sucking till our tongues became numb.

Nowadays ice candy has become sophisticated by using fresh fruits, milk, and cream.  One of these days I'll try to make this type of ice candy.  But for now I will have to use my Lola's simple version of powdered juice and water.  I will be forever thankful to my Lola for making us these childhood treats, despite my parents' objections.  She did not try to overrule them, instead she found ways to work around some of the rules.

As for the Little Ones, at this time they are not quite as fond as I am of these treats.  I guess they are still too young, they find it difficult to hold and eat. But I am sure in a few years they will grow to love these frosty treats as much as I do.