Zoku Quick Pop Maker July 2010

The Zoku Quick Pop Maker is an innovative set of ice lolly moulds that you pre-freeze before using. The three moulds are surrounded by liquid that freezes, so when you remove them from the freezer and pour in your ice lolly mixture, your lollies freeze before your eyes.

The instructions claim that Zoku can freeze ice lollies in seven to nine minutes and can make up to nine lollies in total (three lots of three) before it needs to go back in the freezer, but we struggled to do quite so well.

Our first batch of three orange juice ice lollies took around 10 minutes to freeze completely and our second set took around 15 minutes, which we were fairly impressed with. Our third batch failed to freeze – they were still slushy after 30 minutes.

We also tried freezing yoghurt, which worked really well, and we had success with rum and ginger-beer lollies too – though we had to wait until the ginger beer was flat before freezing, as you can’t use carbonated drinks in the Zoku (the bubbles make the lolly slushy).

It’s worth noting that you need to freeze the Quick Pop Maker for 24 hours before use and you can’t make sugar-free lollies, as sugar ‘helps release the pops from the moulds’ and without it they may be ‘impossible to remove’.

Zoku Quick Pops

Fun for kids

The fact that you can watch your ice lollies freeze is a nice feature and we think this product would be particularly exciting for children. Because the Zoku has no moving parts or electrical elements, kids can help make the ice lollies. However, care must be taken not to let them touch the metal part of the Quick Pop Maker while frozen, as their fingers may get stuck.

You can get quite creative with the ingredients you use in the Zoku. As well as adding fruit and nuts to the mix, you can try the ‘unique’ recipes included in the instruction booklet. These show you how to make stripy ‘Zebra pops’ and ‘Flavoured Core Pops’ – cream-filled lollies that are made by part-freezing a lolly, sucking out the centre with a straw, filling it with cream and leaving it to freeze completely.

You don’t get that much on a lolly, as the sticks are quite thick, and the drip cups that attach to the lolly sticks aren’t that great at catching drips. However, these small disadvantages are likely to be outweighed by the novelty, until that wears off.

Following the instructions

If there’s one thing we learnt when trying out the Zoku Quick Pop Maker, it’s that following the instructions is essential. Making ice lollies isn’t quite as simple as it seems when the Zoku’s involved and there are a few quirks you need to watch out for.

One important instruction we missed is the fact that if you want to clean the Quick Pop Maker after use, you need to wait for it to defrost completely and then dry it thoroughly before putting it back in the freezer.

Otherwise, water droplets will freeze inside the moulds and make your next set of lollies very difficult to remove (which we learnt the hard way).

We also struggled a bit with the ‘Super Tool’ - the orange handle-shaped tool that helps you remove the lollies from their moulds. However, once we’d mastered it (the key is not to pull on the tool but just to keep turning it until the lollies pop out), removing the lollies was easy.

Which? verdict on the Zoku Quick Pop Maker

We liked the novelty aspect of the Zoku Quick Pop Maker and enjoyed the almost instant gratification when making our own lollies. It isn’t wildly expensive, at £39.99, and we think it could make an interesting gift. But considering you can pick up a classic ice lolly mould for around £2, we’re not sure we’d splash out on this product for ourselves.

The Zoku Quick Pop Maker is available from Lakeland and through the Zoku online shop.

Pros: Makes quick ice lollies, you can use a wide range of ingredients, instructions include interesting recipes

Cons: Struggles when making several batches of lollies, you can’t make sugar-free lollies, drip cups aren’t very effective