The Best Popsicle Molds
On hot summer days, there are few things as satisfying as reaching into your freezer for a homemade popsicle. The best popsicle molds are easy to fill, easy to store, and easy to remove your treats from. After researching dozens of popsicle molds, testing 26, and making 140 ice pops over the years (as well as eating enough of them to give an army brain freeze), we've found that the Zoku Round Pop Molds make the most consistent and modern-looking pops of all the molds we’ve tried.As for other plasticizers, the research isn’t conclusive on which ones cause harm and by just how much. But this may be a moot point, especially when it comes to pop molds. There can be leaching with some types of plasticizers, but it’s in very small amounts and can take years—literally. According to Neal Langerman, principal scientist and owner of the consulting firm Advanced Chemical Safety, it’s when companies do accelerated aging studies on such materials, subjecting the plastic to the equivalent of 5 to 6 years’ worth of use, that a small amount of additives could show up in food or liquid stored in plastic. This is a much smaller amount than would actually do harm, according to the available data, Langerman said. “But then I want to know what will happen if I leave it in my freezer at -7 or -8°C for 45 days. Well, that slows everything down,” since chemical reactions take even longer when cold. “So clearly, I’m not worried about plasticizers,” Langerman said. The bottom line is that everyday use of plastic popsicle molds is not going to pose a risk to anybody.
Zoku Round Pop Molds
Despite testing 15 molds this year—10 new ones and the five picks from our 2013 review—with entirely new recipes, we found that most of our original winners still make the best pops. And for the second time, the Zoku Round Pop Molds proved leagues ahead of the rest. The Zoku set creates treats that are the right size for kids or adults, and they’re among the least messy to eat thanks to unobtrusive drip guards on the sticks. Compared with plastic molds, the unique peel-away silicone design releases pops far easier, and they’re also simpler to fill than other silicone versions. Finally, the Zoku Round Pop Molds were more durable than any of the others we tested. They work well for all types of pop—from creamy to chunky to pure juice—and retail for less than $18, making them the right choice for most households.
Zoku Classic Pop Molds
If our main pick sells out, we’d get the Zoku Classic Pop Mold. These are almost identical to the round version, except they’re oblong and made of plastic, rather than silicone, so they need to be run under hot water to set the pops free. These molds do have a larger footprint in the freezer, but they’ll also make six pops at once. The pop shape is slightly more prone to breaking and a little messier to eat—partially because the handles don’t come with a drip guard. But the shape makes them ideal if you like to bite into a pop. Plus, unlike the Zoku Round Pop Molds, these molds aren’t opaque. That’s useful if you tend to make more than one flavor in a batch, since you can see which flavor pop you’re grabbing more easily.
Norpro Ice Pop Maker
For serving a crowd, we like the Norpro Ice Pop Maker. You’ll get 10 pops all at once and their iconic, squarer shapes look most like the pops you’d have bought off an ice-cream truck in the ’50s. But the plastic molds need to be run under hot water (from various angles) to free the pops, and it’s tricky getting just one out at a time. The lid that sits on top of the mold can also be difficult to pry off. Still, it’s the best option for when you’re planning a party and need a lot of pops at one time. Considering how many pops you can get from it, it’s also fairly sleek, profile-wise, so you won’t have to clear out a ridiculous amount of freezer space to make room for it.
Zoku Fish Pop Molds
If you’re looking for impressive visuals, we wholeheartedly recommend the Zoku Fish Pop Molds. The adorable aquatic figurines will delight little ones, and they looked crisp and professional regardless of the pop recipe. Like with our main pick, it’s easy to pull the fish pops from their silicone molds, each of which holds about 1.5 ounces, depending on the shape—a great size for toddlers on up to elementary-aged kids. The molds are easy to overfill, though, and it’s not always obvious which of the playfully-shaped plastic sticks corresponds to which pop (the whale body gets a whale tail, the puffer fish gets fins, etc.) But overall, these were the easiest to use of the kid-specific molds we tried. As with the other Zoku molds, this set has a fairly large freezer footprint, but they’re unmatched in terms of visuals.
Why you should trust us
I worked as senior editor of BUST Magazine for three years, covering their food/home section. During that time, I developed, edited, and wrote recipes. I also worked with chefs on food features and supervised photoshoots. I currently work as an editor covering food (as well as other sections) at a major national women’s magazine.
In order to ascertain which features were most important in a pop mold, which materials work best for a home cook, and how to make the best pops, I interviewed Reuben Ben Jehuda, owner/co-founder of the popsicle chain Popbar, and Charity Ferreira, who penned the 2011 cookbook Perfect Pops. For the original 2013 guide, writer Jamie Wiebe spoke with Doug Goff, a food scientist specializing in ice cream at the University of Guelph, and David Carrell at Brooklyn-based pop shop People’s Pops.
All these molds should be thoroughly washed after every use, and make sure to consult the box to see whether they’re dishwasher safe (some of the ones we tested—including all three Zoku molds we tried—are not). As with any silicone products, take care not to use harsh scouring pads or steel wool while cleaning, so as not to scratch the molds. And keep them far from any knives or other pointy objects in your sink or dishwasher, so you don’t accidentally puncture them.
If you’re bothered by the smell retained by silicone, there are tons of tricks you can use to get rid of the odor, including this slightly gross-sounding but intriguing tip from Amazon that was praised by Chowhound readers.
If you don’t like using reusable plastic sticks, you can always use old-fashioned wooden pop sticks. Ferreira told us of a hack she uses to modify molds that come with plastic sticks: “You can choose to just use wooden sticks—cover the top of the mold with foil, make a slit in the foil, and insert the stick. That holds the stick in place while the mixture freezes.”
Who should get these?
Popsicle molds aren’t must-have kitchen items like a saucepan or a can opener—most home cooks function just fine without them. But when summer rolls around and you’ve got kids or overheated party guests at your house, you’ll be very glad you’ve got them. Nothing tastes better on a muggy day than a fresh, mouth-numbing popsicle, pulled right out of the freezer and eaten under an umbrella.
Though pre-made popsicles are sold nearly everywhere, making them at home is perfect for frozen-dessert food scientists who want to experiment with flavors and creative recipes. If you don’t have the space or the budget for an ice-cream maker, a set of molds and a waiting freezer is all you’ll need to become a popsicle maestro. The process is also a fun and simple cooking project for kids or adults and can be customized for those with dietary restrictions.Plastic molds are cheap and readily available, but they’re prone to breakage and they also sometimes prove difficult to use, as they need to be run under hot water until they’ll release their precious popsicle cargo. Reuben Ben Jehuda, owner/co-founder of the popsicle chain PopBar, declined to say which material his stores use for their molds (it’s a trade secret), but explained, “For home use, you can definitely go with the plastic one. I don’t think it’s going to affect the quality in the long run, and they’ll stay good for minor consumption.” If you’re concerned about chemicals leaching from plastic pop molds, you likely don’t need to be (see our Ingredients of concern section).
Silicone is a frequently used material in pop molds, but durability is an issue—accidentally puncture these molds with a sharp object in the dishwasher, cabinet, or sink, and they’re permanently out of commission. Plus, they can emit a not-too-pleasant smell and are more likely to hold onto the odors of pops past. Because silicone doesn’t become brittle at freezing temperatures and will simply peel away from frozen matter, it’s a particularly good material for pop molds. As food scientist Doug Goff told us, “plastic under a microscope is very rough, with lots of nooks and crannies, so ice can easily adhere to it and that makes withdrawal of a frozen novelty out of a plastic mold difficult. Silicone molds are much preferred for ease of removal, and they are smoother … but more importantly silicone repels water, so the lack of stick is mostly due to the lack of interaction between water/ice and silicone at the surface of the mold.” As with plastic, there’s little risk of chemicals leaching from silicone into your pops.
Most molds come with reusable sticks, and some (such as our main pick) have built-in drip guards to collect sticky drops before they hit your shirt. The popsicle sticks should feel smooth in the mouth during the final stages of eating and not too pointy, so they don’t present a hazard to children. We think buying wooden sticks and inserting them in the pops seems like a hassle, especially when you run out of sticks and can’t make pops spontaneously. But it comes down to a matter of preference—Ferreira told us that she doesn’t like the look or feel of pops with plastic sticks and always opts for wood.
For our original review, we tested 16 molds, making approximately 60 pops. After speaking with experts, scouring Amazon and food blogs, and re-reading well-respected editorial sources cited in the first review, we chose 10 additional molds, with a focus on silicone push-up pops, classic pops, and cute kid-friendly styles. We tested them against our five original winners and made about 80 pops. Several of the molds we tested and dismissed have seen stock issues, but we’ve listed available ones in the Competition below.
Zoku Round Pop Molds
These silicone molds were the easiest to use and the spherical pops held together best in our testing. The molds work equally well for creamy and fruit-based pops, and their 3-ounce size makes them perfect for adults and kids.After considering 26 molds for this update and testing 15, the Zoku Round Pop Molds—our original favorite—again came out leagues ahead of the competition. These molds produced the most consistent pops, and they’re more glamorous and modern-looking than a classic rectangular pop (if you care about such a thing). The smooth, spherical pops were less likely to break than those from other molds. Compared to most of the molds’ we used, the well-constructed stand was easier to fill. It was also sturdier than the other molds we tried, resisting breakage even when dropped. Plus, because you can remove the pops from glove-like silicone sheaths, this is one of the few molds that you don’t need to run under hot water to release the treat.
A note on safety of materials
As for other plasticizers, the research isn’t conclusive on which ones cause harm and by just how much. But this may be a moot point, especially when it comes to pop molds. There can be leaching with some types of plasticizers, but it’s in very small amounts and can take years—literally. According to Neal Langerman, principal scientist and owner of the consulting firm Advanced Chemical Safety, it’s when companies do accelerated aging studies on such materials, subjecting the plastic to the equivalent of 5 to 6 years’ worth of use, that a small amount of additives could show up in food or liquid stored in plastic. This is a much smaller amount than would actually do harm, according to the available data, Langerman said. “But then I want to know what will happen if I leave it in my freezer at -7 or -8°C for 45 days. Well, that slows everything down,” since chemical reactions take even longer when cold. “So clearly, I’m not worried about plasticizers,” Langerman said. The bottom line is that everyday use of plastic popsicle molds is not going to pose a risk to anybody.