A freezie or a freeze pop is a water-based frozen confection similar to an

ice pop An ice pop is a liquid/cream-based frozen dessert on a stick. Unlike ice cream or sorbet, which are whipped while freezing to prevent ice crystal formation, an ice pop is frozen while at rest, becoming a solid block of ice with an icy textur ...

. It is made by freezing flavored liquid such as sugar water,

fruit juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such ...

purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., appl ...

inside a plastic casing or tube, either round or flat. Freezies come in sealed plastic tubular wrappers and conform to the shape of the wrapper when frozen to serve; as such, they do not need to be stored cold. They also do not need to be frozen as solidly as an ice pop and can have a consistency similar to that of a

slushie A slushy (also spelled slushie and less commonly slushee) is a type of beverage made of flavored ice and a drink, similar to granitas but with a more liquid composition. It is also commonly called a slush, slurpee, frozen beverage, or frozen dr ...

. Freezies are sold in a variety of flavors, including cherry, orange, lemon-lime, watermelon, cream soda, blue raspberry and grape.

Name

Freezies go by a variety of different names in different regions. The name freezie itself is most commonly used in Canada. Other regional names include freeze pop, freezer pop and Icee in the United States, ice pole and ice pop in the United Kingdom,
- icy pole and ice block in Australia, sip up and Pepsi ice in India, penna-cool in Trinidad and ice candy in the Philippines. Names used in non-English speaking countries include ''bolis'' in Mexico and Colombia, ''polo flash'' in Spain, ''chup'' or ''marciano'' in Peru, ''chup-chup'', ''sacolé'', ''dindim'' and ''geladinho'' in Brazil,
- ''shlukim'' () in Israel, and ''aiskrim Malaysia'' in Malaysia. The name of the prominent brand of freezies is also commonly used as a

generic term Trademark distinctiveness is an important concept in the law governing trademarks and service marks. A trademark may be eligible for registration, or registrable, if it performs the essential trademark function, and has distinctive character. Re ...

for freezies in the region. Examples include Otter Pops, Fla-Vor-Ice and Pop-Ice in the United States, Zooper Dooper in Australia, and Mr. Freeze in the United Kingdom and Canada.

History

The first brand to introduce the concept of freezies to the United States was Pop-Ice, which was acquired by

Jel Sert The Jel Sert Company is a privately held company based in West Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1926, it specializes in making drink mixes, dessert mixes (pudding and gelatin), and frozen novelties. History and Products The Jel ...

in 1963. six years later in 1969, Jel Sert launched its own brand of freezies called Fla-Vor-Ice, which quickly gained popularity and became the company's best-selling brand. Otter Pops was founded in the 1970s and grew to dominate the west coast freezie market. In 1996, the company was acquired by Jel Sert, making Jel Sert the largest supplier of freezies in the United States. In Canada, freezies have been made by Kisko under the Mr. Freeze brand since 1977 when the company started producing them in the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

region after the business was relocated from

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

. In the UK and Ireland, an unrelated brand called Mr. Freeze has been sold since 1966.

Brands

The freezies market is composed of many prominent regional brands with no brands having a large global reach. In the United States, prominent brands of freezies include Fla-Vor-Ice, Otter Pops, Pop-Ice, all three of which are made by Jel Sert. Other prominent brands include Mr. Freeze, produced by Kisko, in Canada, the unrelated Mr. Freeze produced by Calypso Soft Drinks Ltd in the British Isles, Zooper Dooper in Australia, Bon Ice in Mexico,

Calippo Calippo is a frozen dessert introduced by Unilever in 1984 to European markets. The brand is sold by Unilever under the Heartbrand umbrella in the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Germany and Austria, and in Aus ...

in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

and

Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...

and Polaretti in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

References

{{Ice-based snacks Snack foods Ice-based desserts