Beach days elude the astronaut. No need for bikini, flip-flops or sunscreen out there. The space professional does pack ice cream — at least in the museum gift-shop version of the job. It’s always a slab of Neapolitan — pink, white and brown layers foil-wrapped and freeze-dried. One Styrofoam-crisp bite collapses into a mouthful of powder. Dissuading many a young scientist.
Freeze-dried does have advantages over other methods of dehydration. Consider the cheerful grape sun-dried into grumpy raisin: Proof. Consider the strawberry. Subjected to the low temps and low-pressure atmosphere of the freeze-drier, its water sublimates away, leaving fruit that’s light, bright and intensely flavored. Rehydrated, it can punch up a strawberry pop — one that’s made with real berries, really frozen and really stuck to a stick.
Unmolded and savored on a sunny day, it tastes of nothing but summer — here on Earth.
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STRAWBERRY FROZEN POPS
Prep: 15 minutes
Wait: 1 hour
Freeze: overnight
Cook: 3 minutes
Makes: 8 (1/2-cup) frozen pops
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 ounce freeze-dried strawberry slices (look near the raisins)
1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled
1 cup regular coconut milk
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1. Boil: In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar and water. Bring to a boil; let boil, 2 minutes. Drop in dried berries; stir. Pull pan off heat, cover and let cool, about 1 hour.
2. Swirl: Slice 4 or 5 fresh strawberries into thin rounds; set aside. Heap remaining whole, hulled berries into a blender. Pour in the dried berry mixture. Swirl smooth, about 30 seconds. Press through a fine-mesh strainer into a 1-quart measuring cup with a spout. Discard seeds. Whisk in coconut milk and almond extract. Stir in fresh sliced berries.
3. Freeze: Pour into frozen pop molds. Stab in sticks. Freeze firm, overnight. To serve, run mold under warm water for about 15 seconds. Gently pull pop free. Enjoy.
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