My OperaSHF #51: Gelinho
Monday, January 26, 2009 1:28:14 AM
It is time, once again, of the sweetest of all food blog monthly events: Sugar High Friday! The event was created by Jennifer from The Domestic Goddess, and is now in its 51st edition, which is hosted by Rachel, from Vampituity blog. And this month's theme: Childhood Delights.
"And what does that mean?", you may ask. I will tell you: It means we must try to think back into our childish mind and memories, dig it deep inside until we find something deliciously sweet, that we so much loved when we were young. Lucky enough, that's not too long ago, maybe only about 15 years should be quite enough to reach something really delicious. We called it "Gelinho" (sounds something like "jay-LEE-ño), which stands for "Small Ice". Ok, it's a silly name, almost as silly as the recipe itself. But c'mon, such a silly recipe, with a silly name and so DELICIOUS, it's just can't be silly! It's AMAZING!!!
"And what does that mean?", you may ask. I will tell you: It means we must try to think back into our childish mind and memories, dig it deep inside until we find something deliciously sweet, that we so much loved when we were young. Lucky enough, that's not too long ago, maybe only about 15 years should be quite enough to reach something really delicious. We called it "Gelinho" (sounds something like "jay-LEE-ño), which stands for "Small Ice". Ok, it's a silly name, almost as silly as the recipe itself. But c'mon, such a silly recipe, with a silly name and so DELICIOUS, it's just can't be silly! It's AMAZING!!!
Very well, now: Let me explain what is Gelinho: It's like a popsicle, but instead of using skewers or something like that, we put the mixture inside small plastic bags, like these ones:
When I was a young one, I loved to have these, during summer time, just as it is, now. 70ºF, hot summer, spending the whole day running on the street, and then, cmoing back home and have a nice, cool and sweet Gelinho.
Mommy would do it of many flavors, and the most common were the water based ones, most of the times, flavored by Tang (Yes, the powdered juice! It works great, just don't over-dissolve it!). But some of them were just amazing: the Milk based ones, such as chocolate or coconut.And today, I discovered why mom would do these at home. She said: "These are very easy to do, and you kids just love it! And I had to do it here, 'cause if I didn't, you'd probably go and ask Gelinhos from your next door kids' mom. And that's not good! Not if I can make it at home!". (I felt really proud of her. Always giving me good lessons! Thanks, mom!)
But well, after having a talk about methods and "recipes", I decided to go for 3 of my favorite flavors: Coconut, passion fruit and gooseberries. All milk-based, but you could do Passion Fruit and Gooseberries water-based, too.
You can also let your imagination fly away, too, afterall, it's just any kind of juice or milk drink that you like, frozen inside a plastic bag!
By the way, guys, if you also have similar recipes like this, where you're from, leave its name in the comment, and tell us how much you liked when you were a kid (Or how much you still like it!).
- Higa
Coconut Gelinho
Serves about 6
1/2 can (150ml) Sweetened Condensed Milk
100ml Coconut Milk
250ml Whole Milk
Passion Fruit Gelinho
Serves about 6
1/2 can (150ml) Sweetened Condensed Milk
Juice of 1 Passion Fruit (blend and sieve to remove the seeds)
350ml Whole Milk
Gooseberry Gelinho
Serves about 6
75ml Gooseberry Syrup (In Brazil, it is already sweetened)
450ml Whole Milk
(OR, just adjust the amounts accordig to the instructions, but, allowing it to be about 20% less milk, to become more concentrated)
This is quite straight-forward: Blend the chosen recipe in your blender.
Put around 80ml in each plastic bag (you could use a funnel, to avoid spilleage), and then, what is the most difficult part (And I'm not joking), give a tight knot as close to the liquid as possible, so it doesn't get too much air inside. And avoid filling the bag with the foam, or it might get like this:
Then, chill for 4 hours, or overnight. When it is nice and hard, grab one and, using your own teeth, make a hole in one of the corners and start melting and sucking out its wonderful juices!
Anonymous # Tuesday, January 27, 2009 12:56:11 PM
Anonymous # Monday, February 2, 2009 5:22:39 PM
Anonymous # Thursday, June 10, 2010 6:22:54 PM
Renato MoraesRhiga # Friday, June 11, 2010 6:16:31 PM
I do believe you should be able to find these bags in Pastry Shops, there! Send me a sign, in case you do find it!