Mexican Mango Paletas
Ripe mango, a squeeze of lime and a spoonful of sugar blended and frozen on a stick: the fruit paleta that made a Michoacán village famous.
Paletas, "little sticks", are Mexico's fruit and cream ice pops, sold by paleteros everywhere. America's Test Kitchen says Michoacán and Jalisco are especially tied to them because of their fruit, and that the Michoacán village of Tocumbo claims to be the industry's birthplace, with a giant pink paleta monument. México Desconocido places the start in Tocumbo between the late 1930s and early 1940s, when Rafael Malfavón, known as "El Arrapato", sold paletas packed with pieces of seasonal fruit and trained young people from his town in the trade. Their shops spread to Mexico City under the name La Michoacana, whose origin México Desconocido calls unknown; Tocumbo has held a Feria de la Paleta since 1989. The founders' names and dates differ between sources (see Rules).
Why it works the kitchen science
All fruit
Mango puree is thick and naturally sweet, so the paleta freezes creamy-dense rather than icy with almost no added sugar.
Lime for balance
The acid sharpens the mango flavor, which cold dulls.
Step by step
- Step 1
Put the mango, lime juice and sugar in a blender and blend until completely smooth, about 1 minute.
- Step 2
Taste. If the mango is tart, add more sugar 1 tbsp at a time and blend 10 seconds after each.
- Step 3
Pour into six 3-ounce ice pop molds, leaving 1/4 inch at the top. Insert the sticks (if your molds have no lid, freeze 1 hour first, then push the sticks in).
- Step 4
Freeze at least 4 hours, until solid.
- Step 5
To unmold, run the outside of the mold under warm water for about 1 minute, keeping the stick end dry, then pull gently.
- Step 6
Drizzle with chamoy or sprinkle with chile-lime seasoning if you like, and eat right away.
Mexican Mango Paletas
Serves 6 · 6 paletas (3-ounce molds) · 10 min total
Paletas
- 3 cups chopped ripe mango (from about 3 mangoes), or frozen mango, thawed
- Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp sugar, or more to taste
Optional, to serve
- Chamoy or chile-lime seasoning
Method
- Put the mango, lime juice and sugar in a blender and blend until completely smooth, about 1 minute.
- Taste. If the mango is tart, add more sugar 1 tbsp at a time and blend 10 seconds after each.
- Pour into six 3-ounce ice pop molds, leaving 1/4 inch at the top. Insert the sticks (if your molds have no lid, freeze 1 hour first, then push the sticks in).
- Freeze at least 4 hours, until solid.
- To unmold, run the outside of the mold under warm water for about 1 minute, keeping the stick end dry, then pull gently.
- Drizzle with chamoy or sprinkle with chile-lime seasoning if you like, and eat right away.
Adapted from In Mama Maggie's Kitchen's "Paletas de Mango": (3 cups chopped mango, juice of 1 lime, 1 tablespoon sugar or to taste, blended, frozen at least 4 hours, unmolded under running water, 6 servings). The source gives no mold size; 3-ounce molds are ours. In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Taste the mixture a little sweeter than you want; freezing mutes sweetness. America's Test Kitchen says sugar also keeps frozen treats from turning rock hard.
- No molds: small paper or plastic cups with a wooden stick work, and so do ice cube trays (In Mama Maggie's Kitchen).
- For chunks the Tocumbo way, stir 1/2 cup finely diced mango into the puree before filling the molds.
- Store unmolded paletas in a freezer bag, layered with parchment.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Paletas were born in Tocumbo. Disputed: Tocumbo claims it and ATK repeats the claim, but one competing story places the start in Mexticacán, Jalisco, in the early 1940s (search summaries only).
- Rafael Malfavón made the first paletas. Disputed on date: México Desconocido says late 1930s to early 1940s; another source gives 1942 (search summary).
- Who founded La Michoacana. Disputed: search summaries credit Ignacio and Luis Alcázar and Agustín Andrade in the mid-1940s, with dates from 1932 to 1946; México Desconocido says the name's origin is unknown. Do not name a founder.
- Paletas are just Mexican popsicles. Folklore: In Mama Maggie's Kitchen says they are made with real fruit and sugar, unlike grocery store pops, but that is a description, not a rule.
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