Front Porch Pops – Traditional Home Made Ice Cream Pops with a Foodie's Flare and Free Popsicle Contest
12 Sep
What happens when life gives you lemons? You make lemon flavored popsicles! Life dealt Erin White a setback when she became an unemployed Marketing Specialist in Seattle. She is now living the Foodie dream by starting up a thriving food business called “Front Porch Pops”. Erin handcrafts gourmet popsicles using only fresh ingredients and peddles them on a push cart called “Front Porch Pops”.
I first met this proprietor at the Munchathon in Trabuco Canyon, CA. As I walked by her cart, I was stopped cold when I saw a little kid biting into a purple popsicle. I instantly had flashbacks of myself as an 8-year old Tommy, with a budding
foodie palate, scrounging through the sofa to find loose change for the ice cream cart man. As the lid opened up to the Ice Cream Cart, I began to salivate in a true Pavlovian fashion. “Front Porch Pops” had tapped into my childhood desire to have a yummy popsicle on a hot day, but in addition, it also satisfied my adult foodie cravings for high end flavor pairings. That day at the munchathon, I tried eight different flavors, each popsicle delicious in its’ own right. Front Porch Pops features some high end flavors like Grilled Pineapple, Mango Lassi and even features a popsicle called Salted Caramel. Yum!! Don’t worry parents; there are even kid friendly flavors as well like strawberry lemonade.
I asked Erin what inspired her to take up making popsicles and she stated, “My Grandma always told me that I was going to be a chef one day.” After Erin was laid off, she took ownership of her fate and blended her love of cooking and her desire to start up a business. After experimenting with flavors, ingredients and freezing methods, she developed a remarkable product that can be equally appreciated by foodies and children.
So what makes Front Porch Pops different than any other gourmet desert? I discovered that “Front Porch Pops” utilize both farm fresh ingredients and an artisanal approach that expresses itself in the flavor and texture of its gourmet popsicles. During my interview, I asked Erin to explain the ingredients she uses to make the popsicles and she responded, “I only use whole farm fresh fruit and high end yogurt, cream and buttermilk. I think the secret is in using only natural high-quality ingredients.” I can attest
to this point, as I tasted only fresh fruit flavors in their natural state. The next secret of her tasty popsicles is her quick freeze popsicle making process. This popsicle making technique eliminates the nasty crystallization you might remember from your childhood experiments of freezing orange juice in plastic popsicle molds. Front Porch Pop’s quick freezing technique leaves the popsicles creamy to the tongue and protects the natural flavors of the fruit and cream .
The following are flavors I tried from her opus of 30 flavors
Tangy Lemon Cream (pale yellow color): This popsicle is made from freshly 
squeezed lemon juice, buttermilk, lemon zest and a little salt to make the flavors pop. This popsicle had both a tart bite and a creamy finish. This popsicle would be perfect on a hot day sitting on a hammock. This popsicle would also be good after eating a very savory or spicy dish, as the lemon kick soothes both the palate and the stomach.
Grilled Pineapple (darker yellow): This popsicle is created by 
grilling pineapples to caramelize the natural sugars and they are then pureed with pineapple juice, lemon and pink peppercorns. This popsicle tastes like you are eating a creamy frozen pineapple. It has slightly sweet and slightly tart flavors that are balanced with cream to give it a smooth finish.
Mango Lassi (pale orange, almost yellow): This popsicle is based on an Indian Dessert 
with the same name. It contains puréed mango, Greek yogurt, milk and a bit of cardamom. Eating this popsicle takes you on a flavor rush of many different ingredients. This is a flavor with a rich, creamy and complex pop that is ideal for foodies, but not for kids who have yet to develop an appreciation for complex flavors.
Watermelon (two-toned, red and pink) - This actually tastes like you are 
biting into a really sweet watermelon. There were really subtle flavors that are naturally juicy and lingered pleasantly on my taste buds. This is a nice mellow popsicle that I would eat while hanging out on a floaty in the pool on a hot day. This popsicle was actually one of my Favorites.
Blueberry Lime (purple) – This popsicle is made from fresh, locally 
grown blueberries. The fruit is first simmered down and then puréed with fresh squeezed lime juice. Even though this was a blueberry popsicle, I tasted notes of boysenberry and pomegranate. This popsicle had a lingering sweetness, but had a subtle tartness on the back-end of the palate. This is a great Popsicle for foodies and kids alike.
Creamy Vanilla Caramel (brown)- This popsicle mixes the naturally 
complimentary flavors of sweet and salty. The initial flavors you taste are caramel and mocha with a very slight hint of salt that acts to balance the sweetness, rather than providing a salty flavor. The texture is extremely smooth on the tongue. When you chew and swallow this popsicle, the flavor profile changes slightly from mocha to salty, and then sweet caramel. There seemed to be a pleasant aftertaste of mocha. The closest food that I can associate this to is caramel popcorn. I would eat this popsicle after eating a dish that has an acidic/protein base like bouillabaisse, shrimp scampi, ceviche or even chicken marsala.
Strawberry Lemonade (pink): This 
popsicle is made from fresh Southern California strawberries and lemons strained twice to ensure that no seeds enter to disturb the texture of the popsicle. This frozen treat had sweet, tart and slightly earthy flavors. This popsicle tasted very natural, as I could taste the fresh strawberries and fresh squeezed lemons.
Monkey Gone To Heaven *New Flavor* - This 
popsicle combines the classic flavor combination of banana and chocolate. Erin explained that her customers were asking for a chocolate popsicle, which she did not offer. While mulling over chocolate recipes, “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, by the Pixies, came on the radio and the idea of chocolate and banana popsicles was born. This popsicle is made by using “top notch Belgium chocolate” to make a rich pudding and blending it with grilled bananas. The sweet flavors of the caramelized bananas balances out the intensity of the dark chocolate, giving you an upscale chocolate banana experience. This is a new flavor that I have yet to try, but it has been consistently selling out.
My Final Thoughts
Front Porch pops travels the local food truck circuit and plays the desert side
kick to the massive food trucks. Erin’s “Front Porch Pops” has made a successful entry into the food truck and farmer’s market circuit by delivering a high quality product to foodies who are looking for sophisticated flavors. I really enjoyed eating “Front Porch Pops” and do plan to eat them as often as I can. I am giving this vendor a 4 out of 5, based on the flavor, creamy texture and fair price point for the quality of the product. I do see a strong future for “Front Porch Pops” and even potential for these popsicles being sold at stores like Trader Joes, Gelson’s and Bristol Farms.
Yes Free Popsicles! Erin has been extremely generous and had graciously offered to give away 10 popsicles to one lucky winner! Just leave a comment on this blog as to which of these popsicle you would like to try. This is a really easy contest to enter and I will be picking a lucky winner on September 24th. I will provide Erin your name and I will give you a super secret password to claim your popsicles. Trust me you really want to try these popsicles, they are amazing! You can use your Facebook or Twitter accounts to leave a comment. If you leave a comment as an anonymous “guest”, and Iwill find you- Wednesday 09/14 : 11-2: Street Chef Food Truck Stop @ Printronix, 14600 Myford Road,
- Wednesday 9/14 : 5:30-9:00 Irvine and Troy High School in Fullerton 2200 East Dorothy Lane Fullerton
- Thursday 09/15 : 5:30-9:00 Los Alamitos Picnic at the Plaza, 10942 Pine Street Los Alamitos
- Friday 09/16 : 11-2 Brea Grub N Go @ Chase Suite hotel 3100 E Imperial Hwy Brea
- Saturday 09/17 : 9am-2pm : SoCo Farmers Market 3315 Hyland Ave, Costa Mesa
- Sunday 09/18 : 9am – 1pm : Newport Beach Farmers Market 3400 Via Oporto, Newport Beach
You can always go to the Front Porch Pops Facebook Page or Twitter page for the most up to date Schedule.Soon they will be available at “Lolishop” in Newport Beach
Visit Front Porch Pops Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/FrontPorchPops
Follow Front Porch Pops on Twitter: http://twitter.com/frontporchpops
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I have tried the pops, and they are yummy!!!! I like Grilled pineapple, Watermelon, and Strawberry lemonade. Mango too.
I forgot to leave my name. Carmela Trama Avila
Hi, forgot to leave my name for the review. Carmela Trama Avila
Oo, difficult choice, but I’d want to try the grilled pineapple!! I’ve tried their vanilla caramel and it is DEEEElicious. Would love 10 free pops!!!!
I would like to try the Blueberry Lime. It looks delish!!!!!
wow! love reading about local businesses. i would love to try her blueberry flavor b/c the color of it is so PURTY!!
OOOO Those sound awesome! I’d love to try the Blueberry Lime, the Watermelon, the Monkey gone to Heaven, the Strawberry Lemonade, and the Mango Lassi!
I loved eating chocolate covered bananas at Disneyland when I was a little girl so I would HAVE to try the Monkey Gone To Heaven!!! My mouth is watering already!
Oh man! I had the pleasure of finally tracking Erin and Front Porch Pops down at Picnic @ the Plaza in Los Alamitos! She’s been one of the vendors I’ve been trying to find local since I heard about her pops a few weeks ago!
My wife and I tried, the grilled pineapple, vanilla caramel and blueberry lime. I have to say the flavors we tried were all an experience! The grilled pineapple has to be one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth! The sweetness of the pineapple and you could taste the caramelized sugars in every bite.
The saltiness and the creaminess of the vanilla caramel completely overloaded my taste buds! It was amazing how you could taste each individual flavor component in each bite.
My wife is a huge fan of lime, so she HAD to try the blueberry lime at the last minute. You could taste the pulp in the pop and the purple tongue at the end reminded her of being a kid!
Too top it all off, Erin is an absolute sweetheart! You can tell how much she enjoys what she is doing and the joy she’s bringing her customers through her creations.
Too often I’ve come across GFT’s that are only going through the motions at this point. Erin is definitely a cut above the rest and I wish her luck in expanding her business! It’s truly a home run product!
John,
Great summary of the popsicles you tasted, made me hungry! Thanks for posting
Tom
These are the best pops Ever! I hope I win 10 free ones.
I fell in love with the salted caramel and now I’m dying to try the monkey gone to heaven. Sounds heavenly for sure!
I first discovered Front Porch Pops over a month ago at a food truck event, at Loara High. I was a little skeptical to try the Mango Lassi because of the cardemum. To my surprise the flavor was freakin awesome! From then i have tried other flavors as well and let me just say that the quality and flavor is there in each flavor regardless of the day or time. I will definitely continue to follow them on facebook as well as bring family and friends to try them. The Blueberry-lime is full of fruit and the hint of lime is very refreshing, Monkey Gone to Heavon is blissful, but my fav is the Creamy Vanilla Caramel, so sweet,hint of saltiness just melts in your mouth. Huge fan!!
Love Front Porch Pops – Strawberry Lemonade is our families all time fav!
Grilled Pineapple and Vanilla Carmel!!! I’ll take any of them but these two would be great!
Sounds delicious!! Looking forward to trying some pops soon.
I would love to try the Monkey Gone to Heaven. It sounds delicious!