Otter Pops

Otter Pops are a brand of freeze pops sold in the United States. The product consists of a clear plastic tube filled with a fruit-flavored liquid and is one of the earliest brands of this dessert.^[1]

Some varieties claim to contain 100% fruit juice, mostly apple juice. This variety was clear, as it also removed any artificial colors. Otter Pops are a frozen treat, but stores generally sell them at room temperature for the consumer to later freeze at home.

Background

National Pax introduced Otter Pops in 1970, in competition with Jel Sert's similar product, Fla-Vor-Ice.^[2] As of 1990, the product was manufactured by Merrytime Products Inc. of Marshall, Texas.^[3]

In 1996, Jel Sert acquired the rights to Otter Pops as well.^[2] During the 2000s, Jel Sert modified the Otter Pops recipe to add more fruit juice.^[4] The company's manufacturing facilities are in West Chicago, Illinois.^[5] Otter Pops come in 1-, 1.5-, 2- and 5.5-ounce serving sizes. They also come in 10 flavors, each named after a different character:^[6]

Blue (blue raspberry): Louie-Bloo Raspberry
Red (strawberry): Strawberry Short Kook
Pink (fruit punch): Poncho Punch
Yellow (lemon): Rip Van Lemon (discontinued in the late 1970s)
Green (lime): Sir Isaac Lime
Purple (grape): Alexander the Grape
Orange (orange (fruit)): Little Orphan Orange
Gold (mango): Major Mango
Yellow (pineapple) DJ Tropicool
White (coconut) Cosmic Coconut
Cyan (tropical punch) Anita Fruit Punch
Red (cherry) Scarlett O'Cherry (discontinued in the mid 1990s)

Sir Isaac Lime protest

In 1995, National Pax had planned to replace the "Sir Isaac Lime" flavor with "Scarlett O'Cherry". A fourth-grade student in Costa Mesa, California learned of the change on the company's World Wide Web site, and organized a petition and picket with his cousins against it; a Stanford professor wrote in support, calling it "Otter-cide". Told the change was final, the protest continued as planned, in the rain. The CEO relented, keeping it, despite it being the least popular flavour.^[7] The fourth-grader soon appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.^[8] An Internet fan site claims that National Pax packaged the cherry mix as strawberry.^[9]

Other uses

Over the generations, other uses of Otter Pops have been devised and shared in the US. They can be used as a colorful substitute for ice in a punch bowl or to flavor mixed drinks.^[10]

References

^ Jolene Thym (16 June 2021), "Taste-Off: The tastiest frozen ice pops on the market", The Mercury News, archived from the original on 16 June 2021, retrieved 18 March 2022
^ ^a ^b Sert, Jel. "Jel Sert Our History". jelsert.com. Jel Sert. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
^ Kelly, Lee (16 September 1990). "Merrytime's sweet treats distributed nationwide" (Newspapers.com). The Marshall News Messenger. Marshall TX. p. 1D. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
^ "The Past, Present, and Future of Freeze Pops". eater.com. Vox Media. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
^ "Jel Sert Business Manufacturing". Jelsert.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-30. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
^ "Otter*Popstars". Archived from the original on 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
^ Tawa, Renee (27 January 1996). "Cool-Headed Kid Keeps Sir Isaac in the Limelight" (Newspapers.com). The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles CA. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved 11 July 2023.. Second page.
^ Tawa, Renee (6 February 1996). "He Kept His Cool: After Saving an Otter Pops Icon, Boy's a Hit With Leno" (Newspapers.com). The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles CA. pp. B1, B8. Retrieved 11 July 2023.. Second page.
^ Brad. "Otter Pops Gossip -- Tainted Short Kooks". The Unofficial Otter Pops Home Page (Home of the Six Zippy Flavors). Washington University. Archived from the original on 22 October 1999. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
^ Heidi von Tagen (2010-08-02). "gorgeous bits: Otter Pops for Grownups". Gorgeousbits.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2017-05-01.