On the post I did about non-toxic popsicle molds a reader, Joy, left a comment about some stainless steel popsicle molds, which I’ve always wanted but never heard existed. Well, folks they do exist. Check this out…
This ONYX – Stainless Steel Popsicle Mold
Each set comes with one stand, 6 molds, 6 lids and 12 removable silicone rings that ensure proper stick placement.
The bummer issue about this mold set is the sticks. I’m leery of buying a set like this due to the fact that you’ve got to use wooden sticks which means ongoing costs and waste. However, these are pretty slick otherwise. If you could find some sort of reusable stick you’d be in business.
+ ONYX – Stainless Steel Popsicle Mold
Also check out 50 amazing homemade popsicle recipes.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Couldn’t you use stainless steel straws as a stick? They’d be really cold to hold but they’d be reusable…
Man, I just don’t know. If your kids’ hands were wet, maybe the stainless steel sticks would be icy and sticky. In this case, with how the top is shaped I have no idea what might work. I was actually thinking about it last night. It seems like a silicone handle would have been good in this case. I’m bummed because stainless steel ice pop molds are such a great idea, yet this set damages their eco-score so considerably due to the mountain of sticks. Frustrating.
I think it’s a great start! Well done, Onyx. At least they’ve set the stage for the next company
I agree with the idea. Think you should contact the company and let them know the issue. I”m betting the next iteration might make the change! Come to think of it, if you list the company and email we can all do it!
@Lynn – the problem is that I looked up the company (I assumed Onyx) yesterday to ask them about this and can’t find them. I’m not sure if that’s the company who made them or not. I can find products titled Onyx but not the company, so… ? Today I’ve been sick UGH so didn’t do any searching, but now I assume I’ll have to contact Tickle Trunk directly.
You can reuse the sticks:
http://www.squidoo.com/popsiclesticks
You can only make so many popsicle stick birdhouses and such though before your home starts looking like some nightmare summer camp. But yes, you can reuse some. Maybe not thousands, but some – thanks for the link.
Hello,
It’s Carolyn from Onyx Productions/The Tickle Trunk.
We have been working on the popsicle mold for a few years now, and after many, many prototypes we have developed an incredible popsicle mold. However, the stick issue! Stainless steel sticks are not an option – too expensive and frozen tounges and fingers, and silcone could not support the weight. (we tried) We are now in the process of having re-useable baboo sticks made, and they will be available in the next few months.
If you would like to contact us directly, you can reach us onyxinc@shaw.ca
Best,
Carolyn
Carolyn – Onyx Productions; that’s your company. I was thinking the same icy thoughts about stainless steel sticks. Kids don’t love to get stuck (literally) to their ice pop. The bamboo sticks sound good. Please keep us updated and thanks so much for your comment.
Wahoo! Power to the people–and to blogs, LOL! I’m excited to see these when they come out (and buy too!).
Emailed Carolyn to let me know. Thanks Jennifer, for starting this discussion. I have a set of the rubbery ones but not that thrilled with them
Jennifer, I agree about that, but I’m not sure why these things can’t be made into mulch too. One can never have enough mulch!
How about stainless steel coated in silicon for the popsicle stick?
Good idea – I wonder how bulky that would be? Actually silicone handles tend to be a little bulky anyhow, but they seem to work. Ours have holes in them to make them more lightweight.
I think they would be very expensive. I’m not sure how many people would be willing to pay for such an item. My vote is for the bamboo ones.
Hello,
We thought of that also, but they would be incredibly costly. Plus, silicone can only handle so many chews – yes chews. Kids tend to chew, bite, and mangle popsicle sticks even when you tell them not to. And if lost, which we all know would happen, it would be upsetting to all.
I love all the comments, please keep them coming. Also, any suggestions for new products. We are working on a bunch of things, all ideas help!
When my sisters and I were little, my mother used spoons or forks in lieu of pop-sticks, but I don’t recall ever having issues with having tongues stuck on the utensils. I think by the time we got there, it wasn’t as cold. If the opening on top is wide enough, I might try that.
about those sticks…you can most definitely re-use a wooden stick. we don’t throw away wooden cutting boards or bowls after just one use. wash and re-use my friends. and thanks to onyx for making a mold that i’ve thought about so many times in the past.
ps. beeswax the sticks for easier cleaning.
I LOVE the beeswax idea! That’s so clever. Sticks that aren’t coated get all water-logged, chewed up and gross.
I can’t remember there ever being a recall on stainless. I would be more worried about the finish on the wooden sticks and my children ingesting it. As far as throwing them away they are wood you could put them in your compost or just throw them in the woods and let them break down theirself. Just food for thought you can search rubber in just about anything and rubber is from a rubber tree plant. Stainless is stainless and rubber is rubber and glass is glass and clay pottery is clay pottery. I kinda wonder about the whole silicone thing who knows twenty years from now what we might find out about it like the things we have found out about plastic. Ever wonder why your plastic stuff comes out of the disherwasher tasting like your dishwasing detergent? Because it absorbs if it absorbs then it can release…release what? I’ve been using stainless, rubber and glass since early 2000 before the whole BPA stuff happened…just makes sense. If it can absorb it can release.
I just encountered this useful and informative thread (July 2011). I’ve gone ahead and ordered not only the popsicle molds, but other food storage containers too. The elimination of plastic in contact with foods slowly continues in our house.
The current posting on status of reusable sticks (not available) can be seen at this page : http://www.thetickletrunk.com/categories.php?id=65&name=Popsicle_molds
Personally, the wooden sticks issue is almost neither here nor there. It’s going to be difficult enough just getting the kids to return the molds themselves. The amount of wood involved in each popsicle is tiny.
Thinking of does remind me of a crazy ‘ACME’ type scene in one of the old Bugs Bunny Show episodes from the 1960′s, where a mill is shown grinding down each tree, so that ‘plink’, a solitary tooth pick can exit the other end of the machine. Can anyone else remember this? (if old enough?).
Good luck in the pursuit of perfect health. It’s out there.
The bamboo sticks will be available on July 12th!
http://onyxcontainers.com
Best,
Carolyn
@Grant – I don’t agree that the wooden stick issue is here or there. If you have just 3 kids eating three ice pops a day each that’s a HUGE pile of sticks after a while, not to mention ongoing costs. I just don’t get the point of 1/2 reusable ice pop molds – if the stick isn’t reusable too, I doubt I’d buy a mold set.
@Carolyn – that is excellent news. I’ll check out the site on the 12th.
“Damages their eco-store”!?? Are you kidding me! This company has gone above and beyond by developing new, safe and eco-friendly products. One step at a time people! 1/2 reusable? They are 100% re-usable, and safe. They should be congratulated and supported for doing this. They will have the bamboo sticks in a week which is great, but I agree with Heidi you can re-use the wood ones. 3 ice pops a day? How about a banana?
@Kat – three ice pops a day is not too many if they’re healthy. Around here we make ice pops with fruits and veggies and not a bunch of junk. In the summer a frozen ice pop often makes a better snack than a plain old not-so-icy-cold piece of fruit. Plus, as I’ve noted in other posts, at my house we often freeze water or plain ice tea into pops, and eat those during the day too, so our ice pop mold usage really adds up.
I doubt anyone here thinks this company sucks. It seems like we all love the stainless steel plan. BUT some people do not want ice pop molds that don’t also have reusable sticks. No matter how much people say they don’t, sticks DO actually add up. Just like plastic baggies, shampoo bottles, drinking straws, foil and all the 100s of other small items people bring into their homes.
In my house we’re trying to cut down on trash and throw-away stuff, and for us, one throw-away item that is easily eliminated is the ice pop stick, especially because there are ice pop molds that are fully reusable, sticks included.
I agree that companies who make reusable gear should be supported – and I do like this company. However, I always try to point out the pros and cons of eco-goods. Had I not pointed out the ongoing costs and waste of wooden sticks in the post above, I wouldn’t be meeting my own review criteria for green products. It’s fine if you and other folks are okay with non-reusable ice pop sticks. But I’m not and that should be fine as well.
I agree that things add up, I’ve already said that. Re-usable sticks are the way to go. Be it waxed wood or bamboo. And comparing a wood stick (compostable, natural, renewable, non-toxic etc…) to a plastic bag, or straws or foil is ridiculous. The point is that these molds are not plastic! The ice pop molds that are out there that are 100% re-usable are plastic – they are poison!!! We all know that, plastic is bad bad bad.
I’m ordering mine tonight.
How about using reuseable chop sticks for a handle. They are usually more square than a popsicle stick and quite a bit sturdier. Some of them are laquered and some aren’t. I just put ours through the dishwasher and have never had a problem with germs.