I love berries, they’re such cute tiny little things. Their different shapes and lovely colors make them an ideal decoration on desserts, and they are better for you than butter cream frosting, as they not only look good but beneficial for your health. Most berries are full of anti-oxidants, helping to fight against free radicals which are one of the causes of aging. When I was living in China, I didn’t have many chances to eat various berries. The most common berry there is strawberry, and occasionally, in early summer, I might see mulberries in the market.

There was a time I found the yumberries sold almost everywhere in Shanghai. I knew about yumberries since I was young, but I had only tried the dried ones. So I happily bought a big bag of fresh yumberries. The fresh ones tasted much better! Another good thing to know is that yumberry trees have a high tolerance to pests and diseases, so they are often grown organically or with few, if any, pesticides applied. They don’t last for long though, so I decided to make the extra yumberries I had into popsicles and sorbets. I personally prefer a sorbet as it has a higher yumberry content, but if you prefer a lighter taste, you can try the popsicles instead.

Kitchen Gadgets: Popsicle molds

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped yumberries
• 2 tsp fresh lime juice
• ¼ cup sugar syrup (dissolve ⅛ cup sugar in ¼ cup water over a low heat, then cool the syrup)
• For popsicles:
• 6-8 yumberries, chopped to small chunks
• 1 cup of sugar syrup (dissolve ½ cup sugar in 1 cup water over a low heat, then cool the syrup)

Instructions

1. Blend all the ingredients.
2. Scoop into ice pop makers, freeze overnight. On the second day, run hot water over the molds to remove the sorbets. For popsicles:
3. Add the chopped yumberry chunks to the ice pop molds.
4. Fill in the molds with sugar syrup.
5. Freeze overnight. On the second day, run hot water over the molds to remove them.