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
[edit | edit source]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): 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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]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]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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