The Vintage Frozen Treat Reddit Wishes Was Still In The Freezer Section

The late 20th century saw Jell-O dominate the dessert market, from its iconic molded masterpieces to extra-chewy cookies. Alongside it, Kraft-Heinz brought out its instant pudding mix in 1936, which has seen its own independent success. In the '80s and '90s, the company started selling Jell-O Pudding Pops, a frozen version of the pudding on a stick. Ultimately, the company never saw high enough profits to warrant keeping them on the shelves, but there's a strong contingency on Reddit who make it clear that these nostalgic treats were much-loved.

Redditors note that while commensurate products have entered the market since, Jell-O Pudding Pops had a creaminess and flavor that simply has yet to be emulated. Many recount their childhoods enjoying these affordable desserts which often sported an icy outer-coating that people also fondly remembered. If even its freezer burn was tasty, this had to be the real deal. Classic ads read that the pops came in chocolate, vanilla, banana, and a couple of swirl-mix flavors (which apparently held a particularly high status if Reddit is anything to go by, which it is). Commercials featured Bill Cosby as an ice cream man peddling the pops to young kids and singing its praises as a wholesome treat that the whole family will enjoy. The overwhelming consensus is that the people of Reddit want these back in their grocery store freezers, pronto. 

For a company that dealt almost exclusively in dry, shelf-stable goods, it makes sense that it couldn't quite work out the logistics to make Pudding Pops profitable, even if the consumer reviews were rave. The product was pulled sometime in the late '90s and reintroduced under the Popsicle brand name in 2004, though these also fell from production in 2011.

Kraft-Heinz has heard the pleas, and while it isn't giving the people exactly what they want, it has released a recipe to make at home. The good news is that it's easy, the bad news is that Redditors aren't convinced that it lives up to their memory. The company's recipe is simply whisking one pack of instant pudding mix with two cups of a milk of your choice, and placing in molds to set in the freezer. Understandably, many people do this out of their own volition anyway, so it probably wasn't the whole original story of the Pudding Pops. Jell-O products formed the basis for a number of beloved old school desserts, which are all easy enough to make, but hard to live up to the originals of yesteryear.

One Redditor suggested making them from scratch, and cited tapioca starch as a secret ingredient. Tapioca, much like cornstarch, thickens homemade pudding to give it a more custardy texture. When frozen, you'll get a richer, fudgier bite, probably more akin to what people remember. As for that ice layer, that may stay a distant memory, as not many home freezers can recreate that signature grocery store sub-zero environment. Plus, according to Reddit, that ice got stuck to people's tongues more times than they care to admit, which is only something you can enjoy through the rosy lens of nostalgia.