As the weather gets scorching, it calls for a chilling refreshment, popsicles! But specifically, grape popsicles! You heard it, folks, today, May 27, is grape popsicle day, and this event occurs annually! So what started this frozen phenomenon?
11-year-old Frank Epperson was mixing powdered-flavor soda with a stirring stick outside on his porch and left it there overnight. During the night, a cold snap took over, freezing the liquid to the rod. This resulted in the first-ever popsicles, but was called the “epicle” at first. Epperson started selling them in amusement parks, striking the virality of these frozen treats and changing the name to the name we all know: “popsicles.”
It wasn’t until the Joe Lowe Company, since the 1920s, started mass-producing popsicles that many flavors, like our infamous grape, were produced. National Grape Popsicle Day originated as a grassroots food holiday in the late 2000s, celebrating the grape-flavoured treat!
Currently, in the world, only 2 other popsicle flavors have a national day besides grapes, which are cherry and blueberry. But honestly, how does grape get a whole day while watermelon, coconut, or even lime get completely ignored? Out of all the flavors imaginable, grape somehow made the cut. Whether that’s deserved or not is definitely up for debate.
Still, despite the controversy, grape popsicles remain a nostalgic summer classic for many people, as they are a part of the original flavours with cherry and orange. Love them or hate them, today’s the perfect excuse to grab one before it melts in the summer heat.
Over the decades, popsicles have been more than just a frozen treat; they have become a symbol of summer itself. From chasing down the ice cream truck in neighbourhoods to grabbing a popsicle after a long pool party, popsicles have been known to be associated with childhood nostalgia and terribly hot summers. Grape popsicles stand out in particular due to their bold, rich purple color and their tangy, sweet flavor. Although grape flavour may not taste like the original fruit, unlike flavours like orange, the artificial flavour itself stands out and has become iconic on its own.
Today, popsicles come in nearly every flavour imaginable and have long been past the original flavours. Fruity flavours like mango and kiwi, to more unusual combinations like pickle lime, cotton candy, and even tomato basil water. Some companies have even created healthier versions made with real fruit juice and less sugar. Despite all the modern upgrades, the original popsicle remains surprisingly simple: flavored ice on a stick. More than a century after Frank Epperson’s accidental invention, people nationally are still enjoying his frozen creation one bite at a time.
