Matthew Woolen is a master pastry chef and has worked in a variety of Seattle restaurants, including gastropub Old Sage, Zhu Dang, and a gluten-free restaurant called Capitol Cider.

Matthew Woolen

Intensely aromatic herbs in fruit popsicles? Does the combination even work? It absolutely does. Pairing jammy notes of roasted stone fruit with licorice-y fresh tarragon, these plum pops burst with sweet and savory flavor.The trick to these popsicles is broiling fresh ripe plums before blending them with the other base ingredients. This intensifies their sweetness and creates a texture that’s similar to our strawberry pops, but slightly silkier since we’re cooking out some of the water content, which minimizes the formation of large ice crystals. Additionally, the added pectin that’s released from the fruit during the cooking process, as well as a touch of honey, gives the pops a pleasant light chew.For this recipe I used dark red and black plums which are tart and sweet, but plums with yellow or golden skin, such as Yellow Honey, Yellow Egg, and Golden Nectar, also work great. But take note that they are sweeter and less tart. No matter the color, fresh, ripe plums are a nice treat on their own. Turning them into popsicles is even better.

Roasted Plum and Tarragon Popsicles