Oranges & Apples - A Succulent Recipe For Sorbet

Fruit in ice cream has to be one of the best ways of giving your family a tasty yet refreshing treat. Some people tend to shy away from fruit ice cream, preferring something more creamy and rich such as chocolate ice cream or caramel ice cream.  I love those ice creams too but it's great to ring the changes and try something a little different occasionally.

When I make ice cream with fruit as a main ingredient I tend to make a sorbet - such as this orange sorbet recipe which is one of my favorites. However, I always use 'regular' oranges which is why I was delighted to find a blood orange sorbet at an ice cream parlor this summer (photo above). It was really refreshing and very strong in taste - much stronger than my orange sorbet - and the color speaks for itself!

I had a similar experience with apples in ice cream. Again, I tend to use 'regular' apples (usually from my garden) which I puree to make apple sorbet. The photo below, however, is of 'green apple' ice cream which I came across in France.

 

It was not a sorbet, neither was it a cream based ice cream - something of a hybrid really! Soft and milky but with more of a sorbet texture. If I ever get back to that ice cream parlor I want to know the recipe!

Pistachio To Pecan - Just Nuts About Ice Cream!

Pistachio ice cream is a great favorite in my family. The color, taste and texture is unique. Whenever we get to visit an ice cream parlor we tend to check out their pistachio ice cream and you can usually tell just by the look of it if it's going to be any good. The one in the photograph above (matched with a scoop of caramel ice cream) was every bit as good as it looked!

In addition to pistachios, there are plenty of other nuts that work well in ice cream recipes. Pecan nuts, hazlenuts, macademia nuts and walnuts are good examples. This pecan ice cream smothered in caramel sauce is another example of how great ice cream can look.

Here is one of my own favorite nut ice cream recipes - butter pecan ice cream. Read more about ice cream and nuts.

Unusual Ice Cream - Caviar To Bubblegum

Unusual ice cream has long been a passion of mine - not just to make but to research and write about. Some of the most unusual ice cream in the world is Japanese ice cream - from octopus to cactus ice cream and even viagra ice cream, Japan is THE place if you want to try unusual ice cream!

French ice cream can also be a little 'adventurous' - how about oyster and caviar ice cream?

Returning to the world of more palatable ice cream flavors, a popular yet quite unusual flavor is bubblegum ice cream. I haven't made this flavor of ice cream myself yet - I prefer to make ice cream from more basic, natural ingredients to be honest. However, it's the kind of ice cream that kids love and can usually be found at good ice cream parlors, especially in popular tourist areas.

The interesting thing I've found in my visits to many ice cream parlors over the years, is the sheer variety of recipes used even in making the same ice cream flavor. These 2 photographs are a great example ....

Photo 1 - Bubblegum ice cream on sale in an ice cream parlor

Photo 2 - Bubblegum ice cream in an ice cream parlor just down the road from the one above

So incredibly different yet they are the same flavor. That's the magic of ice cream!