Ice Cream Parlors - Creme De La Creme!

If you are out and about and really fancy some ice cream, what do you do?

Some people might head for the nearest store and buy a tub of B&J's or Haagen-Daz. Speaking for myself I would have to be desperate to do that!

Nope, I would look for the nearest ice cream parlor. I'd Google it on my iphone or ask a local passer-by for a recommendation. This is something I've done a lot over the years. What's more I regularly ask friends to let me know if they discover a great ice cream parlor and send me a photo.

The end result is that not only do I, my family and my friends get to experience great ice cream parlor 'finds' but you also get to share in them - like today!

Above is a seaside ice cream parlor in France. Designed specifically to attract families, the parlor chose to invest in some wonderful ice cream themed furniture and display items. The specially made ice cream cone chairs are brilliant! The big ice cream cone is a clever idea too - not only is it a trash can that entices kids to use it but it enables them to see the parlor from way down the other end of the street!

Above is a parlor that takes a different approach. Again in france, this is a village bakery and coffee shop which also makes its own ice cream. It has a lovely sense of relaxed style with its beautiful small olive tree featured on the decked terrace. So different to the one above but so appropriate in its context.

I've eaten at both these parlors and the ice cream was equally delicious but the latter made a bigger feature of ice cream sundaes with sugared whipped cream and homemade cookies stuck on top! So it gets my family's vote :) Read more about French ice cream here.

At the other extreme, this next ice cream parlor (below) is not one I've eaten at but it's where my friend Ann loves to take a break in the heat of the day sometimes after shopping. It is in Thailand and is called Dhara Dhevi. Its Thai decor and refined style make this a haven of peace for those in need of a cooling but delicious refreshment and apparently the quality of the ice cream they serve lives up to all expectations.

So there you have it, ice cream parlors as different as the many tastes ice cream itself. Essentially, something for everyone :)

Creamy Creme Brulee - A Fab Ice Cream Treat

Some of the world's best desserts and indeed best ice cream comes from France. It's the country where custard was created and where Thomas Jefferson found culinary inspiration during his time there as US Minister. So much so that he brought back with him ideas about ice cream making and wrote down what is believed to be the first, definitive ice cream recipe in the USA.

During my travels to France I have come across many fabulous 'artisan' ice creams. In France a master ice cream maker is called an artisan glacier - a much respected title and when you see and taste their ice cream it's not surprising why!

It's not just the taste and texture of French ice cream that's great, it's how it looks. The French love to present their food in colorful and stylish ways and ice cream is no exception to that general rule. Here is a creme brulee ice cream I came across in a French ice cream parlor, presented with nothing less than a full creme brulee dessert on top!

I developed my own creme brulee ice cream recipe and I have to say it is truly one of my favorites. Creamy and rich with a succulent vanilla taste it's fab on its own or served with a hot dessert such as crumble or sweet apple pie. On the subject of what you can serve your ice cream with, that's another thing the French are great at conjuring up .... a hot crepe or waffle is simply sumptuous smothered in ice cream and chantilly (not forgetting the chocolate sauce!).

Check out my creme brulee ice cream recipe along with a slide show of me making the ice cream. Have fun and enjoy!

French Ice Cream Cones - Mansize!

Ice cream may be made differently in different countries but one thing that remains constant is the wonderful eye-catching displays in ice cream parlours and outdoor ice cream kiosks.

Here are some photographs from a trip to France where I was naturally drawn to French ice cream and was intrigued to learn how ice cream was made and promoted.



Read more about ice cream display cones

French Ice Cream

Last weekend I cooked dinner for my family and some visiting friends. We all like Thai food so I opted to cook a Thai red chicken curry, served with rice, noodles and some fresh spinach. For dessert I served fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, chopped banana and peach) accompanied by homemade vanilla ice cream ... freshly made. It was so fresh that I had the ice cream maker churning whilst we were still eating the main course! It was delicious - honestly, I am not just saying that; everyone at the table echoed the feeling with my husband saying it was the best vanilla ice cream he had ever tasted! The recipe, which is on ice-cream-recipes.com of course (just follow the link above), is what I call a custard base ice cream and uses a real vanilla pod, fresh eggs, fresh milk, sugar and fresh cream. Essentially this is "French ice cream" because it requires a cooked egg custard.

Many years ago, using the term French ice cream inferred it was the best possible ice cream that you might find on a restaurant menu. One example is that of the RMS Titanic's first and second class dining menus - "French Ice Cream" for first class passengers and "American Ice Cream" for second class. Read my "Ice Cream & Class Distinction On The RMS Titanic" post from 2008.

Since those days of course the world has changed a lot and I doubt very much if the French only eat French ice cream! They definitely have a passion for ice cream though and I know this for 2 reasons ....

• Firstly, the statistics from ice-cream-recipes.com show a significant number of visitors from France, searching in French for the term "glaces maison" (homemade ice cream)
  
• Secondly, a friend who enjoys taking holidays in France - especially in and around Poitou Charentes - tells me that the ice cream there is always very, very good.

There are of course lots of other 'national' variations on ice cream such as Italian ice cream but that's a post for another day!