The Unusual In Ice Cream

The more time goes on the more I get to hear about unusual ice cream recipes.

I suppose it's only natural that people like push the boundaries with everything they can - from technology, to world records in sport, to food. So there's no reason why ice cream should be an exception.

Unusual ice cream comes in all shapes and sizes. It might be savory or alcoholic, based on fish, seafood or meat or it could even be a combination of any of these!

The extreme end of the scale with unusual ice cream comes in the form of things like oyster ice cream or beer ice cream. These are typical of ice cream popular in Japan - read more about Japanese ice cream. Gino Soldan a master gelatiere once told me that you can basically make ice cream out of anything - it doesn't mean to say that the flavor is palatable to everyone, but it can be done. He proved this by making Cheddar Cheese ice cream, Bangers & Mash ice cream and even Yorkshire Pudding * ice cream!

I have to be honest and say that I tend to go for the less extreme with my unusual ice cream recipes - opting for the likes of licorice ice cream (made with licorice toffee), prune ice cream and marmalade ice cream as just a few examples.

* If you're not familiar with Yorkshire Pudding it's a traditional English dish usually served with roast meat such as beef. There's a recipe on this BBC page about Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding. Here is another Yorkshire Pudding recipe which my friend Jan always uses.

Ice Cream Inspirations

Have you noticed how people who make ice cream are always looking for new recipes and new sales angles? I have come across 2 very different approaches to this ....

1. Using other foods to inspire new ice cream creations - such as Gino Soldan the master gelatiere did in the summer of 2008. Gino took some traditional British foods and made ice cream out of them. That may not sound very inspiring in itself but look at the foods he worked with and you'll realise what a challenge it was - Yorkshire Pudding, Sausage & Mash, Wensleydale Cheese! Needless, to say it got Gino into the headlines - indeed, sufficiently enough for me to contact him to ask him personally why and how he rose to the challenge. Read my interview with Gino Soldan.

2. Using famous people to inspire new ice cream creations - such as Ben & Jerry's and Baskin-Robbins have already done. "Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road" consisting of chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter brickle and white chocolate chunks was launched for a limited period in the summer of 2008 as a tribute to and with the permission of Sir Elton John. Similar ice cream creations have been produced as tributes to Barack Obama, Willie Nelson and John Lennon. Read more about Elton John's ice cream.

I shall keep on the lookout for more in this vein - it makes for such interesting reading!

Master Gelatiere At Morelli's Gelato

My recent interview with Gino Soldan (master gelatiere for Morelli's Gelato in London) is now live on http://www.ice-cream-recipes.com/ Anyone interested in ice cream making, ice cream parlors and ice cream sundaes will love this Special Feature.

It provides an insight into how this master of ice cream making views his work, the depth of passion he has for his craft and how adventurous he aspires to be in developing new and daring ice cream flavors. It's an exclusive interview so be amongst the first to read it before it gets picked up and rehashed by other sites and media.

See: Master Gelatiere Gino Soldan

There is also a gallery of photographs showing some of the wonderful ice cream sundaes made at Morelli's Gelato, including one Gino made especially for my friend Mary. Again the photographs are exclusive to http://www.ice-cream-recipes.com/

Read and enjoy!