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!

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.

Fish & Ice Cream

Two foods that are very popular are fish .... and .... ice cream, though not necessarily together! However, it isn't as simple as that. Let's take a closer look at how fish and ice cream can actually compliment each other as foods.

First of all, there are many restaurants where as part of a multiple course dinner you will be offered a fish dish prior to the main course, broken up by a small sorbet such as a lemon sorbet. One of the most enjoyable meals I have ever eaten in a restaurant was served in just such a manner - it was at Sharrow Bay in the English Lake District and although it was some years ago now, the memory of that lemon sorbet still lingers ... enough to be able to close my eyes and taste it! Following the fish dish the sorbet proved to be the perfect refresher prior to the main course.

Last but not least you could make fish ice cream .... yes, it's not a typo but a type of ice cream that many people apparently enjoy eating, especially in Japan. Japanese ice cream can be incredibly varied, reflecting the culture and tastes of its people. Saury is a saltwater fish found in Japan and is sometimes used to make fish ice cream. Seafood of different types and seaweed are also used in ice cream recipes including prawn ice cream, oyster ice cream and squid ice cream. To learn more go to my Japanese ice cream page.

Anyone For Viagra Ice Cream?

Japanese ice cream has to be one of the most fascinating 'food' subjects you could wish to study! I have been to Japan and simply loved it - the culture, the food, the scenery and the history is stunningly different and memorable. The strong and luscious, vivid colors of the trees and plants will live in my mind forever. However, I have to admit that Japanese ice cream did not make much of an impression on me though, to be fair, that was because I only tasted the American style that was available at the time. Since that time I have heard much about the 'exotic' flavors of ice cream that some ice cream producers offer to the public in Japan, many of which are not for the faint-hearted!

This week I read a news article about Japan being hit by an invasion of giant jellyfish and in passing the journalist wrote about how a company has even come up with a vanilla and jellyfish ice cream - “slightly chewy” was the description they gave! No thanks, can't say that one holds any appeal for me. This reminded me, however, of how Japanese people tend to be very 'brave' when it comes to trying unusual foods and flavors so I have finally sat down and written a page on Japanese ice cream which is now ensconced within the main ice-cream-recipes.com website.

I have formulated a list of just a few of the extremely unusual ice cream flavors that have been commercially produced in Japan in recent years and am sure my readers will enjoy reading it, though perhaps with a little shock and surprise here and there!

On the list are the following:

• raw horseflesh ice cream
• goat ice cream
• octopus ice cream
• squid ice cream
• soy sauce ice cream
• cactus ice cream
  
  and ....
  
• viagra ice cream!

I think the lesser challenge of a Wensleydale Cheese ice cream - as made by master gelatiere Gino Soldan - might be as exotic as I'm ever likely to try!