While the scorching summer sun rises, it’s hard not to ask ourselves: Is anyone out there who dislikes ice cream?
Whether it’s Asia, Europe, the United States, or South America, I’m sure that frozen treats tend to be a popular treat for everyone of all ages; however, it’s not difficult to imagine the image of a child holding a cone in the heat of summer, and the melting substance pouring down their arms.
San Francisco and New York are home to several places of the wildly popular Museum of Ice Cream, an expansive tribute to the delicious, cold treat.
According to the culinary record, Ice cream was in the 2nd century BCE. Alexander the Great was from Greece and was a fan of the taste of ice and snow flavored with nectar and honey. And the Emperor Nero from Rome loved snow flavoring with fruit juices and other fruits.
Over a thousand decades later, Marco Polo brought a sherbet-like recipe into Italy via Italy’s Far East that eventually evolved into the ice cream that most of us recognize today.
Going to Italy can only be completed with a slice of gelato.
Ice cream might be all-encompassing, but several countries have their unique versions, according to Jeni Britton Bauer, the founder of the ice cream company Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and the author of two books about the subject.
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“Every culture has a different interpretation of ice cream that’s often not called ice cream, and it’s a food that brings people together,” she declares. “You gather at your local ice cream store or at an ice cream cart on the street.”
Britton Bauer says ice cream eating is an enjoyable and physically active experience. “The first bite shocks and wakes you up with its coldness, and you need to constantly tend to your ice cream so it doesn’t melt away,” she states.
From frozen custard in the United States to kulfi in India and more, you can enjoy a variety of ice creams across the globe. It will also stimulate your child within.
Frozen custard, United States
According to Bruce Weinstein, author of “The Ultimate Ice Cream Book,” a complete collection of over 500 recipes, ice cream soft serve is a classic American ice cream.
A distinct distinction from frozen yogurt, which is made using sugar and yogurt. The frozen custard mixes cream, milk sugar, and egg yolks. It can also contain an ingredient that thickens it, according to Weinstein.
Traditional American Ice cream may also contain egg yolks; however, the main distinction between frozen custard and custard is in the texture. Custard is spongy because it’s produced by a machine that doesn’t add air to the ingredients.
On the other hand, ice cream makers stir in air to make the final product lighter and more airy than custard.
When it is frozen custard flavor, Americans typically choose chocolate or vanilla. There is also the option of swirls, which are a mix of both. “You roll your custard in sprinkles or dip it in a red or chocolate syrup that instantly freezes into a hard shell,” Weinstein says. Weinstein.
Dairy Queen, the Midwest fast food brand Culver’s, and Carvel are all well-known go-to locations in the US for a Custard frozen fix.
Raspado, Mexico
Consider raspados to be one of the Mexican equivalent of American snow cones. While snow cones are made from sweet syrup, raspberryados contain natural fruit or fresh fruit juices. Making them is a craft.
According to Lillian Aviles, a Mexico City-based expert on Mexican culture, the sweet and cold drink is popular across Mexico and can be found at street carts. “These carts sell a range of fruit-based flavors such as tamarind, lime, pineapple, orange and mango,” she declares. “There are also non-fruit flavors available such as vanilla and rompope, which is similar to eggnog.”
In many Mexican markets, according to Aviles, vendors create an amalgamation of a raspado and a milkshake known as “eskimo” using milk, condensed milk, fresh seasonal fruits, sugar, vanilla, and shaving the ice.
Furthermore, different regions of Mexico produce different varieties of raspados from the other areas of Mexico. For instance, in the coastal town of La Paz, the ice cream shop La Fuente, located on the esplanade’s waterfront, offers raspados with Ice cream on the top, typically with the signature citrus yogurt flavor.
No Mexicans are drinking their raspberry scotch on cones – Aviles claims they’re consumed in cup form.
Gelato, Italy
Aside from pasta, gelato is regarded as Italy’s most famous culinary item. Going to the local gelateria is an integral part of living for Italians.
“Italians convene at gelaterias and socialize,” says Britton Bauer. “They’re popular hangouts and cultural icons.”
Italian gelato is less fat than conventional ice cream, claims Weinstein, and is made with whole milk eggs, sugar, and flavorings – hazelnut, chocolate, pistachio, and stracciatella vanilla ice cream infused with chocolate chunks are among the most popular flavors.
“We cannot make gelato the Italian way in the US,” Weinstein explains Weinstein. “Our milk isn’t bursting with enough fat. We should include cream. Remember the traditional scoop for ice cream: In Italy, gelato is served with a spatula, which presses the ice cream into a cone or cup.
Italians from the north to the south debate the best gelateria in town. The best, according to Luca Finardi, the general manager of the Mandarin Oriental in Milan. “We each have the ones we love the most,” Finardi says.
Finardi’s favorite place to eat in Milan is Massimo Del Gelato, near Chinatown. “The shop specializes in chocolate flavors, including chocolate cherry and chocolate cinnamon, and is probably the best in Italy,” Finardi claims. “The ice cream is made fresh every day.”
A brand new Museum of Ice Cream flagship will open on the outskirts of New York City.
Creme Glace, France
French Ice cream is much more delicious in flavor than its Italian counterpart.
Constanza Bernardini Muslera/EyeEm/Getty Images
It resembles gelato and has the same texture; however, Weinstein claims that crème glace, or French Ice cream, is much more flavorful than its Italian equivalent.
“Glace is a nice cross between American frozen custard and gelato and almost always made using cream and eggs,” the chef says. “Salted caramel is definitely the most iconic flavor.”
According to the culinary record, it is believed that the surviving Parisian eatery Le Procope, which Italian immigrants opened in the latter part of the 17th century, brought ice cream into France. Although this renowned restaurant still serves ice cream, it’s famous for its delicious food items.
Today, people from the French have their fix of ice cream at one of the family-owned Ice cream stores scattered across the country. The owners make the frozen dessert using only the finest dairy and the highest-quality fruit, such as nuts and chocolate.
According to Weinstein, a handful of well-known glace shops are in operation, including the ever-famous Berthillon located in Paris (the hazelnut or gianduja glace is a must in this shop).
Fenocchio Glacier Fenocchio Glacier, located in Nice, is a different, well-known name that serves more unique flavors of ice cream. The most popular choices include coffee and white chocolate. The shop also offers other flavors, including chewing gum, olive, and vanilla, that include pink pepper.
Dondurma, Turkey
Dondurma is made of goat milk, sugar, and salap, the purple pulp of an orchid.
An ice cream that won’t melt? It’s true exactly what dondurma, or Turkish Ice Cream, is. Locals call it Maras Dondurma, after the city located in that region. Mediterranean area of Turkey.
Karen Fedorko Sefer, the travel company Sea Song Tours creator and an Istanbul resident, claims that dondurma is elastic in texture and is made from goat’s milk, sugar, and slap, the fruit of an orchid in purple. Additionally, it often contains pine-flavored mastic or resin extracted from the mastic tree.
“Buying dondurma is like watching a performance,” says Fedorko Sefer. “The sellers wear traditional Turkish attire (aba) as well as an sultan hat. They move to twist and turn the frozen ice cream until it is sucked in cone. Adults and kids alike are entertained by the spectacle.”
The Turkish purchase their dondurma from a street stall or from the bazaar. “There are not really shops,” claims Fedorko Sefer.
Ali Usta, in Istanbul’s Moda neighborhood, is one of the rare exceptions. The shop served flavors like hazelnut, walnut, and melon in one thousand nine hundred sixty-nine. Be prepared to stand in a long line to get the chance to taste it, particularly in the summertime.