REMEMBER the days when ice cream flavors meant a choice between chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and cookie dough (which was the exotic flavor out of the bunch)? Boring.
People are making ice cream out of vegetables, adding savory components to the sweet cream and turning the icy treat on its head. July is National Ice Cream Month and what better way to celebrate than by shoving showing how far the frozen concoction has come? A long way, actually, from its origins in 400 B.C. when Persians served mixed ice with saffron and fruits.
Here are some of the most creative flavors in 2014.
Sunday Morning – Steve’s Ice Cream
As if you didn’t wish it was the weekend everyday of the week, Steve’s Ice Cream’s Sunday Morning flavor will always keep Sunday morning on your mind. The buttered maple ice cream has pieces of crispy waffles, yes, WAFFLES, mixed throughout it. You won’t want to sleep in and miss this breakfast/dessert hybrid.
Brambleberry Crisp – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Jeni knows ice cream and her flavorful spoonfuls of Brambleberry Crisp — buttery, oven-toasted oat streusel blended with a jam of blackberries and black currants layered throughout vanilla ice cream — are anything but basic.
Chocomole – Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Don’t worry, there’s no avocado in Chocomole. It’s choc full o’corn chips, though! This Mexican-inspired ice cream pairs the chip with milk chocolate ice cream, cinnamon, and cayenne. It will for sure make you say olé!
Beer & Pretzels — Coolhaus
Can’t decide between having a night out at a bar or a night in on the couch with a movie? Coolhaus’s Beer & Pretzles ice cream allows you to combine the two. The dark stout ice cream is laced with pretzels and you won’t have to worry about finding a designated driver.
Honey Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper — Salt and Straw
Sweet and savory are blended together in this cold treat from Oregon. While putting pepper in ice cream may sound strange, it pairs perfectly with the sweetness of the strawberries and may go together even better then chocolate and peanut butter.
