In the Philippines, ice cream is sometimes consumed on a hamburger bun—that’s right, a burger bun. The ice cream is made traditionally from ube, the Filipino word for purple yam (Dioscorea alata), which has a mild flavor and distinctly bright-purple color. Ube ice cream sometimes includes shredded coconut.
Hot and cool
A rather interesting combination is ice cream with chiles, contrasting creamy with spicy. In 1999, we started serving ice cream at the National Restaurant Association and Institute of Food Technologists shows as a unique way to use TABASCO®, and the response was amazing. A simple, yet flavorful, vanilla ice cream with a capsicum component drew lines for samples longer than the beer booth.
Over the years, we teamed up with Parker Products, Ft. Worth, TX, a manufacturer of ice-cream flavorings and particulates, to create such flavors such as Granny’s Hot Apple Cobbler Sundae, Hot Brownie Sunday, New Orleans Bumpy Street (a spicy take on Rocky Road) and our most-recent and popular flavor, Spiced Carrot Cake. For this last one, the orange ice cream is flavored with allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon and carrots, topped with TABASCO-spiced maple walnuts and finished with a drizzle of cream-cheese glaze.
The fun part about using ice cream and chiles is the way they combine and react in a frozen state. The capsaicin binds to the fat molecule, masking its heat until the warmth of the mouth breaks the bond somewhere in the back of the throat, releasing a heat sensation that, not trying to use a pun, is a cool sensation.
Just recently, I spoke at a military R&D conference in Maryland. The purpose of this session was to make the rotational menu for the soldiers more appealing. One of the concepts I made was soft-serve cinnamon ice cream with a dash of TABASCO Brand Pepper Sauce to enhance the flavor of the cinnamon. When the suggestion was made to the group, they looked at me like I was from another planet then asked, “Well, chef, what will we do with that?” My answer: “Breakfast.” Again, the same befuddled look.
I created a dish called crunchy fire and ice oatmeal. Cream and sugar are natural with a bowl of warm oatmeal, so why not the contrasts of cold with the hot, then topped with granola for crunch? The faces on the attendees when tasted showed me how eager they were to get back to the garrison and share the creation! And, as usual, I like to have multiple uses for a product, so we also made ice cream sandwiches with oatmeal cookies and the cinnamon ice cream, which got the same response.
Remember: Texture and temperature changes in a dish add creative and subtle touches. Think about ice cream as that carrier next time. What about a wasabi ice cream with seared tuna, or even sour cilantro ice cream on a chilled chile-seared scallop?
With heat in ice cream, I always say it should be for enjoyment, not a dare. The heat should be subtle and addictive, not at the abyss of purgatory where “Bizarre Foods” host Andrew Zimmern himself would not want to try what you are serving. As a rule of thumb, I use 1 oz. of TABASCO Habanero Sauce to 1 gallon liquid base. The fruity notes in that sauce pair well with mango, banana, papaya and tamarind, providing a sweet sensation and giving a tickle of heat as desired.
Technological tricks
Molecular gastronomy is a long-debated practice that has amazed many and led others to question its place in cooking. Fad or trend, the truth of the matter is molecular gastronomists have worked actively in the realm of ice cream. The process of pouring liquid nitrogen straight into an ice cream blend as it is being mixed basically gives you instant ice cream.
In foodservice, liquid nitrogen allows chefs to make customers’ ice cream fresh to order. The practice has become pursued by so many there is actual group called TILNICES (The Institute for Liquid Nitrogen Ice Creams Experimental Studies).