Interesting savory ice creams

[iainpb]

I will be starting to make my own ice creams in the next few weeks, I'm interested in exploring the world of savoury ice creams and how they can be used as starters or accompaniements to mains. So i'm looking for savoury ice cream suggestions, one's you've made or had in restaurants or just flavours you think would work.

I like the idea of Basil ice cream, Tarragon ice cream and exploring cheese ice creams - any other suggestions?

(a current list of flavours i intend to make can be seen here if you're interested http://churningadventures.blogspot.com/ )

Edited June 1, 2010 by iainpb (log)

[Darienne]

Good luck with your ice creams.

I've not made any savory ice creams, but here's a blog where they are made: http://japaneseicecream.blogspot.com/

There are a lot of ice cream blogs and websites out there and you'll find more than you can use in a lifetime no doubt. And DL's The Perfect Scoop, of course, has lots of excellent sweet flavors.

When I learned to make ice creams only two short years ago, I was lucky enough to have paulraphael and jon as eG mentors who taught me a couple of helpful tricks which you may already know: the pinch of salt and the replacing of about 2 TBLS of sugar with corn syrup. My next challenge...not a very big one...I just have to remember...is to replace the corn syrup with invert sugar.

I also like to make ice creams using corn starch as a base. Cuts down on the saturated fat and calories. But you probably already know that one, given your long list of already accomplished flavors. Oh...and coconut milk/cream base also.

Edited June 1, 2010 by Darienne (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Certainly extra virgin olive oil is certainly popular, and bacon is almost on its way out. How about beet? or tomato? or artichoke?

[Tri2Cook]

I've done a lot of experimenting with savory ice creams and sorbets. Some successful, some not so much.

This one...

...is Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato, it's from the "successful" side but I never got around to building a complete dish around it. Maybe I'll get back to it someday.

[philadining]

I too made a Thai curry ice cream a few years ago, in this case a musaman curry. It was somewhere between a success and a failure, in that it was interesting, but I don't think we found the right use for it. It didn't really work as dessert, although it was oddly compatible with pecan pie... But most people didn't like it much on its own.

I suspect it might have been good as an accompaniment to something else savory, like a meat dish, if we were trying to play with temperature contrasts. I meant to explore it further, but haven't gotten around to it.

I've had lots of cheese ice creams courtesy of Shola at StudioKitchen and they can be wonderful counterpoints to a sweet dessert or as part of a savory course. Look around his blog, you will likely find some inspirations.

It could also be worth searching through the Ideas In Food blog, they've done some interesting and unconventional things with the concept of ice cream.

[RWood]

Olive oil ice cream is very good, just be sure to use a fruity oil. Sage ice cream is very good with stone fruits, as is the olive oil.

I've never made avocado or green pea, but have heard they are nice.

[Tri2Cook]

I've never made avocado or green pea, but have heard they are nice.

I've done buttered green pea and honey butter carrot. I preferred the carrot but both were tasty.

[judiu]

I've had lots of cheese ice creams courtesy of Shola at StudioKitchen and they can be wonderful counterpoints to a sweet dessert or as part of a savory course. Look around his blog, you will likely find some inspirations.

It could also be worth searching through the Ideas In Food blog, they've done some interesting and unconventional things with the concept of ice cream.

OOOOOOOOH! Cheddar cheese ice cream with hot apple pie! I could go for that right now! Seems a bit tame for what you're looking for, but YUM!

[Special K]

There's another thread around here somewhere, but I'm sorry, I don't have time to look for it. My contribution is rosemary ice cream, served with reduced balsamic vinegar. Mmmm!

[David A. Goldfarb]

I've had avocado ice cream and I've made an avocado sorbet a number of times, which I usually serve as a garnish to a very creamy cold avocado soup. Tomato sorbet also makes a nice garnish for gazpacho.

[reenicake]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned any type of protein-based ice-cream... think a mousseline forcemeat run through the ice cream machine. I have made scallop (very delicious, almost fluffy), chicken liver, and lobster (a bisque, frozen into scoopable consistency. Fabulous.) When I was at Le Cirque aeons ago we tried infusing many different herbs and spices into creme anglaise, one I remember distinctly was tobacco. Not my taste but I don't smoke cigars.

Are you using a regular churn or a Paco-jet? That might influence your choices for texture; you can't get chunks with a Paco-jet so big chiffonade of basil or something like that would be out unless you stirred them in at the end.

And I totally thumbs-up the cheese ice cream! I use a sharp NY cheddar and it is amazing.

Curry and pecan is a classic (well, with a nod to Herme...)

[ray goud]

I would imagine one can easily find (if wanted) the recipe for garlic ice cream. Every time the Gilroy garlic festival is reported on, by any news group or the Food Network, that flavor is featured because it seems the most surprising. Perhaps the Gilroy (CA) Chamber of Commerce has a lead.

Ray

[gap]

I've had mustard ice cream a few times as a side to an entree

[Kent Wang]

I've had sesame oil ice cream, which was quite rich and delicious. And black pepper ice cream, but I think the base was still sweet.

[Beebs]

I've had pear & gorgonzola gelato, but it was a little too gorgonzola-y for my taste. I've also eaten a balsamic vinegar gelato which I found delicious.

[Darienne]

I'm following this topic closely, but I must admit that my mouth is puckering not with delight, but with the lack thereof. I've never had a savory ice cream and am having such trouble wrapping my head around the subject. Perhaps it is time to make and try a 'gentle' one. What would you start with?

Now I've made Orange-Szechwan Pepper ice cream and love it. But then I love pepper on everything.

So...maybe it's not such a leap to cold savory ice creams.

So, someone please tell me a good one to start with. Thanks.

[ermintrude]

I've done tomato ice cream with basil sorbet (could do it as a ripple) with parmisan foam which was well recieved

[nakji]

I don't know why, but soy sauce jumped into my head - like the Japanese cold tofu dish, with the soy and bonito topping? It would have the same cold-salty-creamy profile, I think.

[Special K]

I would imagine one can easily find (if wanted) the recipe for garlic ice cream. Every time the Gilroy garlic festival is reported on, by any news group or the Food Network, that flavor is featured because it seems the most surprising. Perhaps the Gilroy (CA) Chamber of Commerce has a lead.

Ray

Had the ice cream first thing when we went to the festival oh, twenty years ago. Waaaay too strong. Couldn't taste anything else for a solid week. Anyway, it was far too hot that day to have any of the hot food, although I'm sure it was all wonderful.

[Tri2Cook]

This one is from Francisco Migoya's Frozen Desserts. Full savory application and very tasty. The sorbet is addictive (for me anyway) on it's own but I really enjoyed the complete dish. The picture makes it look larger than it is because I'm not a good photographer. It's a single bite in a very small bowl.

yellowfin sashimi - jalapeno sorbet - ponzu - toasted jalapeno seeds

[sheepish]

Gorgonzola ice cream with pear tarte tatin. Recipe from Gordon Ramsay's recipes from a 3 star chef is good. My wife made basil ice-cream last weekend. It's too unusual for my taste. Not wretch inducing but I can't picture it complimenting anything.

[Kouign Aman]

The Gilroy garlic festival icecream tastes like vanilla softserve w garlic juice stirred in. Its foul.

Roasted garlic might make a good icecream flavor tho.

[eatenmess]

i too dont quite get the basil ice cream thing but i worked in the same company as a guy who did it with confit tomatoes and crispy mozzarella. bloody obvious, over used combo but it didnt seem so bad, i just didnt like the way the mozzarella and ice cream went at war with each other and both seemed to loose out, would have probably been better if it was just the confit tomatoes warm.

[iainpb]

There are some great suggestions here and a lot will be making my ever growing list of flavours to make, rosemary ice cream, balsamic ice cream and thai curry are favourites at the moment. I'm a bit behind in my ice cream amking due to moving but will post pics and tasting notes here as i create!

[ermintrude]

i too dont quite get the basil ice cream thing but i worked in the same company as a guy who did it with confit tomatoes and crispy mozzarella. bloody obvious, over used combo but it didnt seem so bad, i just didnt like the way the mozzarella and ice cream went at war with each other and both seemed to loose out, would have probably been better if it was just the confit tomatoes warm.

Basil sorbet works better than ice cream