Sprinkle olive oil ice cream with sea salt
or shaved Parmesan. Photo courtesy
Canard Inc.
Celebrate National Ice Cream Month with something new and exciting.
Like olive oil ice cream.
If the concept sounds strange, the flavor blew us away when we first had it in 2003, at Mario Batali’s Otto Enoteca in New York City.
The pastry chef, Meredith Kurtzman, made a trio of brilliant ice creams—we recall fig and crème fraîche ice cream were part of a trio that included olive oil ice cream.
Now, we’re about to make a batch with some fresh, fruity Lucero Olive Oil from California.
If you won’t be polishing off that carton of ice cream in a day or two, make your ice cream container “airtight” so that ice crystals don’t form on the surface of the ice cream.
Due to temperature fluctuations or other improper storage, crystals of moisture can form, degrading the texture and the flavor. The reason that older containers often get these crystals is because the freezer door has been opened that many more times bringing in warm air, or temperature fluctuation.
Three tricks to try:
Cover the surface of the ice cream with a layer of plastic wrap. Press the wrap onto the surface of the ice cream itself.
Store opened cartons upside down.
We protect every spoonful of our favorite
Pomegranate Chocolate Chip ice cream from
Sheer Bliss. Photo courtesy Sheer Bliss.
Buy a plastic storage container especially made to hold a half gallon. If you can’t stop the ice crystals problem with the first two tricks, it’s an excellent investment. The containers are available in round and rectangular shapes. Find them at housewares stores, hardware stores and Amazon.com.
Find our favorite ice cream brands and ice cream recipes, and learn the different types of frozen desserts in our Gourmet Ice Cream Section.
For 170 calories, this grapefruit
yogurt is a real treat. Photo
courtesy EmmiUSA.com
Emmi makes lowfat* yogurt in more than 10 flavors, but the most captivating to us is Pink Grapefruit.
*1.5% milkfat
First, it’s unusual to come across a grapefuit-flavored yogurt.
Second, in Emmi’s hands, the yogurt is velvety and pudding-like with bits of pink grapefruit. It’s flavored with grapefruit juice concentrate.
The yogurt line, which originally was imported from Switzerland, is now made in the U.S. The rBst-free milk contains live and active cultures and is certified kosher by OU.