Ice cream is a blank slate. Like its old pal cake, ice cream is fine plain but can be adapted endlessly with every flavor and texture you can think of -- and some you can't.
Liberated from Western loyalties regarding what "goes with" what, Japan is the weird-ice-cream capital of the world. Japanese ice-cream companies produce:
Not wanting to be outweirded, artisanal ice creameries in the United States now offer jalapeño-pepper and salted-pretzel ice creams. Humphry Slocombe in San Francisco offers ice creams flavored with curry, foie gras, fungus and prosciutto.
But is "weird" really the word? Do these ice-cream flavors exist because anyone actually wants to eat them -- or for more ethereal, aesthetical, and/or theoretical reasons? Given ice cream's blank-slate nature, merging its cold smooth sweetness with, say, the ashy bitterness of charcoal, the savory richness of liver or the salty tang of ham is conceivably a form of art.
Last week I interviewed pastry chef Danyelle Forte, who conceptualizes and creates adventurous ice creams at Chocolatier Blue Parlor in Berkeley, CA. Think lemon-basil-eucalyptus, lemon thyme, mole (the Mexican sauce, not the rodent) and pink peppercorn.
Forte trained with top-echelon chefs including Alain Ducasse, Daniel Boulud and Joël Robuchon at some of New York City's restaurants. With her fine-dining background, she seeks to elevate ice cream in the public's mind to fine-dining status by using Straus organic cream, free-range eggs, organic seasonal local produce and other high-end components in such creations as a cereal-themed sundae in which strawberry-ginger ice cream is topped with puffed brown rice, puffed farro, colorful house-made meringue O's and a lime-milk jam.
"I first got this idea because Froot Loops kind of taste like lemongrass to me," Forte mused.
Her blood-orange-rose-geranium sherbet is flavored with pure essential oil. Her pink peppercorn ice cream is surprisingly mild -- and strangely soothing.
"Pink peppercorns have a sweetness that reminds me of honey," Forte said.
Her lemon-basil-eucalyptus ice cream was inspired by a roasted-guinea-hen recipe that one of her famous mentors used in one of those New York restaurants.
"He added a couple of eucalyptus leaves to the butter, which scented the hens when he basted them. Sometimes you have to be unafraid to use flavors that could go wrong."
This courage is demonstrated in one of Forte's favorite pairings: dark-chocolate sorbet topped with lashings of extra-virgin olive oil, straight from the bottle.
"Once the sorbet starts getting a little soft, it really works," she promised.
Right -- so I ordered a nougat-honey ice-cream sundae topped with smoked almonds Sauvignon Blanc-stewed apricots instead. Not weird at all. More like the wild end of normal. Sumptuously soft-salty-sunshiny-sweet.
Back home the next day, inspired by my talk with Forte, I assessed my Donvier mini-ice-cream maker and wondered which flavor to make. Looking around my kitchen, I realized that I could do anything. Into that cold smooth sweetness could easily go ... Parmesan cheese. (Assertive. Smoky. Sharp. Why not?) Or Biscoff spread. (Spicy. Smooth-upon-smooth.) Or baked beans. (Not so different, texturewise, from nuts.) Or ketchup. (Sweet!)
But then I thought: Life is so short. Were I to die tomorrow, would I rather know that my last ice cream was a wacky novelty that I had eaten almost as a dare, like skydiving -- or would I want my last ice cream to truly comfort me?
I made coffee-cashew ice cream. Life is so very short.
Images courtesy of Kristan Lawson.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.