As a foodie at heart, I tend to eat my way through any country I visit. One thing I noticed is that each culture has their own take on the frozen sweet. It's such a universal treat I thought I'd do a quick run down of the different flavours enjoyed in a select few ice cream guzzling countries.
It comes as no surprise that the US are the top consumer for ice cream world wide. 2011 estimates from the Helium website show that a whopping 98% of households have ice cream on their grocery list. Well known American brands are Baskin Robbins and Ben & Jerry's. Rasmussen media company reports that Americans like to keep it simple when it comes to their ice cream of choice with vanilla and chocolate ranking number 1.
Kulfi is India's version of ice cream and is traditionally made by carefully boiling milk until it has been reduced down to one-third its original quantity. Traditional flavours include cardamom, saffron, rasberry, cinnamon, pistachio and rose. Newer flavours are peanut and avocado.
FranceWhen it comes to ice cream the French got it right. 'Glace' is available in a wide variety of flavours. Nice being a beach town has the widest selection. Classic flavours are nougat, cinnamon, caramel and dark chocolate. For fruit lovers they have pear, pineapple, grapefruit, blackcurrant and many other fruits. For more unusual and interesting flavours, southern France is the place to find them. To name but a few they have lavender, black olive, orange blossom, thyme, vanilla and pink peppercorn.
In 2011, NZ came second to America for ice cream consumption. New Zealanders most popular flavour is the locally produced Hokey Pokey which is vanilla with bits of spongy toffee. I think it's a great name for ice cream.
Ice cream or 'Aisukurimu' is a popular dessert in Japan. Japanese delicacies have been incorporated into their ice cream to suit the local palette. Green tea, black sesame, tofu and sweet potato are some common flavours. However you can't fault the Japanese for lack of creativity as they have invented many unusual and unique flavours. Anyone fancy pit viper or octopus? Or how about chicken wing, beef tongue or caviar flavoured ice cream?
The Turkish people like their ice cream or 'Dondurma' stretchy. Salep a ground orchid root is the key ingredient. Popular flavours include tangy plain and mastic (natural gum in eastern mediterranean), herbs, pistachio, strawberry and chocolate.
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