The wacky world of Japanese ice cream

[Stan Sakai]

Okay, not Usagi related, but this is Japanese. Here is a photo gallery of some off-beat flavors of ice cream. How about raw horse flesh flavor, or octopus, or Dracula brand garlic? Click onto the site below.

http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/photospecials ... 04/00.html

[jporrett]

Thanks for the link, Stan.

I think I would try the seaweed ice cream. The rest though... I think I'll stick with my chocolate, thanks

Reading those did remind me of an old episode of Iron Chef where one of the Iron Chefs made squid ink ice cream. All the judges seemed pleasantly surprised that it tasted so good. I wonder if they would have liked some horse flesh or garlic thrown in?

[Leonardo-san]

For me, there are some things that are never meant to be mixed with ice cream....
I've always thought, each year as the Gilroy Garlic Festival comes up, that their famous Garlic Ice Cream is something I can do quite well living without eating.

But horse flesh ice flavored cream???? gross!!!!

I could make Horse Slobbered On Ice Cream if I offered some common, ordinary ice cream to my horse....

[takematsu]

Smoked horse is pretty tasty, but... no. Raw <you name the fauna> just isn't right in ice cream. Didn't they do Turkey Cream on Iron Chef once?

[ziritrion]

The weirdest ice-cream I've ever seen were rochefort cheese ice-cream and rose petal ice-cream. I didn't taste any of them (I can't stand rochefort cheese, and the store selling the rose petal ice-cream was packed with people and I didn't feel like waiting), but I feel like there should be more flavours than the typical ones. Both octopus and squid-ink taste very good in real life; I don't know about the ice-cream. I've never tried raw horse, though. I guess I cannot say an ice-cream will taste good or bad until I try it, since there are certain flavours that will taste better in ice-cream form, or viceversa (I'd rather have real tiramisu -an Italian dessert- that tiramisu ice-cream, and I'd rather have pistacchio ice-cream than real pistacchios -both are good, but ice-cream is better).

[Izo]

Oyster Ice Cream really doesn't sound appealing.. I would probably try these though.. Sometimes things are better than they sound...

[go]

Dear Readers,
I have eaten rose petal ice cream and enjoyed its subtle flavors very much.
Ziritrion, if you feel like being an explorer, please try the rose petal ice cream.
Thank you all very much for the fun!
Best wishes to all,
go
ps. Did the people of Usagi's time eat ice cream?

[takematsu]

I haven't found anyone willing to put the invention of ice cream any earlier than 1700, although there were snow-cones available to the Emperors of Rome, and some speculation that gelatti was a spin-off from the expeditions used as a foundations for the Marco Polo stories (in the 1200's). Since Sakai-sensei has recently reminded me that Usagi's going about in the early part of the 2nd Tokugawa shogun's reign, that puts him almost 100 years early for aisukuriimu, but he could still have a Slurpee (tm) if he's willing to cart a cup and some syrup up a snow-capped mountain.

[ziritrion]

go: as soon as I remember where that ice-cream shop was, I'll buy a rose petal ice cream cone. Thank you for the advice .

I suddenly have the urge to have some stracciatella and white chocolate ice cream...

[Cyberwolf]

It is possible to have silk ice cream? The cherry blossom and rose petals sound appetizing but everything else-yikes! Just the name horse-flesh ice cream is enough to make you flinch.

[Anjin-san]

Well, the most exotic ice cream I've ever eaten is Green Tea ice cream. Loved it! With the exception of the Cheval ice cream, the other sound intriguing enough to try at least once. . . .

[Usagi]

Wow. Im not much of an Ice cream Eatter anyway.but that just makes my tummer turn........Fish would be gross..

[go]

Dear Readers,
I just discovered Mochi ice cream.
A golf ball size perfect sphere of ice cream
( try Kona coffee and vanilla, also available: green tea, mango, etc.)
is perfectly covered with a 1/8th inch (3mm) of soft mochi.
"Jugem" Japanese restaurant Monterey, California, serves them cut in four pieces still joined at the bottom with a wooden tooth pick to lift them.
My local Asian food store has them in the freezer section manufactured by
Mikawaya (family owned since 1910),
800 E. 4th St.
LA, Ca 90013
Very, very delicious.
Best wishes to all.
go

[Leonardo-san]

go....

Did you say what I thought you said, Jugem in Monterey?
I've been there...more than once.


By the way, Trader Joe's sells them, too. To be found in their ice cream section.
They come in green tea, chocolate, mellon, and strawberry flavors.
Thankfully, not in some of the flavors seen in the original post of this thead!!

[go]

Yes,
each year I take my wonderful wife, Diane,
to Jugem for her birthday, August 8.
All dishes tried are delicious.
Be sure to get one of their cool shirts with the tigers head on the back.
Try the nasu, eggplant deep fried and broiled with a sweet miso sauce......
We go on Tuesday to experience the fabulous farmers market.
This year my town of Chico was 101 degrees F. while we experienced 54-74 degrees F. with fog, seals, sea otters, pelicans, etc.....
Chasing hermit crabs in the tide pools and beach combing made me feel like I was 8 years old.
I hope to see you all at Jugem!
Best wishes to all,
go
ps Trader Joes opens here in September.....thanks for the tip!