The origin of frozen desserts, as per some accounts, can be traced back to 550 BCE Persia. And it reached Europe, thanks to Marco Polo. Ice cream travelled across the globe soon after, though it wasn’t exactly like modern-day variants. They were rough around the edges, so to speak. American inventor Augustus Jackson, also a confectioner, is known as the father of ice cream, as he invented the modern method of its making. Our delightful kulfi is considered the traditional ice cream of India.
The first commercial ice cream in the world was chocolate, followed by vanilla. Bassetts Ice cream, launched in 1885, is the oldest ice cream brand in the US. Baskin Robins, founded in 1946, is the largest ice cream company in the world. That’s enough history for a day. However, it may surprise many that the most popular flavour of ice cream undisputedly remains the plain-old vanilla. The most expensive ice cream is Strawberries Arnaud which costs USD 1.4 mn.
Go Gelato!
Tender Coconut Gelato
Chef Arun Vijayakumar,
Thiruvananthapuram
Ingredients:
Coconut milk-100ml,Milk-250ml ,Tender coconut -75gm ,Sugar -70g ,Corn flour -1.5 tbsp
Method: Mix 50ml of milk and cornstarch in a small bowl. In a saucepan, over medium heat, stir the remaining milk, coconut milk, tender coconut flesh, and sugar. Once it’s warm, pour in the milk - cornstarch mixture, and whisk for 4-5 minutes. When the mixture cools, freeze it for a couple of hours.
Tender Coconut-Mango delight
Method
Puree 3-4 small alphonso mangoes by adding water. Take 2 cups of mango pulp in a container. Add 1 cup of condensed milk and whisk well. Take 1 cup of frozen whipping cream in another ball and whip both mango pulp and cream together using a hand blender. Keep whipping at medium speed until you start to see the cream turning into foam. Pour into a container with a lid and freeze it for 8 hours. Boil 1 litre of milk with equal amount of water. Add sugar as required. Mix well and let it cool. Cook the tender coconut flesh in tender coconut water. Add it into the cooled milk, and sprinkle cardamom powder and mix well. Drop the tender coconut milk in an ice cream bowl. Place the scooped mango ice cream over the tender coconut milk. Garnish with pistachio, almond, cherry slice, and mint sprigs.
Ingredients
2 cups mango puree ,1 cup cream ,1 cup condensed milk ,1 litre milk ,1 litre water ,Sugar as required ,Finely chopped tender coconut flesh: 200gm ,Tender coconut water: 200ml ,Cardamom powder: 3gm
By Arun Vijayan, corporate chef, Arippa Restaurant Groups
ABC Gelato
Ingredients:
Beetroot-50gm ,Apple -50gm ,Ginger-5gm ,Fresh cream-100ml ,Milk/soya milk - 20ml ,Carrot -50gm ,Sugar -75gm, Corn flour -1.5 tbsp
Method:
Make a juice of apple, beetroot, carrot and ginger. Mix 50ml of milk and the cornstarch in a small bowl.
In a saucepan, over medium heat, combine the cream and ABC juice. Once it’s warm, pour in the milk-cornstarch mixture and whisk for 4-5 minutes. When the mixture cools down, keep it in the freezer for a couple of hours.
Easy peasy
Courtesy: Shwey’s, founded by Shwetha Mathew and Abhner Mathew Pauly
INGREDIENTS
Heavy cream - 2 cups ,Condensed milk- 1/2 cup ,Vanilla extract- 1 tsp ,Wheat biscuits (broken/powdered)- 100 gm ,Cocoa Powder- 30-35 gm
METHOD
Blend the cream and condensed milk, and add the vanilla extract to it. Add cocoa powder and keep the mixture in the freezer for 8 hrs. Take the mixture out of the freezer and churn in the ice cream churner. When the mixture starts to thicken (comes to a semi-solid state), add the crushed biscuits. Pour the churned ice cream into a container and let it set in the freezer.
Instagram: @shweys_gourmet
By Premalatha Aravindhan, baker and vlogger
Paan Ice Cream
Ingredients
3 cups vanilla Ice cream
2 betel leaves
1 tbsp rose petal preserve (gulkand)
2 tbsp paan stuffing (cardamon, cloves, saunf, tutti frutti, methai, grated dry coconut)
Method
Add the ice cream in a mixing bowl. Wash and chop the betel leaves and add it into the bowl. Add in the rose petal preserve, paan mix. Blend well and refrigerate it for 2 hours. You can serve the ice cream simply in bowls, or stuff the ice cream in betel leaves, re-freeze for an hour and serve.
Jackfruit Ice Cream
Ingredients
1 cup jackfruit puree (8-10 jackfruit chunks + 1 cup sugar)
1 cup Condensed milk
½ cup whipping cream/heavy cream
2 jackfruit (small chunks)
Method
Puree 8-10 ripen jackfruits and sugar. Take heavy cream (Amul Cream) or whipping cream and beat it till it thickens. Add jackfruit puree and mix well. Add the condensed milk and mix well. Add the jackfruit chunks and mix it. Transfer the jackfruit ice cream mix into a container. Cover it and freeze it for 8 hours.