Interesting Ice Cream Flavors

[Kid Jake]

So I've recently gotten on a homemade ice cream kick and I need some interesting flavor ideas to keep it going. So far I've made chocolate/peanut butter (first one I did because I was bored and had a sweet tooth), fresh peach, pina colada, cappucino, pumpkin and Key Lime pie (with a buttery graham cracker crust sprinkled throughout.)

I have plans for banana pudding and caramel apple in the near future, but I'm looking for other flavors that sound good but you can't generally just go out and buy.

Help me keep my family guessing!

[Razade]

Go get kinderbueno and make chocolate/hazelnut icecream with kinder chunks.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

My sister once made ice cream out of avocado! She didn't quite get the recipe right, so it wasn't as creamy as it should have been, but I still liked it! :smallsmile:

[Kid Jake]

Ooh, both awesome suggestions!

[The Fury]

Green tea is my favorite ice cream flavor. It's weird how it seems to be one of those flavors that comes in and out of style.

[enderlord99]

Butter pecan, but replace the pecans with bacon bits, add a maple-butter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_butter) ribbon, and possibly (and I know this will sound weird) mix a little creamed corn into it.

[tomandtish]

Green tea is my favorite ice cream flavor. It's weird how it seems to be one of those flavors that comes in and out of style.

The Emporium in Galveston used to sell that. I freaked out a friend of mine who worked there when i ordered some, as I was the first person under about 40 (I was 18) they had ever seen order it. But it is one I still love.

[Maelstrom]

One we used to get in Mendocino and not very common (but good!) was candy cap mushroom.

[Ravens_cry]

The Emporium in Galveston used to sell that. I freaked out a friend of mine who worked there when i ordered some, as I was the first person under about 40 (I was 18) they had ever seen order it. But it is one I still love.
I tried that once out of curiosity. It tasted . . . grassy to me, would be the best way to describe it. And, yes, as a kid, I would chew on actual grass, so I know what grass tastes like.
Some fairly unusual flavours I do like are chai tea ice cream and crystallized ginger ice cream. The latter especially has this wonderful mix of contrasts.

[Arcane_Secrets]

Rosewater and pistacio. To date I've only found two restaurants that served it and one of them closed down some time in the last year, and the other was basically across the planet.

[Willie the Duck]

Roasted garlic ice cream is pretty good. As is chocolate-hot pepper (any kind). Bacon bits is a fine idea. Licorice, if you're a fan, also goes well in ice cream.

Since ice cream is not especially acidic and by definition cold, a lot of things like nuts, herbs, and flowers which otherwise have oils which might go rancid tend to last (at least as long as ice cream normally keeps).

[tomandtish]

I tried that once out of curiosity. It tasted . . . grassy to me, would be the best way to describe it. And, yes, as a kid, I would chew on actual grass, so I know what grass tastes like.
Some fairly unusual flavours I do like are chai tea ice cream and crystallized ginger ice cream. The latter especially has this wonderful mix of contrasts.

It's definitely an acquired taste. Most people don't like it. Those who do tend to love it.

[Aedilred]

Pistachio is fairly common by the standards of uncommon ice cream flavours, but it's still not readily available for home consumption. That might be worth a try, although I imagine getting the pistachios to the right consistency to use in ice cream will be a challenge.

Berries that aren't strawberry: blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, etc. Or really any other fruit you can think of that tends to see most of its use in home baking: quince, damson, plum, etc.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Plum is the one I'd mention, especially if you add just a dash of brandy.

Also, if you're doing one with nuts, try adding some crushed up mints (the pillow kind you see in snack dishes at weddings). Salty and sweet!

[Knaight]

I tried that once out of curiosity. It tasted . . . grassy to me, would be the best way to describe it. And, yes, as a kid, I would chew on actual grass, so I know what grass tastes like.
Some fairly unusual flavours I do like are chai tea ice cream and crystallized ginger ice cream. The latter especially has this wonderful mix of contrasts.

I like green tea, but I've also had chai tea and crystallized ginger ice cream, both of which were incredible (also just crystallized ginger as a candy).

Other flavors I've liked that should be easy to make at home are lavender, rosehips, and red wine.

Flavors that I liked less are mostly ones common elsewhere, specifically Thailand in 2004. Still they might be worth trying, which adds taro to the list as a flavor, and vanilla with green beans and corn kernels.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Rosewater

On a similar theme, has anyone ever seen/made violet ice cream? I have a sudden urge to try it. According to google, there might be a place in Stirling that sells it...

Or, you know, I could fly to America and Kid Jake could make some. We'll call that plan B.

[Ravens_cry]

I like green tea, but I've also had chai tea and crystallized ginger ice cream, both of which were incredible (also just crystallized ginger as a candy).

Other flavors I've liked that should be easy to make at home are lavender, rosehips, and red wine.

It probably wouldn't be a deal breaker, since you can make pepper vodka mango sorbet (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/black-pepper-mango-sorbet-recipe-2103944)(which I'd so love to try), but the alcohol in the wine might affect things a little. Another worry is the acidity curdling things.

[Roland St. Jude]

Best I've ever made was jalapeno. It was like the pure green flavor of the pepper with none of the heat.

One of the favorites I've ever had was strawberry, basil, balsamic.

[Knaight]

It probably wouldn't be a deal breaker, since you can make pepper vodka mango sorbet (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/black-pepper-mango-sorbet-recipe-2103944)(which I'd so love to try), but the alcohol in the wine might affect things a little. Another worry is the acidity curdling things.

I wouldn't be too worried about acidity - you can make lemon ice cream after all, and wine has nothing on basically any citrus fruit when it comes to acidity, with the possible exception of oranges*. As for the alcohol that does affect handling a bit; there's some freezing point depression. It's not a big deal though.

*The worst citrus fruit.

[Razade]

I wouldn't be too worried about acidity - you can make lemon ice cream after all, and wine has nothing on basically any citrus fruit when it comes to acidity, with the possible exception of oranges*. As for the alcohol that does affect handling a bit; there's some freezing point depression. It's not a big deal though.

*The worst citrus fruit.

You can boil the wine down for a good long while to reduce the alcohol however. Making it a syrup would give you the flavor without the issue of lowering the freezing point.

[Knaight]

You can boil the wine down for a good long while to reduce the alcohol however. Making it a syrup would give you the flavor without the issue of lowering the freezing point.

That's one option - it's also a pretty strong flavor, so if you just don't use a ton of it you're probably fine.

[Razade]

That's one option - it's also a pretty strong flavor, so if you just don't use a ton of it you're probably fine.

Well, reducing it down would also make a little go a long way. So it's a win win really.

[Sir_Norbert]

Berries that aren't strawberry: blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, etc. Or really any other fruit you can think of that tends to see most of its use in home baking: quince, damson, plum, etc.

I had quince ice cream once in Germany, from a cafe that specialised in unusual ice creams. Absolutely delicious.

[Fyraltari]

I discovered this summer that buckwheat-flavored ice-cream was a thing.

[Arcane_Secrets]

On a similar theme, has anyone ever seen/made violet ice cream? I have a sudden urge to try it. According to google, there might be a place in Stirling that sells it...

Or, you know, I could fly to America and Kid Jake could make some. We'll call that plan B.

No, but that does sound really good.

Related to the way the topic developed above: I've also had amaretto ice cream. It came out looking a lot like vanilla, but without any vanilla bean texture, with a mild/strong almond flavor.

[Kid Jake]

These have all been killer ideas so far.

The suggestion to put creamed corn into ice cream first grossed me out a little, but the more I've thought on it the better it's sounded and I think I'm gonna run with it hard

I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say how terrible an idea it might be, but I think I might make cornbread ice cream. Cornbread and milk being a southern staple and all.

Think I might puree some sweet corn real fine, melt some butter and crumble a handful of cornbread into the mix. If it turns out decent I'll post a pic, otherwise I'll just never speak of it again....

[Knaight]

The suggestion to put creamed corn into ice cream first grossed me out a little, but the more I've thought on it the better it's sounded and I think I'm gonna run with it hard.

That was less a suggestion and more an acknowledgement that it was a thing that existed and could be tried. Personally I didn't like it.

[Kid Jake]

That was less a suggestion and more an acknowledgement that it was a thing that existed and could be tried. Personally I didn't like it.

Yar, but enderlord suggested it along with maple and bacon.

Worst case scenario I give it to my sister who adores the hell out of strange food concoctions and she marks 'Ate cornbread ice cream' off her bucket list.

[Algeh]

These have all been killer ideas so far.

The suggestion to put creamed corn into ice cream first grossed me out a little, but the more I've thought on it the better it's sounded and I think I'm gonna run with it hard

I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say how terrible an idea it might be, but I think I might make cornbread ice cream. Cornbread and milk being a southern staple and all.

Think I might puree some sweet corn real fine, melt some butter and crumble a handful of cornbread into the mix. If it turns out decent I'll post a pic, otherwise I'll just never speak of it again....

Well, I certainly like lots of butter on my cornbread, so it broadly makes sense as something that goes with fatty dairy products. I think the trick will be to have it not be too sweet. Maybe add jalapeño or something else that would "jazz up" regular cornbread so it has a flavor other than just "sweet" to pull it further into "cornbread" rather than just sugar and corn.

[BlueHairedKat]

Horseradish? Probably the oddest ice cream I've ever eaten, but it was surprisingly good, especially paired with chocolate.

[M Placeholder]

Curry Sauce.
Mayo.
BBQ Sauce.

[Scarlet Knight]

Is it my imagination, but in every episode of Iron Chef, no matter what the secret ingredient was, did at least one of the contestants go to the ice cream maker ?

[Farynator]

Best I've ever made was jalapeno. It was like the pure green flavor of the pepper with none of the heat.

One of the favorites I've ever had was strawberry, basil, balsamic.

Jalapeno, really? omg

[Vizzerdrix]

One of the earliest known flavors was cheese. You can find vids about it on youtube. Jas townsend (i think that was the channel) did a nice vid on it .

[Razade]

Jas Townsed is an amazing channel and they've done several videos on ice cream. I don't plug many youtube channels but Jas Townsed and Sons is one of the most pure, most interesting channels out there. It should be on PBS.

[Togath]

Habanero or Huckleberry could be interesting, and on polar opposite ends of the normality spectrum.

[tyckspoon]

Is it my imagination, but in every episode of Iron Chef, no matter what the secret ingredient was, did at least one of the contestants go to the ice cream maker ?

It's one of the quickest and easiest ways to turn a random ingredient into a desert, or something that passes for one anyways. Chop up/puree the secret ingredient, mix it with cream and sugar, throw it in the icecream mixer. Especially handy when your appetizer or entree submission is something that needs careful attention, because you can pretty much ignore the icecream thing for ten minutes or so.

[Gravitron5000]

I've made both earl grey tea and lavender flavoured ice cream. They were both very good.

[Samba Mentality]

Has anyone had asparagus ice cream? I did once.

[ImperialTM]

Has anyone had asparagus ice cream? I did once.
Was it any good?

[lunaticfringe]

Cardamom is great in ice cream. I have most often seen it paired with Pistachios and other nuts but plain Cardamom is good too.

[AshfireMage]

There's a shop in my area that specializes in unusual "hipster" ice cream flavors, stuff like blood pudding and matcha/yogurt.

Stuff I've had from them recently that's been good:

* Salted caramel with various candy bars broken up in it (not super unusual, but definitely worth mentioning cause it was tasty!)
* Strawberry and balsamic vinegar
* Goat cheese with pumpkin pie filling swirls
* Carrot cake batter
* Sage and cornbread with peach jam swirls
* Sweet potato with maple-glazed pecans

[Samba Mentality]

Was it any good?

Well, I can’t say it was good, but now I can say I’ve had it!

[Brighteyes]

Mango Sticky Rice Ice Cream