[IMAGECAPTION]PHOTO: Honoring the ice cream cone on National Ice Cream Day. (photo via Pixabay)[IMAGECAPTION]
The U.S. takes its ice cream seriously. Ice creameries, parlors and FroYo shops abound around the country and when summer begins to warm the need for ice cream heats up.
National Ice Cream Day is an annual celebration of all things cold and creamy and takes place on the third Sunday of July. This year, that's July 16. In case you are looking at new ways to honor ice cream, you may want to try one of these frozen treats from around the globe.
Not all ice creams are made the same-even if they may have the same ingredients, the way they are served can say a lot about a country and its love of frozen treats.
In honor of National Ice Cream Day, we've highlighted some frozen treat traditions around the world.
Mochi Ice Cream, Japan
The Japanese serve up ice cream in a round dessert ball made of pounded sticky rice cake called mochi. It's like hiding your favorite frozen treat in a delicious candy shell.
If you want to try mochi ice cream, you can find a variety of flavors. There are the traditional vanilla and chocolate flavors or exotic varieties such as plum wine and red bean.
Halva ice cream, Israel
In Israel, ice cream lovers are in for a treat. Halva ice cream has been compared to Snickers and is made of sesame Halva, tahini paste, eggs, cream, and sugar. Top your scoop with some pistachios and silan (date syrup) and you have a nutty frozen treat.
Foie Gras ice cream, France
Of course, the French like something as indulgent as foie gras ice cream, and it's okay to be a little grossed out by it. But, if you want to try it, here's what you'll need, according to Eat Love Savor: 1 pound foie gras cubes; half cup Sauternes wine; one cup of sugar; five large egg yolks, slightly beaten; four ounces of unsalted butter, cut into pieces; and one-and-a-half cups of of heavy cream. Mix it all together and voila, pure decadence.
Gelato, Italy
Celebrate National Ice Cream Day the Italian way-with gelato.
The major difference between gelato and "ice cream" is that it's lower in fat, higher in sugar and churned at a slower speed, so it has less air. These three things are one of the key reasons why gelato has a richer, more fuller taste.
Thankfully, you don't have to go ALL the way to Italy to get good gelato, there are a number of famous gelato places all around the U.S.
Cheese Ice Cream, Philippines
If you are in the Philippines, you might be celebrating National Ice Cream Day with cheese ice cream. It's the country's most popular flavor and it's made with real sharp cheddar cheese.
The ingredients and simple to come by and if you want to check out this flavor for yourself, just follow this recipe from Stuff.co.nz.
Akutaq, Alaska and Northern Canada
Akutaq has many names, including Eskimo ice cream, Indian ice cream, Native American ice cream or Alaskan ice cream. It actually a Yupik word for "something mixed."
Its ingredients are different from ice cream: It includes a whipped fat mix as well as a variety of types of berries as well as fish, tundra greens and roots.
Akutaq is relatively hard to come by, so if you really want to give it a whirl, you will likely need to follow one of these DIY recipes at home.
Kulfi, India
Kulfi is India's ice cream dish. It is a frozen dairy dessert that consists of milk and sugar and flavoring but it's made in a much more complicated manner. The result is a dense, flavorful ice cream that takes a longer time to melt than its Western counterparts.
Traditional flavors include rose, mango, cardamom, saffron and pistachio. Kulfi can be widely found at throughout India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and the Middle East. For those who want to try it closer to home, Indian restaurants around North America serve this traditional dessert.
FroYo, U.S.
No one can deny that the U.S. is undergoing a FroYo boom at the moment.
Frozen Yogurt was the U.S. answer to American's desire for a healthier version of ice cream. It first made its debut in its "soft-serve" format around 1981 with the advent of a soft-serve dispenser made by TCBY.
Now, you can serve yourself at FroYo shops around the U.S.
Durian ice cream, Southeast Asia
Durian is regarded as the "king of fruits" in much of Southeast Asia and so of course, it makes sense that it's a popular flavor of ice cream in the region.
The thing about durian is its distinct smell and taste, which many find sweet and delightful but equally as many find it intensely disgusting.
Chinatown Ice Cream Factory in New York and Polly Ann Ice Cream in San Francisco are two of many places around the U.S. exotic ice cream lovers can go to try this flavor.
Faloodeh, Iran
Would you like some noodles in your ice cream? In fact, in Iran, they do. Faloodeh is a Persian dessert that is made with thin, vermicelli-style noodles mixed in a frozen syrup made from rose water. It is similar to a sorbet and is the traditional dessert of Iran.
Spaghettieis, Germany
Germans also liken their ice cream to noodles. The spaghettieis is a German dish that makes ice cream look like a bowl of spaghetti. Pressed vanilla ice cream resembles noodles and strawberry sauce gives the appearance of marinara sauce. If you go all out, you can use white chocolate shavings to resemble crumbled parmesan cheese. Yum?
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