Ice cream Redux
Who doesn’t like ice cream? No one I know. Not only is ice cream a favorite dessert in America but in just about every other corner of the globe as well. That is except for Indonesia who only manages to eke out .1 liter (or approximately 7 tablespoons) per person a year. So little for something so sinfully good.
As reported back in 2019 with my first post about ice cream (https://bit.ly/3scSSXH), the Chinese supposedly invented it. Many food historians believe it was later introduced to our shores by Thomas Jefferson in the late 1700’s after a five-year stint in Paris as our Minister to France. How do we know? Because they found four ice cream molds in his luggage when he returned home.
France’s renewed love-affair with glace
While Americans may eat a great deal more ice cream than the French (20 pounds versus 12), France exceeds us by evaluating the production of glace to an art form, especially of late. Previously, the legendary French producer Berthillon on Ile St. Louis, plus a unexpected battalion of Italian gelato makers, maintained a strong hold on the category in the country’s capital. However, now every pâtisserie and chocolate shop in town, in addition to a handful of young entrepreneurs, are churning up some remarkable ice cream fantasies. And from what I observed this past July, tout Paris is itching for a taste of the exotic, cold and delicious.
To be more “historically” accurate, Paris’s ice cream-making game really took off in 2000. This was when pastry chef (and now glacier, too) Emmanuel Ryon won the first coveted title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) for his skills making ice cream. (This is the prestigious competition held every four years where craftsmen with exceptional talents are recognized in ten food categories: pastry, butchery, charcuterie, bread-making, ice cream, chocolate, cheese, fish, grocery, and roasting.)
A MOF who can churn a mean ice cream
At Une Glace à Paris, Ryon’s shop in the Marais, you can taste unique, mouth-watering ice cream combinations such as Pistachio and Orange Blossom, Ethiopian Coffee and Black Cardamom, Buckwheat Nougatine, and White Orange Blossom Cheese. His predilection for surprisingly sophisticated taste profiles carries over to his collection of exotic sorbets as well, which include seasonal vegetables such as beets, carrots, and even asparagus!
Chef Ryon also creates frozen pastries which would put Carvel’s ice cream cakes to shame. For example, consider his Norwegian Omelet: A Baba biscuit with Mount Gay rum from Barbados, beech wood-smoked vanilla ice cream coated with a melting meringue and flambéed with rum. (The warming of the meringue plus the flambéeing is to be done at home. Chef Ryon provides the vial of rum, naturalement. Also, not to confuse you, but the French term “Norwegian omelet” refers to a dessert hot on the outside and cold on the inside.)
But, enough about France and their recent love-affair with small batch, artisanal ice creams. What’s going on here in America? What are some of the recent trends and furthermore, why should we care about them?
Ice cream as our lifeline
While most of us equate an ice cream cone casually enjoyed on a park bench with an iconic taste of summer, apparently, it’s much more than that today. Given our collective anxiety brought on by stress from Covid, the uncertainty of climate change, and our country’s political madness, eating an ice cream now also serves as an edible balm. As such, it effectively channels our need for fun and escapism.
Stats to spice up your cocktail conversation
A few interesting factoids courtesy of IDFA (International Dairy Foods Association) to have in your back pocket:
· 73% of US consumers eat ice cream at least once per week and 2 out of 3 consume it in the evening.
· 84% prefer to purchase ice cream at the grocery store and eat it at home.
· March through July is the busiest time for ice cream production.
· America’s top 10 flavors are: Chocolate, Cookies N’ Cream, Vanilla, Strawberry, Chocolate Chip, Cookie Dough, Butter Pecan, French Vanilla, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Caramel/Salted Caramel
· Chocolate is the most popular topping sauce, beating caramel 26% to 18%. Nuts and sprinkles are the most popular dry toppings, 15% and 14%, respectively.
· Fortune Business Insights estimates the global ice cream market will reach $105 billion in 2029 up from $72 billion in 2021!
An emerging trend: Non-dairy ice cream
While non-dairy and plant-based ice cream together is still a minor category, its expansion is gaining steam thanks to the demands of vegans, flexitarians, and lactose-intolerant consumers. Add to all that the followers of “healthy indulgences” and you can understand this growth. To accommodate this niche market non-dairy ice cream producers are moving beyond basic flavors by expanding into exotic tastes, inclusions such as nuts and fruits, along with more sustainable packaging.
Sustainable products capture America’s attention
Consumers’ attitude about sustainability is starting to make inroads into the world of ice cream just as it has with other consumer products. Generation Z and millennials are particularly keen to support environmentally friendly brands. Take for example Alec’s Ice Cream whose description sounds more like a mission statement of environmental consciousness than a brand of ice cream.
Alec describes his product as including “America’s first carbon-neutral, regenerative-verified, USDA-certified organic ingredients and 100% A2 dairy.” You might ask yourself as I did, “what is A2 dairy?” According to the owner, this is ”the original milk protein that has been known to lead to easier digestion, unlike conventional dairy, which accounts for the majority of dairy on the market.” Whew! Alec claims that not only is his ice cream better for you but it’s also better for the planet. Furthermore, he claims it tastes good too!
Bring on the spice, the salt and the crunch
Another trend is in innovative flavors and texture additions. While straight up Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry remain category staples, many producers are kicking their ice cream up a notch by making it spicier and by adding a salty and often a crunch component as well. Chili and wasabi were the first spices to be introduced. Now, the use of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom is on the rise, particularly in foreign markets.
The salt add-ins come in a variety of ingredients including potato chips, salty pretzels, and even French fries. But there’s more. Some small batch, artisanal producers and creative restaurant chefs are adding even wilder flavors for a unique gustatory experience. Funkier flavors such as olive oil, blue cheese, foie gras, avocado and corn are now starting to tickle both our imaginations and palates.
Using Nostalgia to market ice cream
Ice cream producers have recently started tapping into our recollections of flavors we enjoyed as children to sell their brands. It’s no longer just Ben & Jerry’s who set the stage with their bold, wacky, and irreverently named flavors. Other brands are following their lead. For example, Oregon producer Salt & Straw is churning up some exciting handmade, “curiously delicious” (their words!) flavors which speak to our youthful yearnings: Cinnamon Snickerdoodle, Peanut Butter Brittle Caramel Fudge, Salted Malted, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
But these flavors seem tame in contrast to Salt & Straw’s “Summer Picnic Series” which includes such can-you-believe-it concoctions as Chocolate Potato Salad and Cinnamon & Honey Fried Chicken. Tempting. If so, you can still order one of these on-line for your end of summer picnic!
Flavor mix-up and mash-ups
It’s not easy to feed the ice cream-loving beast as we consumers are always looking for something new. One of the hottest innovations today —and an extension of the nostalgia trend—is flavor combinations and confectionery. This is where baked goods meet ice cream. Breyers 2 in 1 product is a good example. Now you can find two of your favorite childhood cookie brands, Oreo and Chips Ahoy, blended into Breyer’s vanilla and caramel flavored ice creams. One might consider this gilding the lily, but younger consumers are relishing this flavor/texture mash up. Just ask my grand niece and nephew, Hailey (10) and AJ (12).
A cool and delicious blast from the past
Speaking of nostalgia, let’s get back to the fundamental enjoyment of ice cream, not just its trends and stats. For many of us, savoring ice cream is a Proustian experience evoking fond memories of our youth while also providing us with hedonistic pleasure with every lick.
With that in mind, I surveyed several friends and family members asking them to conjure up their favorite childhood ice cream memories. Here are just a few of what they scoped up for TarteTatinTales.
Can I paint your ice cream shop?
Former television network producer, Bill Arp, recalls hanging out at Leon’s Ice Cream Shoppe during his preteen years in Dearborn, Michigan. “Leon allowed us to stay as long as we wanted but only if we were eating his ice cream.” As Bill described it, “Leon’s was a typical mom and pop operation with a large, old-fashioned ice cream machine in the window. In addition to the standard flavors, Leon would crank out special ones using summer fruits as they came into season. Strawberry was a particular crowd favorite.” Bill and his pals would pile into the wooden booths or sit on the swivel stools along the counter. Here the kids could sit for hours watching Leon perform his ice cream magic creating malteds, milkshakes, cherry floats, and sundaes with his seemingly endless array of syrups and toppings.
One summer Bill noticed the place was starting to look a little shabby. So, he volunteered to paint it. Leon gave him $150 for the job, a nice piece of change for a young kid.
Step to the front of the line, sir
My stepson Chris Lauber recounts a story from his college days in the 80's at Boston College. He often frequented Steve's Ice Cream on Harvard Square, in Cambridge. As Chris recalls, Steve’s allowed customers to customize their choice of ice cream with add-ins. “My favorite was banana ice cream with chocolate chips mixed in. Each request was crafted before the customer’s eyes. As a result, it was a very popular spot, especially weekends after the movies let out from the theatre across the street.
“The employees sometimes held impromptu contests. So, one weekend night after seeing a movie, we joined the other customers in a line which extended out the door. Suddenly, one of the employees started clanging metal utensils together and yelled out, ‘We have a trivia question and whoever can answer it will win a free bowl of ice cream AND move to the front of the line.’ So, here’s the trivia question. In the Green Acres television show, who was the owner of Arnold the pig?
“I am not sure why the answer occupied any space in my brain cells, but I immediately yelled out ‘Mr. Ziffel!’ ‘Correct! Please come to the front of the line to get your free ice cream.’”
Waffle cone, a new essence of summer
Chris’s daughter, Nicole, gave me the best story of all. She told me about her first job which was at Larry’s Ice Cream in St. Petersburg Beach. “I resigned after one month.” When I asked why so quickly, she replied with a sneer and hint of indignation. “The owner accused me of taking money out of the register. She was a nasty lady who couldn’t reconcile how I might possibly have made $20 in tips in just one day. Can you imagine? Me with my sparkling personality? How insulting!”
But there were other reasons for her short stay, which Nicole eventually divulged. “Another issue was that I had gained five pounds on the job. But what was worse is that I’d come home smelling like a waffle cone. I was a teenager and didn’t want to be teased at school as ‘the waffle cone girl.’ Quitting was my only option.” To this day, her parents still boycott the ice cream shop despite its popularity with the other locals.
Americans’ year-round craving for ice cream
For sure, ice cream checks all the boxes for our need for comfort foods. Whether you crave an old-fashioned brown cow, or a new-fangled ice cream sundae with a brownie or cookie base drizzled with exotic toppings, or an astronomically priced, gluten-free ice cream cone with a scoop of “banoffee” from Glace, (Eli Zabar’s new shop on Madison Avenue), you can’t go wrong. Ice cream is the siren’s call for summer joy. Simply put, there’s just no resisting.