Food trends: Ice-cream of the crop
Dessert menus have long evolved past vats of vanilla ice-cream offered as one scoop or two. Ian Boughton reports on the most innovative frozen options, from gelato to alcoholic sorbet
Ice-cream is not what it used to be. It is certainly no longer something to be dismissed at the end of a dessert menu with the words ‘one scoop/two scoops'.
Those who are backing this stance are agreed that ice-cream is no longer a second-rate dessert - it is no surprise that a recent discussion has centred on how ice-cream can be seen as a sufficiently important part of a meal to win mentions from the top restaurant reviewers.
There are three strands to modern ice-cream: flavour, the move towards Italian gelato and the development of alcoholic ice-cream. Gelato is not simply a rebranding of ice-cream: it differs in fat content, creaminess, air content and even serving temperature.
"We refer to our product as an ice-cream/gelato hybrid," says Liena Wright. "By fate we met our head of development, a third-generation Italian world champion in ice-cream, who has brought a skill and science to our ice-cream to create a hybrid which is made from fresh ingredients as true gelato should be, has exceptional ‘scoopability' and is very easy to work with, but also benefits from a 12-month shelf life, which gelato does not.
"We feel this draws out the best aspects of Italian gelato making, but allows us to bring it into the chef's kitchen is a sustainable way. So chefs who previously made their own ice-creams are now using ours instead as we deliver a premium product that they have not previously been able to get."
A spoonful of sugar
Desserts aren't often considered for their health benefits, but according to the Minioti brand, it is possible to create a delicious ice-cream without added sugar. Founders Natasha Dowse and Anna Boletta explain: "Last year in the UK, 22% of all new ice-cream products were chocolate flavoured, with vanilla second at 18%. We are seeing lots of indulgent flavours coming in, but they come with a hefty calorie and sugar content.
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