What you need to know:
- Gulf News is going on an ice cream trail this Ramadan.
- Our fourteenth pick of the month is the combination of fruit and ice cream.
- Be prepared for our list of 29 ice creams for 29 days.
- End your fast and enjoy the Summer months with these sweet and cold treats.
When I think of summer vacations in my hometown in India, all I can remember is eating pieces of fresh juicy mangoes, over scoops of vanilla ice cream. It was a summer favourite. Fruit flavoured ice creams and serving fruit on ice cream is a very popular dessert in the UAE, too. We bring you our next pick of the month...
#14 Fruit and ice cream
History:
According to online reports, most ice cream recipes in English and American cookbooks in the 18th and 19th century used fruit flavours or cut fruits in the dessert. Most books said that any kind of soft fruits could be used.
What UAE residents say?
Dubai resident Duane Mendes loves ice cream and prefers fruit flavours and fruit toppings. The 24-year-old Indian freelance content creator said: “I prefer fruit in ice cream as it gives it a good texture and is a contrast in flavour as well. While I like fruit flavoured ice creams, I prefer having cut fruits as toppings on the dessert. My favourite is topping ice cream with pieces of mangoes.”
Mexican national Hugo Sanchez is fond of fruit and ice cream. He said: “On social media I’ve seen people cut watermelon and serve ice cream in it. I really want to try this. In Mexico, they serve orange ice cream in the peel of an orange. They carve it out and serve the ice cream in it.”
Jordanian national Tawfiq Sawalha prefers fruit to ice cream, however, if he is ever looking to have the cold dessert, he makes sure to load it with fresh fruit toppings. The 28-year-old said: “Where I am from, the ‘cocktail’ is a popular dessert. It consists of ice cream and slices of fruit. My favourite toppings are cherries, however, it is not available everywhere.”
Indian homemaker Monisha Krishna is not a fan of fruit toppings, but enjoys fruit flavoured ice creams. The 44-year-old said: “The only fruit topping I like are berries. Other than that, my childhood was spent having many fruit-based ice lollies in the hot Indian summer.”
Ice cream and fruit is the perfect combination if you’re looking for a slightly guilt-free indulgence. The most popular fruit toppings are mango, mixed berries, strawberries, watermelon and peaches.
Where to get it?
In the UAE most ice cream shops and restaurants have a fruit and cream combination. For summer, this is a refreshing dish.
The Mello ‘n’ Drama ice cream at Rolling Cones Dubai, has a different way of presenting their version of fruit and ice cream. The soft serve vanilla (or any other flavour the customer wants) is served in half a cut melon. It is a large portion and is great to share. The ice cream is garnished with edible pink pearls, caramel sauce and an edible almond flower.
Another place that does fruit ice cream is JAM Rolled Ice Cream shop in Oud Metha, Dubai. They have many fruit and tropical flavours at the store. The rolled ice cream concept takes after frozen dessert that originated in Southeast Asia called ‘Thai rolled ice cream’. The making technique is the same as well – a milk-based products combines different ingredients and toppings, it is beaten and mixed together, poured into an ice pan and then rolled. Mango, mixed berry and pinacolada are some of the flavours served. It is then topped with fresh fruit.
Information:
Price: Dh39 (Mello ‘n’ Drama at Rolling Cones) and Dh25 (Mixed Berry chunk at Jam Rolled)
Availability: Morelli’s Gelato serves ice creams with fruit toppings, and so does Ice Cream Lab and Billo ice cream shop.
Have you tried this? Tell us your experience. And watch this space for the next 28 picks for Ramadan.
Have your own favourites? Tell us on readers@gulfnews.com.
