WHETHER plopped in a cup or on a cone—plain or loaded with all sorts of syrups and toppings—ice cream is a favorite among all age groups, so it’s no surprise that it has its own holiday. It doesn’t even matter what the temperature is outside—the classic, creamy frozen treat is just as addictive. While most people would stick to vanilla and chocolate, those with a more adventurous palate have no qualms about trying out exotic flavors. If you’re one of the latter, read on and decide if these ice cream flavors would tickle or traumatize your taste buds.
Horse Flesh
Sold in a food-themed amusement park called Namjatown in Tokyo, the basashi or horse flesh ice cream is likened to vanilla ice cream but with actual chunks of chewy horse meat. It can’t be that off-putting if you’ve tried and loved horse sashimi, right?
Eskimo
No, we’re not talking about the Eskimo Pie, that chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar wrapped in foil. Also known as Akutaq, the Eskimo ice cream from Western Alaska and Northern Canada uses animal fat as base. From which animal? Caribou, moose, walrus, seal, or even whale, are some of the options. But don’t worry, it’s whipped with a mix of fresh berries to still satisfy your sweet tooth.
Kimchi and rice
An ice cream shop in Portland collaborated with famous food vendors and came up with kimchi and rice ice cream, among others. This has a jasmine rice ice cream base, swirls of kimchi taffy and chocolate-coated bulgogi-kimchi truffles. It’s sweet, spicy and tangy and just downright weird.
Lobster
A crustacean-laced ice cream can’t be that bad. Cooked, chopped and buttered lobster meat is folded into butter-flavored ice cream. It has been described as similar to lobster bisque but frozen. Or, if you like your lobster steamed and then dipped in butter, this can’t be far from that. What’s more, there’s no bib required to enjoy this treat.
Tilapia
We couldn’t publish this list without including something bizarre from our home turf. The brainchild of the Central Luzon State University president, tilapia ice cream is made of steamed and flaked tilapia fillet, all-purpose cream, condensed milk, fresh milk, walnuts and cheese. Except for the texture of the flaked fish, it’s been said that there’s nothing fishy about this ice cream at all, not even the aftertaste.