A to Z Challenge 2019: I is for Ice Cream

Is there anyone who doesn't love ice cream? (If you're lactose-intolerant, you can get the kind not made with cow's milk). My favorite is Rum Raisin by Haagen Dazs. Yes, I know that's just a made-up name to sound foreign. I rarely have it though because it's expensive and not easy to find.

I also like the Blue Bunny ice cream, but more so for its adorable mascot. Again, not easy to find. I also love lemon ice cream, but the last time I had that was in Canada in the 1980s. I did have lemon sorbet at a local place here, and that was good too.

In the summer, I often make my own milkshakes. I use chocolate ice cream with coffee, or plain vanilla ice cream to which I add fresh fruit. In the month of June, I add home grown strawberries. The rest of the year, I add bananas.

So, that's nowadays. Now, please allow me to take you on a journey way into the past. The first time I remember having ice cream was in the mid to late 1970s in a small village in Germany. Ironically, it was a bar that sold it. The ice cream was homemade with sheep milk. The bar was across from the house in which I lived, and the sheep were kept behind the bar. I am not sure if they had any flavors, I just remember eating the cream-colored kind, which I assume was vanilla.

Germany also has these unique ice cream parlours where you can just eat ice cream creations. I don't want to call them sundaes because they aren't like American sundaes. Nor are the shops like Dairy Queens. No, these are little cafe-like places with cozy tables and cute decor.

One famous German ice cream dish is called Spaghetti Eis. That translates to spaghetti ice. It's vanilla ice cream with strawberry sauce and topped with nuts, white chocolate shavings or coconut flakes. There are many varieties of it, and there are a ton of other dishes.

There are many ice cream flavors, dozens of them. The flavors come from fruit extracts, and the emulsifier is usually guar gum or Carob tree flour. Many ice cream dishes also have sauces made with alcohol. Toppings consist of nuts, fruits and all kinds of wafers.

The ingredients are natural, and the ice cream is softer than American kind. It's not soft-serve, it just has a creamier texture. That's why I now let ice cream melt before I eat it.

And yes, American ice cream does taste a bit funny to me, still after all these years. Perhaps it's the way it's "processed?" That's why I am picky about it.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?