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Color, in particular, A Scoop of Color

is a quality that Ice cream has been around for centuries, with roots
can be used to in ancient civilizations. Back then, it was a simple mixture
of snow and fruit juices. By the middle of the seventeenth
century, people had developed ways to freeze water using
create both visual salt and ice. This made it possible to serve sweet frozen
and taste-based foods, like water ices, at the banquet tables of European
royals and nobles.
In their book, Ice Cream, Goff & Hartel suggest that
experiences that are the English and French had different preferences for ice
truly unique. cream recipes in the early eighteenth century. The English
preferred recipes that were based on cream and sugar,
while the French preferred recipes for water ices or milk
and egg whites. This difference was likely due to the fact
that dairy-based “warm-eating” ice cream is more asso-
ciated with colder climates, while “cold-eating” sorbets
and water ices are more common in warmer Mediterra-
nean climates.
Water ices is an early day version of what we now
know as sherbet or sorbet. Fruits or fruit juices are com-
ingredients. For example, yellow or egg shade color was Purple corn, or maiz morado, is a type of sweet corn that
bined with water and sugar and then frozen. The colors
once commonly added to vanilla ice cream to give it a has been cultivated in the Andes for thousands of years. It
of water ice were usually light and delicate in contrast to
golden hue. However, white vanilla ice creams have be- is often used in Peruvian cuisine to make drinks and desserts.
ice cream made with milk, eggs or cream which were quite
come more popular in recent years. Fruit-based ice creams In addition to being used in ice cream, purple corn is also
rich and had hues that were reminiscent of custard.
usually need to be colored, as the fruit itself may not be used to make chicha morada, a type of non-alcoholic purple
Today, some ice cream flavors may require the ad-
enough to impart an adequate color. Chocolate ice cream, corn beverage and mazamorra morada, a purple pudding
dition of color, others get their unique hue from natural
on the other hand, seldom needs added color. Whether that is often served on top of a warm rice pudding during
it is natural food coloring or consumption-approved ar- the winter.
tificial dyes, there are a wide variety of ways to impart
color to ice cream. Green
There are certain colors that we are more familiar
with when it comes to ice cream. White, yellow, and Green is another color that is not commonly seen
brown are probably the most common colors that we see in ice cream, but can be found in certain parts of the
in store-bought tubs or scoops at the local parlor. How- world. In India, kulfi, a type of Indian ice cream, is often
ever, there are a myriad of other colors that can be found made with pistachios and dyed green. Kulfi is denser and
in ice cream around the world. Let’s take a look at some creamier than Western-style ice cream and is often fla-
of these lesser known, but equally delicious, shades of ice vored with cardamom, saffron, or rose water. In Greece,
cream and what they can reveal about a culture. the island of Aegina is known for its pistachio ice cream
which is a naturally light green color. The pistachios used
Purple to make this ice cream are grown on the island and are
some of the best in the world.
One of the most unique and lesser known ice cream Mint chocolate chip is a popular flavor of ice cream in
colors is purple. This color is most commonly found in the United States that is dyed green. This flavor was created
the Philippines where it is made with ube, a type of sweet in 1973 by a man named Howard Moss who was working at
potato. Ube ice cream is often served as part of halo-ha- the time for Jerry Greenfield’s ice cream shop in Vermont.
lo, a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved Mint chocolate chip has since become one of the most pop-
ice, milk, fruits, and other sweets. Ube ice cream is also ular flavors of ice cream in the U.S. In India, paan ice cream
popular in other parts of Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia, is a popular flavor that is made with green betel leaves. Paan
Indonesia, and Thailand. In Peru, purple corn is used to is a type of Indian mouth freshener that is made with areca
give their version of purple ice cream its distinctive color. nuts, betel leaves, spices, and other ingredients.

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