I do not know what it looks like in your cities, but Poznań has been besieged by traditional ice cream for 2 years, or at least ice cream parlors, which are served as “traditional”, “natural”. On one of the streets – Kościelna – they appear like mushrooms after rain, and on a hot day it takes even an hour to get a portion of your favorite dessert.
Traditional, which is what?
Traditional ice cream by design they should not contain any additives other than natural. Therefore, we will not find stabilizers, thickeners or artificial dyes. Or at least it would seem … Let’s start with what the name “traditional”, “natural” ice cream really obliges to do. It turns out that … for nothing.
The name of traditional ice cream does not have legal regulations as such. That is why many ice cream parlors, which produce ice cream not necessarily in the traditional way, have traditional, artisanal or natural ice cream in their name – laments Łukasz Hodurek, the owner of the ice cream parlor: “Traditional ice cream brothers Hodurek” in Krakow.
Importantly, no one checks how the ice cream shop produces its own ice cream and what name it uses. Despite the catchy signboard, the manufacturer can offer ordinary, industrial ice cream desserts.
We produce our ice cream ourselves, according to our grandfather’s recipe. We buy from local suppliers, we use fresh, seasonal fruit – emphasizes Hodurek.
In real, traditional ice cream parlors, flavors that can be produced in a natural way are served, e.g. dried fruit, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, mint, strawberry, blueberry, kiwi, peach, almond, coconut, wild strawberry. Sometimes there are also more fancy flavors such as rafaello, caramel with salt or oreo. Smurf ice cream and other unnatural colors, as a rule, have little in common with nature.
Now every company selling ice cream components has “unique” recipes and sends an “expert” technologist who learns how to make powder ice cream … That’s why there are more and more ice cream parlors under the banner of traditional, artisanal or natural ice cream, and in fact the taste and quality of ice cream do not reflect this . That is why I believe that you have to be guided by taste and not by the strength of marketing, advertising or a cool sign – advises Hodurek.
How to choose a good ice cream?
You can find traditional ice cream that lives up to its name. It will not be easy, but it can be distinguished from industrial production. It is enough to talk to the seller, look for opinions on the Internet, for example on Facebook. As a rule, the quality of ice cream in the season is also confirmed by a long queue for them. As with everything, and in the case of ice cream, it cannot be too cheap – good ingredients cost their money.
The whole range of flavors is also not a good harbinger. Ice cream parlors that prepare their ice cream only from natural ingredients must do it on a regular basis, which is why they usually offer 6-7 flavors, some of them changed daily or every few days.
Some of the flavors in our ice cream shop are constant, some are changed every day, then customers choose ice cream depending on their taste. You can notice a lot of interest in chocolate ice cream, which is our specialty. They are made of dark chocolate with the addition of water instead of milk, adds Giovanni Volpe, the saleswoman of the Ice Cream Shop.
Also remember that cream ice cream is the best way to recognize the quality of the ice cream, because it is not enriched with anything extra. So order the cream, rate, then decide on more 🙂
A good patent is also looking for places where ice cream is made in front of our eyes. If you think that there are no such places, I will surprise you 😉 We can observe the ingredients, for example in ice cream parlors that use liquid nitrogen freezing method, eg Marina Ice Cream Shop.
My husband and I often go to an ice cream parlor that uses liquid nitrogen to make ice cream. We were convinced by the fact that the whole process is performed before our eyes, so we are sure step by step what we eat. Moreover, the production of such ice cream is incredibly spectacular! – recalls Anna Szołkowska, Product Owner of Fitatu /.
We can also see the ingredients added to our ice cream in Thai ice cream parlors. The following items land on the frozen table top one by one: milk / cream, fruit, juices, etc. There is no place for suspicious additions.
The issue of traditional / natural ice cream is extremely controversial. In order to be sure that we get dessert without any unnecessary additions, we would have to literally enter the kitchen of such an ice cream parlor. As it will not always be possible, you should remember about the above-mentioned rules. There is a good chance that we will buy a good quality product.