While the majority of ice cream flavors are enjoyed for their sweet and delectable taste, the beloved genre of frozen treat is historically much more varied than that. Today, the most popular ice cream flavors in America are all quite sweet, but once upon a time, there was an incredibly popular savory ice cream that many consumers absolutely adored. In the 18th century, parmesan ice cream saw a rise in popularity.
The recipe for the dessert obviously differed from person to person in the 1700s, but the one that has made its way to the surface today from 1789 is shockingly simple. By adding together whisked eggs, simple syrup, cream, and authentic Parmigiano Reggiano — not processed parmesan — and subsequently freezing it, you create a treat with an incredibly nuanced taste that is unlike any other. While it is a more savory ice cream flavor that tastes like, you guessed it, parmesan cheese, the syrup does produce a fair amount of sweetness and allows it to maintain a certain level of similarity to other, more conventional styles of ice cream.
Read more: 14 Old-School Desserts People Loved To Eat In The 1970s
Savory ice cream flavors might be making a comeback
A small carboard cup of ice cream with two wooden spoons on it on a wooden surface outside – Peeradon Warithkorasuth/Getty Images
Despite parmesan ice cream’s immense popularity in the 18th century, it hasn’t quite found a mass audience in recent years, even with a minor resurgence of savory ice creams. Perhaps the most notable instances of this began in 2021, when Van Leeuwen started releasing a plethora of limited-time-only savory ice cream flavors. After debuting a Kraft Mac & Cheese ice cream flavor (which garnered some surprisingly positive reviews), Van Leeuwen followed up by releasing items like Pizza Ice Cream, Grey Poupon Mustard Ice Cream, and the incredibly disappointing Hidden Valley Ranch Ice Cream over the following few years. While the company has slowed the release of these special savory ice creams, their rollouts did indicate a morbid curiosity among the general public about less common flavors.
As for parmesan ice cream itself, while you probably won’t be seeing it on your favorite ice cream shop’s menu or in a carton at the store, making it at home is considered by many to be an incredibly fulfilling endeavor. While it’s a delicate recipe that Redditors claim is easy to mess up — it’s often said that making it incorrectly results in a dusty, dry texture — the intriguing old school flavor is one of a kind and needs to be tasted to be believed.
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