ice cream, olive oil and salt. Is it a recipe for domestic happiness or a recipe for disaster?
This week we report Learn more about the prevalence of fake olive oil across Europe, along with a handy guide to how to tell if your delicious oil is fake. Today we can report the scene of a potentially even bigger crime against olive oil.
Like all brazen statements flouting the Geneva Conventions these days, it all started with a tweet (sorry to X).
“Girls are right. The combination of vanilla ice cream + olive oil + salt is actually edible,” wrote X user @silknymphe on January 12th. Below the line was the aforementioned scoop of ice cream, lightly laden with a layer of oil that permeated the dairy crater.
No wonder everyone lost their minds. What is the combination of ice cream, a classic dessert, and the base ingredients of salad dressing?
Those who gathered began to try it for themselves. Some people liked it. Some people were not so convinced.
“I tried this last night with the last of my ice cream and it was really bad, but I’m still thinking about this because I wanted ice cream and I had to finish it.” It was so bad that I cried.” Written by user.
Some people added their own flair to it, but they still weren’t impressed. “I tried olive oil with salted vanilla ice cream. I added some caramel for a little dazzle.” I’ll never do this again. It wasn’t bad, but you can get the olive flavor by using extra virgin olive oil. ”
My personal favorite take is This one: “I do this but with chocolate syrup and sprinkles instead of olive oil and salt 😁”. I mean, they’re not wrong, it just sounds better that way.
Interestingly, this strange melange of flavors and sweetness actually has some historical background. This dish, known in Italian as “gelato con olio e sale,” has been appearing in recipe books and cooking websites for years.
It’s hard to say where this idea came from, but a quick Google search for this Italian phrase brings up a slew of recipe sites where up-and-coming chefs pay homage to the country’s finest cuisine. is sung lyrically.
After all, it makes some sense. Ice cream is mainly made of fat and sugar. Adding another complex-flavored fat to your ice cream along with salt should probably bring out a nice flavor profile.
I had to try it myself
Cue me as I dash to the store to get ice cream during my lunch break. Since I’m fashionable, I went for the Madagascar vanilla ice cream.
When I drizzled extra virgin olive oil, it covered the scoop and pooled around it. Small pieces of melted ice cream flaked off and floated away, lost at sea in a layer of fat. It seemed wrong. I poured too much. I felt like a multinational oil company, watching its seal of innocence expire after a negligent oil spill.
Three finger pinches of flaky salt sprinkled over the top did little to alleviate my guilt. At least I only spoiled a spoonful, I thought to myself, alone in the kitchen.
It was time for tasting. I spooned a mouthful of greasy ice cream into my mouth…and immediately threw up. Room temperature olive oil coated my palette, mouthfuls of sweet ice cream oozed desperately, and flaky salt shards split my cheeks. What did I do?
Don’t be satisfied with your first failure. I tried it again, this time using a spoon like a tea bag to scrape the excess oil down the side of the bowl.
To my surprise, the taste wasn’t half bad.
Fatty oils added an extra creamy texture to the ice cream, and salt was a natural accompaniment. It was smooth, but the way a rich dessert should be. Even though I was still alone in the kitchen, I laughed because it was surprisingly delicious.
It was enough to finish the bowl. Admittedly, I then washed the greasy residue from the bowl and made another bowl of no-frills ice cream, just as God intended.