Let’s start from a random fact that you might want to use as an ice-breaker during an awkward silence. New Zealand is the world’s leading country in ice cream consumption (followed by the US and Australia). It’s difficult to pin down the first frozen desserts in this country but it’s believed by many scholars that the early settlers from the UK might have taken the recipes with them along with the churns.
Ice around the world
Where did they get all the other ingredients? Well, fresh milk and cream were ready since the introduction of dairy cattle in the beginning of the 19th century. Sugar was imported from Australia and ice (you probably won’t believe it) was brought from the frozen lakes of New England. From Wenham Lake in Massachusetts, for instance. People would chip the big blocks of ice, load them onto trains and send them to the ports, where they would be covered with sawdust and shipped to England, India, Australia and New Zealand eventually.
It’s hard to imagine the amount of effort people would take to get the ice. But it surely was worth it. The first businessmen and ice cream manufacturers from New Zealand have created a solid tradition of frozen dessert consumption ever since. And today we’ve decided to look into some of the most iconic ice cream recipes that New Zealanders prefer.
Classic ice creams
One of the most traditional recipes includes the classic vanilla scoop with raspberry syrup on top – a classic take-away since the beginning of the 20th century. Of course, there are plenty of other sweet liquids that ice cream can be mixed with. Let’s not forget about iconic kiwifruits. They can be incorporated in the dessert in many ways, but we love them to be in the form of green sauce.
To make it, you’ll need two peeled kiwis. Place them in a blender and pulse until pureed (you can also just grate the fruit). Place 2 Tbsp of sugar and 2 Tbsp of water in a small pan and put it on medium-high heat. Let it sit there until sugar is dissolved. To this add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and 1 tsp of rum, cognac, or your favourite liqueur. Mix everything with the kiwi, stir well, and serve on top of the ice cream of your choice.
Hokey Pokey
Last but not least is a very popular flavour called Hokey Pokey. People on the internet say it’s something you must try. We haven’t yet but we trust people on the web that’s why we’ve got an easy recipe that will help this little wish come true. Basically, Hokey Pokey is vanilla ice cream with honeycomb. Not the real though that’s built by honey bees, but the candy that’s called like it because of its internal structure that reminds of wax cells that bees construct.
To make it, line your square pan with parchment paper, measure 2 ½ Tbsp of baking soda and set it aside. You’ll need it at hand soon. Combine 200 gr of granulated sugar, 80 ml of light corn syrup and 80 ml of water in a pan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil.
Once it’s richer in colour, like dark golden, add in the baking soda and start whisking really fast. Then pour the mixture onto the parchment paper, let it sit for 20 minutes, and it’s done and ready to be crumbled. Break the honeycomb candy into pieces and sprinkle the ice cream or mix it right inside, in case you’ll be making your own frozen dessert.
What do you think?