This is a wonderful paradox of British ice cream culture: the least pretentious food is also the most beloved. It is perhaps the infinite flexibility of ice cream that allows it to transcend boundaries. Chefs can use liquid nitrogen for a smoother texture or new flavor combinations such as sorrel, bay leaf and brown butter (on the mountain, in Beak Street, W1). In the local cafe, though, it’ll be a scoop of vanilla from a tub that’s been in the freezer since January.
Context, it turns out, is everything. In Morelli, I want something old school, but in a natural way wine and an ice cream bar in the north LondonGalia melons and sweet Sicilians look even more appealing. The ice cream itself is the same, but what it represents has changed. This is where the new wave comes in. The Dreamery, N1, is the clearest expression of this new culture. It combines artisan scoops – Greek mountain tea, lemon curd and poppy seeds, or chocolate and olive oil – with carefully selected naturals. wine.
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This trend started in 1999 Paris At Folderol, which started serving scoops in vintage metal coupes alongside natural wines, generated a ticktock-fuelled queue. Not that there’s anything revolutionary about the combination of booze and ice cream. Moro, EC1, has been serving sherry with soaked raisins for 30 years, and sparkling wine with sorbet is an old Italian tradition. Elsewhere, ice cream sandwiches have had a resurgence. It was invented in 1899 New YorkAs a slab of frozen cream between graham crackers. Advanced versions include a stormy forest from London’s Happy Endings, while Hayes in Edinburgh uses foraged ingredients such as seasonal, herbaceous plants and fig leaves.
Two days after my morning at Morelli’s, I sample malted milk ice cream at The Dreamery and discuss with my server why she thinks Le Canon d’Achille would go with it. It’s not yet lunch time and the room is filled with hipsters who are queuing around the block. Sitting at the wooden bar, I alternate mouthfuls of ice cream with sips of wine and close my eyes.
Maximize the sense of taste. In the end, it’s all about fun — messy, just-right-side-down fun.
