When I was a kid, I ADORED pistachio ice cream! I actually did not know that was the flavour for a long time. I just knew I loved the green ice cream. Until one day, it turned to mint. My tastebuds were so completely offended, I have never liked mint my entire life. Damn you mint!
I became quite obsessed with the idea of making it myself from scratch. I wanted that foodie experience again and thought it would make a terrific post. Turns out that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, some foodie memories should remain in the past.
The Recipe Search
I found a solid recipe for Philadelphia-style (simply churning milk, cream, sugar and flavourings) pistachio ice cream. Except! You had to basically make your own pistachio syrup with real pistachios.
Finding the Ingredients
Damn, pistachios are expensive! I almost bought this $10.99 bag before I realized the pistachios were garlic and onion flavoured! Doh!
I decided to skip the real deal and picked up some pistachio flavouring at The Gourmet Warehouse. Perfect!
The “Behind the Scenes” Decision Making
I even decided to paint this dish I made with a pistachio-green colour for the photoshoot! I went out and got a cute floral placemat for the shot too. Yeah, I kind of obsess about my foodie posts, I know.
Developing The Recipe
So I came up with my own basic and simple pistachio ice cream recipe.
Making The Ice Cream
One thing I love about ice cream is its simplicity: cream, sugar, a pinch of salt and flavouring…
I dissolved the sugar in the cream and added the pistachio flavouring.
I let everything cool overnight and churned it in a completely frozen ice cream maker.
Foodie Results
I hated it. I hated everything about it. It was too strong and had a fake smell and taste. Even the texture felt off. It reminded me of the ice cream I loved from my childhood but also made me feel sick to my stomach. It was all wrong, wrong, wrong.
All the elements were there: the Hello Kitty spoon, the pretty ceramic plate I made, the adorable floral placemat and yet… It was a flop. The ice cream itself was a complete letdown.
And that is OK. There are things we can recreate from our past to bring happy memories back to us but it is good for me to know that sometimes you can’t. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you want it to happen… some foodie memories are best left alone.
Maybe there is a reason you can’t find pistachio ice cream anymore? Perhaps it is a flavour whose time is done. And that is OK. Time to try something new!
Pistachio extract? Gross. No wonder it didn’t turn out. Stay real. Always.
Try La Casa Gelato on Venables? They have 200+ flavours and surely pistachio should be one of them 🙂
Those are costly nuts. I have to buy mine from the bulk bin, and then I use them in things. But that way, I don’t get a whole bag, I get organic and just what I use. About a jar-full.
Sorry you hated it but very cool that you wrote about it.
There’s a lesson in that for all of us.
No worries, it was a good learning experience and now I still have a pretty green plate and floral placemat for new and even better foodie memories.