Thrilling Chills by Susan Campbell Aruba’s restaurants run the gamut from upscale fine dining to homey comfort food, and just about everything in between. But what they all have in common is a soft spot for sweets! And when it comes to what’s trending in desserts these days... everything cool is hot again!
A cold treat on a hot day: it’s a classic, and some things never get old. Especially when you consider that Aruba has many hot days! Classics can always stand to be reinvented, though, and when it comes to desserts and frozen treats-togo, a little innovation puts a whole new spin on things. We’ve made the rounds of the best tables, the hippest joints, and the best take-outs and found original flavorings and novel serving methods in the cold and frozen dessert arena. The “Popsicle” goes way back
The word “popsicle” is thrown around a lot, but the name was actually copyrighted by the man who claims to have “invented” the frozen treat on a stick. In 1905, Frank Epperson left his soda pop with a stir stick in it on the porch outside one night and it froze. He was 11 years old. It wasn’t until he was 27 that he applied for a patent on it. He initially wanted to name it the “Eppsicle”, but his children convinced him to call it the “Popsicle”. And like a child’s tongue on a frozen fence, the name stuck! Epperson can’t claim to have invented flavored ice, however, that honor goes way, way back. Nobility in the Roman Empire would often send their slaves up to the mountains to fetch ice and would then have it flavored with syrups made from fruit and spices. The ice pop goes gourmet
For decades, the simple popsicle was nothing more than an inexpensive treat reserved for school-aged children and sweet tooths. Today, creative chefs, food artists, and even barkeeps are doing crazy things with the frozen treats, crazy good. And the new flavors aren’t just for kids, either – avocado-mango-chili popsicle, 68
anyone? Or how about a “cocktailsicle” made of beet, citrus, rosemary, watermelon, black pepper, and rhubarb-rose Riesling, or a pomegranate-Merlot pop? One thing is for certain, these are not your grandmother’s popsicles! E 69
single servings that much more appealing. Speaking of portions, instead of slices, singleportion cheesecakes or mini-pies are making the rounds of all the best tables, often topped with gourmet-flavored whipped creams in tempting taste combinations like chocolate-mint or orangebrandy-pumpkin spice. Another big presentation trend is to serve dessert straight from the cooking pan – imagine a giant chocolate chip cookie for two, still warm in its skillet and topped with vanilla ice cream. Now that’s a favorite old-fashioned treat served with style.
Sweet is meeting savory in flavor profiles, too; take roasted-berry-goat-cheese popsicles or spicy pineapple-jalapeno pops, for example. You can get these new frozen hybrids from trendy food trucks, bohemian take-outs, and cool artisan cafés, but also from gourmet “popsicle bars” at big affairs like gala weddings and corporate events. A frozen strawberry Margarita on a stick or a Pina Colada pop might be just the thing to break the ice when trying to meet new people at a fancy shindig. Ice cream gets creative
Studies have shown that the most popular flavor of ice cream in the world is plain, oldfashioned vanilla, but you’d never know it by the choices and combinations available today. Food chemists have been busy finding unique ways to fill cones with recipes akin to science experiments; surprisingly, a lot of them work! The latest flavors of avant-garde ice cream include some strange pairings indeed. How about chorizo-caramel or raspberry-ham? Scotch alecaramel chip or miso-cherry? Picky palates probably won’t appreciate the codfish ice cream or sea urchin sorbet, but they might go for pear with blue cheese or goat cheese and habanero. Strangely enough the mismatched flavors are
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Fresh strawberries pancake from The Dutch Pancakehouse
often a perfect foil for each other. Even edible flowers and plants are getting into the act. Hibiscus, lavender, and cactus are making appearances and carrots, sweet potato, and corn, too. There’s even an appetizer called gazpacho sorbet – is that sorbet or frozen soup? E
Top photo courtsey of The Dutch Pancakehouse
Who says gourmet ice cream also says gourmet milkshakes, floats, and malted drinks. How about a watermelon-sangria ice-cream shake? Also hot right now are gourmet ice cream sandwiches; who could resist avocado-key-limepie ice cream between macadamia-nut-whitechocolate cookies, or green-tea-coconut sherbet between dark-chocolate wafers? Refreshing and decadent all in one bite! Fancy presentations and new portions
Cool and creamy desserts, even the classics, are being served up in fresh and novel ways. A big trend right now is to use shot glasses and other original glassware instead of plates – all the better to show off those tasty layers. BananasFoster pudding or Champagne-jello shots in liqueur glasses topped with candied fruit are far prettier than when served in a bowl, and make
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Aruba’s version
On Aruba, you’ll find flavorful local ways to beat the heat in the form of traditional frozen treats like raspao (shaved ice with exotic fruit syrups) served from little pushcarts in the street and fresh fruit batidos (milkshakes) at snack trucks and stands. And of course there are many traditional ice cream parlors with soft-serve and hard ice cream, frozen yogurt, gelato, slushes, ice cream cakes, rich sundaes, and banana splits. You’ll also find sensational rich, creamy frozen cocktails, that are like desserts, at many of Aruba’s beach bars. Lastly, keep your eyes open for all the new, cool gourmet creations now being offered in fine dining establishments all over the island to discover another great way to “chillout” on this happy island. Your taste buds will thank you for it. K
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