What’s the ice cream of the summer?
If you pay attention to song of the summer contenders, this situation will be familiar. Depending on where your cues come from, it could be Sabrina Carpenter’s ubiquitous Espresso, the Billboard-topping I Had Some Help from Post Malone and Morgan Wallen, Kendrick Lamar’s Not Like Us or any single song off Charli xcx’s Brat.
Likewise, ice cream is showing a lot of different shades this season. One thing is clear, though: Vanilla isn’t one of them.
At Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream in downtown New York, founder Nicholas Morgenstern has gained acclaim, as well as lines down the block, for serving multiple takes on the classic flavor, whether Madagascar Vanilla or Burnt Honey Vanilla.
Morgenstern’s Sesame Bagel ice cream sandwich sold out in less than 20 minutes. (Source: Morgenstern’s)
But this summer, Morgenstern reports that one of the top sellers is Pineapple Salted Egg Yolk. “Global flavors are selling more than in recent years,” he says. “Yuzu Poppy Seed is also quite popular. Actually, anything yuzu sells.”
Morgenstern says the shift has happened in the past two years; in 2021 and ’22, people were leaning heavily into comfort food flavors, like cookies ’n’ cream.
Now the key word is “adventurous.” His collaboration with Russ & Daughters deli, a Sesame Bagel ice cream sandwich, sold out online in less than 20 minutes
At the year-old Sundaes Best in Manhattan, chef Mike Sim says demand for his South Korean flavors is partly due to the wave of popularity the country is riding, from its beauty products to TV shows. His bestsellers are the mauve-colored hwachae (Korean watermelon punch), honey makgeolli, featuring the milky rice wine, and mochi injeolmi, which is studded with the sweet rice cake. “We never expected to see such a diverse audience coming and trying these flavors,” Sim says.
Shuga X Ice’s Tea and Bread ice cream. (Source: Shuga X Ice)
Down in Silver Spring, Maryland, Ndidiamaka Agu opened Shuga X Ice in the new Solaire Social food hall in May. She offers scoops inspired by African ingredients and dishes including a notably spicy red chile-infused chocolate selection that she calls Gbas Gbos. The most popular order is Tea and Bread, a sweet, creamy product laced with chunks of buttered, fluffy Agege bread.
“I can vividly remember being in Nigeria, around 10 years old, and the entire family having that Lipton black tea, milk in there, probably more sugar than we needed to have,” Agu recalls “dipping the buttered bread in the tea.” For some customers it unlocks a memory; for others it’s a novel experience. “People out there love to try new things,” she says.
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Van Leeuwen Ice Cream has garnered a dedicated following for tweaked classics such as honeycomb-studded vanilla and for one of the ice cream world’s more viral flavors, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. But co-founder Ben Van Leeuwen sees consumer tastes evolving. People are “more open to international flavors,” he says. “Japanese flavors, Thai flavors, Indian flavors: think hojicha, yuzu, black sesame, mochi.”
A huge part of it is social media, Van Leeuwen adds. “People are [now] exposed to so many foods, and they don’t even have to travel” to try them.
On the West Coast, the celebrated Wanderlust Creamery specializes in flavors that conjure up spots around the globe, like Japanese Neapolitan, which features layers of matcha, cherry blossom and Hokkaido milk ice cream, as well as the Southeast Asian-influenced Pandan Tres Leches. Founder Adrienne Borlongan says there’s a demand for experiences in ice cream—creative but not gimmicky.
And not just powered by an Instagram shot, either. “We see a lot of Gen Z embracing adventurous things,” Borlongan says. Her bestseller is Ube Malted Crunch, inspired by her Filipino background; the salty, sweet and savory Sticky Rice and Mango is also a top seller.
Awan’s high-end strawberry and caviar selection. (Source: Source: Awan)
And then there’s Awan, the expanding, chef-driven ice cream spot that happens to be vegan. Co-founder Zen Ong is obsessive about his ingredient sourcing. One of the most sensational flavors he’s created has been Strawberries and Caviar, a fruity berry concoction laced with pearls of finger lime.
“I went to the farmers market and bought $600 worth of finger limes,” Ong says. “I spent eight hours deseeding them. It was the most ridiculously decadent product, from a labor and sourcing point of view. It was $15 or $20 a scoop, and it sold out immediately.”
Still, he says, that’s not the most unique, or challenging, flavor he does. That would be the one that requires the most attention to detail, plus thousands of dollars in sourcing prime ingredients from farms in Bali and Sumatra, then making sure the ratio of products is exactly right to produce top-quality taste, texture and complexity. That flavor would be his bestseller: vanilla. –BLOOMBERG
