Antico Nuovo by Chad Colby

Personally not a fan of the melon. The melon flavor is super subtle and the texture is more like a creamy sorbet than that of ice cream (plus I like my ice cream dense and creamy). But I could be alone in this op.

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Agreed, but while Carmela is just plain lovely, her overall style is not dense and creamy which is my mood on most days.

It looks like a lot of us can appreciate a good vanilla- I’m glad. Others tend to think it too basic but they likely just haven’t been blessed by a good one.

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Verdict on the newest batch of peach ice cream: Muuuuch better than the first. The annoying tart level from that first batch is rounded out now. It’s still a bit tart, mind you, but now the profile overall is so much more pleasurable. And the bits of peach embedded are bigger. And riper, too!

I agree that taste-wise, the Weiser Farms melon ice cream suffered from too much understatement in its melon profile. It almost tasted salty towards the end of each bite. But given the fat content necessary to achieve ideal ice cream consistency, watery fruits such as melons often fail to infuse their flavor into the cream. The ice cream maker is then forced to sacrifice and lower the organic cream (fat) content in order to preserve the aqueous (non-cream soluble) taste of the melon within the finished product. I suspect this is what happened with this batch. It’s pretty good, but not great. I will try to blend this melon ice cream with some sweet cream base and experiment with this further. Maybe I will just pair it with some prosciutto.

(All this makes Leo Bulgarini even a greater genius in my eyes. His mastery of gelato/sorbetto consistency, and preservation of the pure tastes of his ingredients are unparalleled.)

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Is the peach flavor more pronounced? Color looks more intense, although I’m not sure if that’s just my screen calibration.

I haven’t had the melon yet, but I tried the watermelon from this weekend and it was a little salty to me. I haven’t had time to try it as a float in champagne for a morning cocktail.

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Does it also have flavor vaguely reminiscent of a high-class Jolly Rancher to you? It tastes a bit like that to me (but not cloying).

I believe that this will require more research :grinning:

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Hi @J_L,

Thanks for the report back on the new flavors, sounds disappointing. Totally agree with your comment about Leo. I remember one time we asked Leo about if he’d make Peach Gelato. His answer?

“It’s a waste of good fruit.” :stuck_out_tongue:

That’s why he makes (a wonderful) Peach Sorbetto instead, probably around some of the flavor challenges you’re describing here.

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I can see why. While I’ve enjoyed the Antico ice creams I’ve gotten, I do think that flavors that also require a bit of tartness probably would do better as a sorbet b/c the cream maybe masks the tartness and can make the overall flavor feel a bit unbalanced (and “diluted”).

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The melon ice cream reminded me of a Hi-Chew, which I find to have a subdued flavor. Through that lens I enjoyed it, but I also expected the flavor to be even more subtle and was surprised.

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I have, and while delicious in its own right, I prefer ice cream over gelato for the richness and texture. And even more so, French vanilla which is more yolky and custardy in texture and taste. Thus, the search for a super rich and custardy French vanilla continues.

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There ya’ go.

Vegan Coconut Caramel

Creamy, generous salty sweet caramel, soft coconut, delicious. :blush: Definitely not just a “vegan option“.

Summer Harvest Peach aka Y’all Are Trippin’. This Peach Ice Cream is the bomb!

Let’s stay focused here. We’re talkin’ Ice Cream. Not pairing down to the concentrated, dominant essence of the fruit. Get yourself some Gelato or Sorbet… they’re delicious. I hear there’s a guy in Altadena doing great things with them. This is Ice Cream - Fruit in Cream, luxurious Cream or Milk Fat or whatever wonderfulness they’re folding the ingredients into. :hearts: We tasted Sweet, we tasted Tart, we tasted PEACH and we tasted CREAM. Would a super peachy-sweet, yellow June Lady sliced on top have gilded this lily? Nope. And maybe Antico has improved upon the recipe, but we think it’s just great on its own. :peach: :two_hearts:

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It sounds like you may have scored a batch made with the Andy’s Orchard peaches. And I totally would have tossed a Tenerelli peach on top just for fun. #WhyNot

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Yes, I think it was a good batch (yesterday) - sweet, not too tart, definite :peach: flavor and oh that ice cream!

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Y’all picking up the ox head soup from next door?

Maybe next time. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Orange Cookies

This tasted exactly how I expected - like the Italian Christmas Cookies w/orange peel and cointreau (not that there’s liquor in it (?) but reminiscent of the flavors)

Cousins’ Decadent Bread Pudding w/Harvest Peach :drooling_face:

Took ice cream (on ice) for a visit with the OC fam. To my surprise the young dudes are learning to bake while sheltering-at-home. It was amusing listening to them obsess about yeast & starters and pans of pizza dough rising in the fridge… and this ooey-gooey, crispy, soft & chewy Bread Pudding w/Homemade Caramel Sauce topped w/Peach Ice Cream was fan-f-ing-tastic. :hearts:

We still haven’t had the Strawberry Shortcake or Watermelon but really have not had an unsatisfactory flavor yet. Harry’s Berries Strawberry and Honeycomb are still my favorites and Hubby is still going with the off-the-charts delicious Vanilla Pistachio Crunch!

:hearts: :ice_cream:

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Plum & Ricotta

Creamy :heavy_check_mark: Tart :heavy_check_mark: Sweet :heavy_check_mark: Plum :heavy_check_mark: It may be too tart for some. And those looking for big chunks of Plum? Sorry. But it’s another hit. Think the best frozen yogurt in town.:hearts:

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Wow, didn’t know about that flavor, thanks.

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