Icecream Journal

Janice S. of Baltimore, MD asks: “I’ve never tried fried ice cream, but I’ve always wondered…is fried ice cream really fried? If so, how do they do that without the ice cream melting?”

Ahh yes, the south-of-the-border dessert favorite known as fried ice cream. It does seem like a recipe for disaster to actually fry ice cream, doesn’t it? But the truth is, it really is fried. Or at least deep fried (which might seem even more bizarre).

Though it’s often thought of as a Mexican dish, fried ice cream is also popular in Japanese and Chinese cuisine, where it’s referred to as “ice cream tempura.” It should be noted that ice cream tempura is not a traditional Asian dish, but one that was added to Western menus to suit American tastes.

As for how it’s made without turning the ice cream into a puddle of goo, that’s easy (sort of). The ice cream, which is usually stored at lower-than-normal temperatures, is rolled in a coating of crushed corn flakes, which helps insulate the ice cream during the brief frying process. Here’s a traditional fried ice cream recipe. To get an idea of just how quickly the ice cream is fried, check out this video:

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