ice cream flavors

Squid innards are often used as a condiment in Japanese cuisine, which I suppose makes it inevitable that it would find its way into ice cream. We should be fortunate Squid Gut Ice Cream is not the full squid.

If the idea of Squid Gut Ice Cream seems unpalatable, perhaps Squid Ink flavor is more of a tentacled taste bud tantalizer.

As if the thought of grilled seaweed is not enough, this ice cream has the added bonus of having the seaweed burned to a crisp before being added.

Soaking in the steaming waters of a hot spring is almost the Japanese national pastime. Located in volcanic areas, Japans hot springs are subjected to wafts of the pungent odor of sulfur, which, of course, closely resembles the fragrance of broken wind. If you know the smell, you know what the ice cream tastes like.

Called because of its supposed effectiveness against vampires due to the garlic it contains, the unfortunate addition of mint flavor almost seems enough to drain anybodys blood. A taste that seems to leave the mouth in an undead state. Definitely not to be eaten during daylight (and nighttime is best avoided, too).

It shouldnt be surprising that this ice cream has a taste thats a little, well, unpolished. But genmai is certainly healthy and this treat actually gives credence to the idea that rice is nice.

Aojiru, literally a broth of green leafed vegetables, became a household word across Japan because of a TV advertisement for aojiru featuring an old man guzzling down a glass full of it, and promptly proclaiming it to taste ???awful.??? Enough said about the ice cream flavor.

Rice straw forms the tatami mats that some call the essence of Japan. Igusa makes for great wabi and sabi, and a not a bad tasting ice cream flavor, either.

Another miso based flavor, this soybean paste ice cream has the added advantage of being environmentally friendly. Judging by the taste, it would have been much friendlier had it never existed.

Putting the ???brew??? into bruising your taste buds is the hojicha bitter green tea ice cream. Hojicha is best known as a tea consumed to complement incredibly sweet Japanese confectionery, but typically busy Japanese have mixed it with ice cream to kill two birds with one stone. And with a taste like this, it wouldnt be surprising if they killed more than two birds as well.