Pumphouse Creamery - Mango Carolina Reaper Pepper

Mango Carolina Reaper Pepper - Mango Ice Cream infused with Carolina Reaper Pepper

It is the middle of the summer and I read a cool article in the local paper about favorite flavors at Minnesota ice cream shops featuring the rhubarb flavor at Pumphouse Creamery.  Then I remembered that rhubarb is an early summer seasonal flavor, so I  had better run over there and pick up a pint while there is still time.  It turns out that I missed it.  I think the rhubarb might have to wait until next year.  What I did find was a flavor called Mango Carolina Reaper Pepper.  That sounded too exciting to pass up, so I grabbed a pint and took it home.

I have had mango ice cream before.  I have had a few hot pepper ice creams before -- usually in the context of a spicy chocolate, though once with Thai peanut butter theme.  Paired with mango, the goal is to create an ice cream version of the popular mango salsa.  The specific pepper used here is the Carolina Reaper.  This pepper is a relatively recent creation by "Smokin'" Ed Currie of the PuckerButt Pepper Company of Fort Mill, South Carolina.  In 2013, the Guiness Book of World Records certified that the Carolina Reaper is the hottest pepper on the Scoville scale, though I think a hotter pepper has been bred since then.   The guy at Pumphouse Creamery who sold me the pint told me to make sure I drink some milk with this ice cream.  Um... isn't there milk (and cream) in the ice cream?  I am a bit fan of spicy food, so I cannot wait to try this out!

Opening the pint shows the bright orange color which is typical of mango bases.  As I dig in, the mango base has a bright smooth and tropical flavor as expected.  I don't notice hot peppers yet.  I do see the occasional red speck in the ice cream.  Perhaps this is the reaper pepper?  I continue eating and yes, I do occasionally notice a mild peppery aftertaste once in a while after swallowing a spoonful.  The mango was quite tasty though.  I continued to eat the pint and was able to eat it in one sitting.  I will admit that by the end of the pint the spicy finish was starting to become more noticeable but I would not say that it ever rose to the point of being "spicy".

I must admit to being a bit let down by this pint.  I just did not find it to be all that spicy.  Perhaps the build up (sales guy warnings, Guiness Book certifications, etc) was too much.  Maybe the tasty mango simply did an amazing job of cutting the spiciness?  Or perhaps this is just churned to Minnesota spice-level expectations?  I do have a higher spice tolerance than most.  If you are at Pumphouse, enjoy mango and don't mind a bit of a mild kick then feel free to check this out, but don't fear the reaper.