Milkjam Creamery - Ispahan

Ispahan - Raspberry Rose Lychee Parfait

 

Today, I return to the Minneapolis-based Milkjam Creamery for the second of their May flavors which is called Ispahan (instagram link here).  This is an ice cream flavored with raspberry, rose and lychee.  From the instagram link, the name "Ispahan" refers to a family of pastries developed by famous pastry chef Pierre Hermé which contain these three fruit ingredient.  If you google 'ispahan herme', you get all sorts of links including a French language cookbook.  He named these desserts "Ispahan" after the ancient Persian city (modern-day Iran) famous for the roses which bare its name.  Raspberry and rose is not an uncommon flavor combination.  I have seen a base with this flavor from Sweet Science and swirls of this flavor from Jeni's and a different monthly flavor from Milkjam.  This is the first pint that has included lychee in the mix.  Let's check it out.

Opening the pint, I see a beautiful bright pink color.  It is very striking.  A scoop of this would definitely be very aesthetically pleasing in your bowl.  Digging in, it has a very delicious raspberry flavor which is accented a bit by the rosewater.  The lychee adds a bit of sweetness in the mix which I find very appealing.  A flavor like this is all about balance.  Too much lychee and it could have been too sweet, but they don't overdo it here.  Milkjam has experience blending lychee with other fruits.  I have seen them blend it with passion fruit in their Uma Thurman flavor and with pineapple in one of their fruit sorbets.  This is an ice cream and not a non-dairy sorbet so this has a nice soft texture and is quite creamy.

This is a delicious fruit-blend ice cream from Milkjam.  It is primarily raspberry, but the rosewater and lychee make it lighter and sweeter than a simple raspberry flavor.  Sample the flavor to see if this blend is for you.  Also, even though the ingredients are a bit exotic, I think this flavor would be very kid-friendly.