Adirondack - Syrian Date & Walnut

Syrian Date & Walnut - Date Ice Cream with Walnuts

The next pint on my trip to New York is from the Adirondack Creamery and is called Syrian Date & Walnut.  I have reviewed a pint from Adirondack before on a previous trip to New York called Kulfi Pistachio Cardamom.  You'll notice that this is the second middle-eastern themed flavor that I have tried from Adirondack.  I checked their list of available flavors and they have a lot of more standard flavors (mint chip, banana chip, chocolate peanut butter, etc), so the bias towards more exotic flavors is on my end.  Since I eat so many different kinds of ice cream, I tend to gravitate towards flavors that are not as common.  This is especially true when I am out of town.  I don't encounter date-centric flavors that often -- that's why I picked this flavor.  The flavor link above mentions that this pint is specifically based on the Ma'amoul shortbread dessert common in the Arab world.  Adirondack is giving portions of the proceeds of the profits of this flavor to a charity which supports Syrian refugees.

On to the ice cream!  Removing the lid, the date-based ice cream is a very light tan color.  Digging in, the date ice cream is fairly sweet and tasty.  Date is a surprisingly easy-to-like flavor.  I was not exposed to dates much growing up, so I expect it to be more exotic or something I might have to acquire a taste for.  It's delicious.  This is ice cream made from a date paste -- there are not dates or date pieces in the mix.  The walnut pieces are spread through the pint fairly evenly and provide the occasional crunch.

This is a delicious implementation of a date-flavored ice cream.  If you are curious about dates in ice cream, give this one a shot.  Because there are no pieces of dates in the mix, I did not like it as much as Lappert's Date Casablanca, but both flavors are not nationwide flavors (Adirondack is New York, while Lappert's is California & Hawaii).  More brands should try a date-themed flavor!

Adirondack - Kulfi Pistachio Cardamom

Kulfi Pistachio Cardamom - Pistachio Cardamom Ice Cream with Pistachio Pieces

There is time in New York for one more pint of ice cream so I decided to try another local brand.  Today, we try the Adirondack Creamery's Kulfi Pistachio Cardamom flavor.    The Adirondack Creamery was started in the early 2000's by Paul Nasrani.  It started as an after-work hobby in his Manhattan studio apartment and within a couple of years he was buying larger scale equipment to keep up with demand from his friends and co-workers.  Eventually he decided to quit his day job to make ice cream full time.  When doing so, he decided to relocate to Silver Bay, New York on the north side of Lake George and at the base of the Adirondack Mountains.  This gave the ice cream business room to grow and also provided easier access to many local dairies for ingredients.  They have grown large enough so that pints of their ice cream are now available in New York City.

The flavor today is an interesting twist on pistachio ice cream.  Pistachio is a great ice cream flavor but it is not often found mixed with anything.  It is not something that you imagine mixed with chocolate, caramel or peanut butter, or fruit so the pistachio usually stands alone by itself.  What is done here is to mix in the cardamom spice to simulate the flavor of a dessert called Kulfi which is popular in the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East.  I am interested to see how this pint tastes.

Removing the lid, I can see a difference right away.  Pistachio ice creams are normally green, but this pint is an off-white yellow.  Eating my way into the pint, I could taste the pistachio right away but it was a bit more aromatic than the usual pistachio ice cream.  Cardamom is a new flavor for me, so I was intrigued.  I let my sister try some and she said that's the cardamom.  She eats Indian food more often than me and says it tastes just like the Indian dessert.  She liked it.  I liked it too.  It was a very flavorful pint, but the flavor was soothing as well.  Kulfi is popular because it provides a bit of relief after a hot and spicy main course.

I enjoyed this flavor.  If you like pistachio ice cream and are interested in a twist on that popular flavor then you could give this a go.  Of course, if you like Indian food, you may want to see how the popular Indian dessert translates into a pint of ice cream.  This pint has made me quite curious about the cardamom spice.  I will be on the lookout for other flavors which use this spice.