Summer will soon be upon us and that can only mean one thing - hot pants! Well that and ice-cream! And lot's of it. Ice-cream, I mean - not the hot pants. Actually come to think of it, maybe there'll be lots of hotpants too - who knows! When we think back to our childhood days and the summers when we used to devour ice-cream like it was going out of fashion, three flavours generally spring to mind: chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla.
But the truth is there were a lot more flavours that were just as popular. In the second part of our post, we take a look at other ice-cream flavours that we loved as kids. Some are still readily available; some are a lot harder to find, while others seem to have melted away...
1. RASPBERRY RIPPLE
This was another ice-cream flavour I really liked: vanilla ice-cream swirled with raspberry sauce. Once again Mum used to buy this in block form (yep, those blocks sure were popular in the eighties and nineties) which we would usually slice and serve between two wafers to make an ice-cream sandwich. I was always very fussy about which slice I got because it had to be very heavily rippled with raspberry sauce.
Thankfully this delicious ice-cream is still around today but I wonder if it's still consumed in the huge quantities it once was. Definitely one the retro fanatics will love. Although these days you're more than likely to encounter raspberry ripple's more fancy-pants cousin, rhubarb ripple!
2. NEAPOLITAN
Whoever invented Neapolitan ice-cream is right up there with Einstein! It was a great idea to put the three popular ice-cream flavours together: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. Practical, economical, space-saving...It meant that people could buy just one tub and know it would please the whole family. For those who just couldn't decide which one to buy - they could just go for Neapolitan. One tub fits all!
It goes without saying that a tub or block of Neapolitan was always very well received in our house where we all had our favourites. And whenever we had guests over for dinner and there was going to be ice-cream for afters, if it wasn't vanilla, it was almost guaranteed to be Neapolitan because let's face it everyone was guaranteed to like at least one of the flavours (unless they were strictly mint choc-chip in which case... we were all rather stuck!)
Neapolitan ice-cream is still around today, of course, but I wonder how many people have a tub in their freezer...
3. BROWN BREAD
Although brown bread ice-cream was fairly well-known during the eighties, I don't ever recall it being available to buy in supermarkets or ice-cream parlours. I very much doubt Mr. Whippy was serving brown bread ice-cream from his van! Instead it seemed to be an ice-cream people were encouraged to make at home judging by the recipes I'd see in magazines and on cooking shows. At the time I remember thinking what an odd flavour it was for an ice-cream. Why on earth would anyone want to eat ice-cream made out of bread???
Well while on holiday in Ireland several years ago, I thought I'd give it a go when I saw it on the menu of an ice-cream parlour... and I ended up (over)indulging - and rather unapologetically as well - in the most gorgeous brown bread ice-cream, with a fabulous caramelized, nutty flavour. Words really don't do it justice. Good on the ice-cream parlour for serving up brown bread ice-cream. I hope other parlours and restaurants will follow.
4. RUM N' RAISIN
I may have had rum n' raisin ice-cream less than a handful of times when I was growing up, despite it being quite popular, because I wasn't keen on raisins and I was afraid I'd get drunk on the artificial rum flavour! How times have changed because now I love real rum and don't mind getting tipsy on it... but I still have a love-hate thing going on with raisins. So good on rum n' raisin for making it into the twenty first century but I really don't think it's something I'll ever be wolfing down (it would have stood a better chance without the raisins.)
My mum, on the other hand, loves raisins but will never stock the freezer with rum and raisin because she hates the taste of rum - or any alcohol for that matter!
5. TUTTI FRUTTI
Meaning 'all fruits' in Italian, this ice-cream flavour containing mixed peel, dried and candied fruits was incredibly popular during the eighties and early nineties and was a huge hit with my family, especially my mum and aunts. But guess what? I HATED it! I couldn't stand the stuff. I remember one occasion during a family get-together when my five year old self had cried the house down because I wanted some ice-cream. And of all the flavours they could have brought me, they brought me a bowl of horrid tutti frutti. "Now you eat that," said my aunt in a very stern tone, "you asked for it, now eat it!" I didn't dare tell her that even though I'd asked for ice-cream, I did not ask for that awful flavour.
Even though my palate has changed over the years and I now like foods I once detested, I don't think I could ever get used to tutti frutti ice-cream. And I'm not sure I'll ever get the chance to find out if I'm right because I honestly can't remember the last time I saw it on sale... anywhere! In fact a lot of people I've spoken to have said the same. And despite my dislike of the flavour, I am sorry that it doesn't seem to be around now as it brings back a lot of memories of my family, childhood and the eighties... and also because my mum likes it!
6. CHOC-CHIP
Chocolate chip ice-cream is an absolute classic: smooth vanilla ice-cream combined with crunchy chocolate chips. This was a very popular ice-cream flavour as I was growing up but funnily enough I don't remember us having this at home. On the rare occasions when we were fortunate to sample a dish of choc chip, it was usually in a restaurant. And of course this flavour is still consumed by the truckload. But I much prefer choc-chip's sometimes overlooked cousin, mocha choc-chip!
Right, now I'm going to stay cool with a huge tub of olive oil and bay leaf ice-cream. Bliss!
What ice-cream flavours did you like from back in the day?
Images: Pixabay
Word cloud Angel Noire
As a kid it was chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! Of course I still like chocolate and it takes me back to my childhood but these days I'm more likely to be enjoying a scoop of wild blueberry or salted caramel.
Today I do like a good black cherry ice cream. but as a kid I couldn't get enough of raspberry ripple.
@Bailamos - I'm really glad you said it because I've thought the same for ages. Viennetta just doesn't taste as good as it used to and i was very disappointed the last time I tried it. As a kid my aunt used to serve it with slices of banana. Delish!
@ShynieVal - Rose ice-cream is absolutely delicious. It's a pity is not more readily available.
Growing up, Viennetta was a pretty big deal. And when they brought out other varieties we were really spoilt for choice. I actually don't buy it now as I don't believe it tastes the same.