At a cookout this summer, you might pour some ketchup on a burger or slather barbecue sauce on some chicken. But imagine eating these same condiments for dessert! A few years ago, the food company Heinz released condiment-flavored ice creams in the United Kingdom. Along with ketchup and barbecue sauce flavors, people sampled scoops that tasted like mayonnaise, salad cream (a popular British condiment), and saucy sauce (similar to Thousand Island dressing).
Food scientist Maya Warren, who develops ice cream flavors at her company IC3 CRM, says ice cream is great for experimenting with different, and sometimes wacky, flavors. Ice cream starts as an emulsion—a combination of two liquids that don’t normally mix. In this case, the emulsion blends together the fats and water found in milk. Sugar is also added, and the whole concoction is mixed and chilled to create a creamy frozen treat. Since these ingredients don’t have much taste on their own, says Warren, ice cream can take on just about any flavoring that’s added—even ketchup or mayonnaise!