Reykjavík Grapevine - 31.07.2015, Qupperneq 68

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We take the goo
d old tradition
al
recipes and the
best icelandic

ingredients to
create fun and
tasty food.
Let tradition s
urprise you!
Moooh..!
Baaah..!
...!
FOOD
FOR THE SOUL
First, let’s clarify one thing. When Ice-
landers talk about ice cream, we mean soft
serve. While I celebrate the recent influx
of different ice cream styles to Iceland
(scoop-style, gelato, etc.), you probably
came here expecting that patented Unique
Icelandic Experience, so let’s stick to soft
serve. When in Rome, eat gelato—when in
Reykjavík, go for the soft serve.
The Starbucks
of Iceland
If I’m hit with an ice cream craving (every
day) when staying at my parents’ house in
Iceland, I can pick from at least five dif-
ferent ice cream shops, all within a five-
minute drive (no one walks in Iceland. It’s,
uh, cold).
You’ll likely have noticed that swim-
ming pools tend to serve as Icelanders’
informal gathering spots—ice cream par-
lours serve much the same purpose (inci-
dentally, grabbing an ice cream often fol-
lows a good pool trip). The ísbúð is where
teens meet to giggle, where first love blos-
soms (going for ice cream is a classic first
date activity), where friends reconnect
and families regroup.
While you’d think that all of this in-
cessant gorging on delicious, unbeatable
soft serve takes place during Iceland’s
scorching hot summer months, consump-
tion actually stays fairly even throughout
the year. Most of the Western world’s ice
cream parlours make up for their lagging
winter business during summer, when
it’s hot out, and must therefore be con-
veniently situated near a busy shopping
street or a buzzing beach. In Iceland, the
opposite is true: most of them are found in
residential neighbourhoods, rather than
downtown.
This further drives home my point: In
Iceland, grabbing an ice cream isn’t par-
ticularly “special”—it is so ingrained in us
that it’s simply become part of the routine.
For me, it’s all about the way it melts.
More than just
sprinkles
The variety of cheeses, yoghurts, spreads,
Skyrs and creams on offer in Iceland rivals
that of a much larger country. Our barren
land might not provide much fresh fruit
or vegetables, but dairy, we know. When it
comes to ice cream, it therefore shouldn’t
come as a surprise that there’s more than
one way of enjoying it.
My dad used to get a mild anxiety at-
tack when he was forced to order an ice
cream without my assistance. The abun-
dant choice of flavours, cones, toppings
and dips he was presented with would
overwhelm him. He’s gotten the hang of
it now, mostly because he’s memorized a
few winning combinations (see my rec-
ommendations below). Sadly, not every
ice cream shop is as rich with options as
my favourites. If you’re outside Reykja-
vík (or Akureyri), the choices won’t dev-
astate you. The ice cream itself will be
just as good, but you probably won’t get
the full experience of dips and toppings.
Therefore, I urge you to try your hand at
Icelandic-style ice cream eating while in
Reykjavík (I’ve included a handy list of my
favourite shops, below).
Ice cream in a cone:
deconstructed
I’m very biased when it comes to ice
cream. When I come to Iceland for a visit,
all I want is ice cream in a cone. Ten years
ago, I went for the blizzard style, but now
I believe soft serve in a cone to constitute
the truest, most honest form of the Icelan-
dic ice cream experience. And that’s what
I suggest you try.
What follows is a deconstruction and
how-to (remember how anxious my dad
used to get?) of an Icelandic soft serve ice
cream in a cone:
1. Serve it
The original mixture that’s turned into
soft serve generally comes from one of
two main competing parties on the Ice-
landic ice cream market: Emmess and
Kjörís, The Ice Giants. Icelanders love to
fight about which one’s better, with most
folks stating a clear preference (I’ll go for
both, but prefer Kjörís). Most ice cream
parlours are thus adorned with a sign an-
nouncing their allegiance to either brand.
In every shop, you’ll find the classic vanilla
on offer, but many offer chocolate, straw-
berry and swirls of both kind on top of
that. Some even have more exotic flavours
(at my favourite ice cream shop, I go for a
mint soft serve). For first timers, though,
go with vanilla.
2. Dip it
The process of “dipping” entails the entire
ice cream being plunged into a delicious
warm dip that coats it and acts as a yum-
my glue for the next step, the toppings.
As soon as I get my ice cream, I usually
take a bite as fast as I can, before the dip
hardens. In some shops, the flavours are
a bit to adventurous for me—I never stray
away from chocolate, and of course, there
are usually two kinds of chocolate dips
to choose from. In determining which is
the right one for you, you must determine
whether you are a “milk chocolate person”
or a “dark chocolate person.” Most of my
friends go for the milk (we call it “Lúxus”
dip—“luxury dip”) but that’s a little too
sweet for me, so I prefer the dark (we just
call it “the regular” dip).
3. Top it
After the cone has been filled and the ice
cream dipped, it’s time to top it. This is
where things get interesting. Have you
seen how many kinds of candy we have?
In some ice cream shops, you’ll find up to
twenty different toppings to choose from.
While most of them are firmly based in the
tradition of Icelandic candy, you’ll also see
universal brands, crushed up for your top-
ping convenience. My go-to is chocolate-
covered puffed corn (Nóa Kropp), but I
occasionally opt for some good ol' Icelan-
dic liquorice.
As you read this, chances are you are with-
in walking distance of an ice cream shop.
What are you waiting for? Go get a lick in.
Guðrún’s combo
recommendations:
— Vanilla soft serve, dark chocolate
dip and Nóa Kropp topping
— Vanilla soft serve, milk chocolate
dip and liquorice topping
— Vanilla soft serve, dark chocolate
dip and Daim topping
Guðrún’s favourite ice cream shops:
Ísbúðin Erluís, Fákafen 9, 108 Reyk-
javík
Ísbúðin Laugalæk, Laugalækur 8,
105 Reykjavík
Now, I realise how this may come off. Here I am, advocating ice cream consumption in
Ice-land. Like we don’t get enough of “Do you just eat ice all the time?” and “Is ice your
main export?” already. We do. I get it. Ha ha, Iceland. It’s funny. But I just can’t sit by
and let this go on any longer. Us Icelanders all know it, and it’s time our visitors knew
it, too: Icelandic soft serve is best in the world. Bezt í heimi, certified!
Photos Julia Staples
Words Guðrún Jónsdóttir
Soft Serve Ice Cream:
The Locals’ Best Kept Secret
24
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 11 — 2015