GOURMET NEWS
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APRIL 2022
5
Tasting Exotic Gallivant Mawa Ice Creams Becomes a Treat of Global Delights REVIEW BY A.J. FLICK
What do you do when you have eight pints of exotic flavors of ice cream sent to you? You have an ice cream tasting. Well, at least that’s what I did. When the pints of Gallivant Mawa arrived, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share it with my friends and get their opinions about how they tasted. I explained to my buddies, Robert Ulsrud and Craig Ludwiczak, that Gallivant makes its ice cream Indian-style with milk and mawa (South Asian milk solids). The ice cream is slow cooked to make it “creamier than gelato,” according to the company. The frozen treats are free of eggs, gluten and peanuts. The origin of this style of ice cream dates back to Persian chefs who offered them to royalty more than 700 years ago. Many festivities and cultures of the Persian and South Asian subcontinent enjoy this kind of ice cream on special occasions. I appreciate that Gallivant Mawa Ice Creams are made with ethically sourced, real ingredients from around the world. Its suppliers source ingredients directly and assure that they’re authentic and fresh. Robert and Craig were eager to taste them after I told them the eight flavors we would sample: Indian Mango, Thai Coconut, African Chocolate, Guatemalan Cardamom, Chinese Black Sesame, Madagascar Vanilla, Japanese Matcha and Persian Pistachio. (Gallivant also makes American Red Velvet, Spanish Saffron and Vietnamese Coffee.) Robert looked at me skeptically. “You’re really going to try them all?” he asked, knowing full well that coconut is on my do-not-eat list. “Yes,” I said confidently. I don’t think he believed me. Methodology: Gallivant Mawa comes shipped in plastic-foam containers with ice bricks and frozen solid. After some time acclimating in my freezer, I toted them to our monthly dinner party along with a small cookie scoop and small cupcake cups. I thought we might need some time to let our delicious chicken Parmesan dinner that Craig cooked settle before our taste testing, but the men were too eager to try the ice creams. I delivered the small cups to them, flavor by flavor, with Robert encouraging us to “cleanse our palates” with water in between. Indian Mango It was the first flavor we tried and a unanimous winner. Robert didn’t talk as he savored the orange-colored ice cream until he had finished his whole scoop. “It’s so … creamy,” he cooed. The mango taste was subtle and delicious. And, as he said, the texture was perfectly creamy. Robert was happy to take the rest of the pint home. Thai Coconut “And you’re really going to try this one?” Robert asked again. “Yes!”
One of the reasons I don’t like coconutflavored products is that the flavor is so bold that it tastes like I’m eating or drinking tropical sun tan lotion. This was not the case with Gallivant’s coconut mawa. I actually liked the light coconut flavor. But … What I don’t like about coconut products is flakes. Gallivant’s coconut has tiny flakes, but they’re there. Robert and Craig agreed they weren’t happy with the flakes, but Craig really loved the Thai Coconut and ended up with the rest of the pint. African Chocolate “I didn’t like it,” Robert declared. “Didn’t like it?” Craig said. “What’s not to like? It’s chocolate! What’s not to like about chocolate?” I agreed. While I prefer my chocolate on the darker side – and Gallivant checked the box on that one – it’s hard for me to not like something that’s chocolate. The texture is luxurious and I liked that it wasn’t just some overall brown coloring, but had lighter and darker shades. The flavor had depth and I wanted more than my one scoop, but Craig was delighted to keep the rest of the pint. He praised it many times during and after the tasting. I doubt it lasted long in his freezer. Guatemalan Cardamom Robert was most eager to taste this one. To him, cardamom evokes comfort memories of holiday home cooking, Norwegian style, in which cardamom is a common ingredient. Congratulations, Gallivant. You pleased Robert very much. But … “It’s soap!” Craig declared. “It tastes like soap!” Robert and I looked at him, puzzled. “What?” I, too, loved the cardamom mawa. “Why are you eating soap?” “Haven’t you guys ever gotten a taste of soap?” he said. Robert and I shrugged. Not every flavor can please everyone. Cardamom was one of our favorites. Of course, Robert took the rest of the pint home with him. Chinese Black Sesame Now, this was the ice cream I was most eager to taste. Robert couldn’t believe that I hadn’t opened it when it was in my freezer, for a sneak taste. Nope, I resisted. As you might expect, the Chinese Black Sesame is a dark hue, more like a dark gray than black, looking like putty. I was afraid it might turn the guys off. Nope. The taste is surprising and full of depth. As sesame should, the flavor takes its time making itself
known, as if your tongue needs to melt the ice cream away before it gets to the flavor bomb. It did not disappoint me, though the men were more than happy to let me take it home to devour. Madagascar Vanilla Yes, as any vanilla lover knows, the best vanilla comes from Madagascar with as few stops as possible along the way. After so many exotic flavors already consumed, Robert and Craig weren’t overly impressed with the vanilla. “It’s gritty,” Craig said. “It’s like it has sand in it,” Robert said. I was too busy enjoying the nutty vanilla flavor. Yes, I’ve got it in my freezer now. I just had some while I was writing this. Inspiration, you know. Japanese Matcha “Whatcha?” Robert and Craig were unfamiliar with matcha, which has been a trendy flavor of the last few years. To be honest, my experience with matcha is limited. I explained that it’s a common green tea flavor. I loved the matcha coloring of the ice
cream and appreciated the creamy texture and light flavor. “It’s not bad,” Robert declared, “but it’s not my favorite.” Craig didn’t finish his and wanted the next round to start immediately. I took the Japanese Matcha home. Persian Pistachio I saved this one for last because I was pretty sure that we would all like it. We were expecting the pistachio ice cream to look green, but it isn’t. It looks more like pecan ice cream. We immediately noticed something different about the pistachio. “It has actual nuts!” I said happily. “I don’t normally like nuts in my ice cream, but I like this,” Robert said. We agreed that pistachio was a winner. Robert now has possession of the Persian Pistachio, if it isn’t gone already. To sum up, while there was only one total rejection of a flavor – we’re looking at you, Craig – we agreed that tasting all of the exotic flavors was a fun experience. I was glad I tasted the coconut. Now, excuse me while I finish the Chinese Black Sesame. GN