Ice cream is everyone’s favorite summer treat. Not only does it help you cool down, but it’s also delectable. Plus, there are endless flavors, toppings, and combinations to choose from. Not every flavor is made equally, though. Somewhere down the line, flavor adventurists took a wrong turn and ended up creating some of the nastiest flavors imaginable. We can hardly believe they’re real.
Moreover, ice cream isn’t just fun to eat. It’s fun to play around with, too. Because of this, we have creations like Ice Cream Waffle Tacos, ice cream sandwiches, and even ice cream cake. Ben & Jerry’s took it one step further and created an ode to fish & chips. It features a cornflake battered hunk of ice cream served with salty pretzel chips, sweet raspberry-flavored ketchup, and creamy mascarpone sauce masquerading as tartar.
Lobster-Flavored
We all love eating lobster, but bits of the crustacean don’t belong in ice cream.
Maine’s Ben & Bills Chocolate Emporium wanted to prove that they made their ice cream in-house, so they created something you couldn’t find anywhere else. The butter-infused ice cream is mixed with local lobster (which is cooked, chopped up, and also buttered as if there wasn’t already enough butter in this wild concoction). According to the company’s website, the lobster dessert is one of the most popular items.
Foie-Gras-Flavored
Foie gras is a delicacy that’s been banned in California.
But if you want a new way to enjoy the controversial luxury product, here it is. Within two months of opening, Brooklyn-based Odd Fellows Ice Cream Co released 50 unique flavor combinations. One of those flavors was an homage to the liver of a fattened duck, otherwise known as foie gras. The dish is, in part, so divisive because the geese and ducks are force-fed. The over-indulgence makes their livers balloon to 10 times the normal size. Despite the contention around foie gras, people pay $5.50 per scoop of this ice cream.
Ghost-Pepper-Flavored
Spicy ice cream? No thank you.
The Ice Cream Store in Rehoboth Beach, DE, created an ice cream flavor with so much heat, you need to sign a waiver to eat it. Using what’s considered the world’s hottest chili pepper, the ghost pepper ice cream features ribbons of three ghost pepper sauces, a jalapeno hot sauce, and even a ghost pepper mash. According to Atlas Obscura, the flavor is cool and absolutely fiery at the same time.
Garlic-Flavored
This ice cream might just give you bad breath.
Cooking without garlic is almost blasphemous. The vegetable’s aromatic flavors pair wonderfully with any meal except for dessert, or so we thought. Apparently, garlic ice cream is hugely popular in some places. And people serve it at food festivals as well as ice cream shops and stands across the country. And one Minneapolis store is taking this flavor to the next level. Sebastian Joe’s threw the internet for a loop with their Roasted Garlic and Almond Chip ice cream. The verdict? Weird but unforgettable.
Pizza-Flavored
We all love pizza, but does anyone want pizza ice cream?
Located next door to Pizza Brain, the world’s first and only pizza memorabilia museum, Philadelphia’s Little Baby’s Ice Cream decided to create this flavor to commemorate the neighboring business. The pizza-flavored ice cream incorporates tomato, basil, oregano, salt, and garlic to produce a very weird, very rich creamy treat.
Champagne-And-Viagra-Flavored
It was created as a special favor to a celebrity.
Beef-Tongue-Flavored
This Japanese favorite might jar some people’s tastebuds.
When you have a lick of ice cream, you don’t expect to be licked back. This beef-tongue-infused ice cream changes that dynamic entirely. The vanilla ice cream, which has pieces of beef tongue mixed throughout, has been described as having a taste like “milky beef stew.” As you might imagine, we’re not sure whether to gag or cry. Despite sounding like a culinary nightmare, beef tongue ice cream is extremely popular in Japan.
Beer-Flavored
Sorry, Germany wins! We have beer flavored ice cream! pic.twitter.com/lFg5dtrybP
— TaniDaReal | Schnolf (@TaniDaReal) May 17, 2014
Beer-flavored ice cream just became legal in New York last year.
In 2018, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill adding beer-infused cider to an existing law that legalized wine ice cream. Since then the production of craft beer ice cream boomed. People are loving it. We all know the joys of having a beer after a long day, but imagining that yeasty, malted, and bitter taste mixed into ice cream makes our stomachs turn.
Bone-Marrow-And-Cherry-Flavored
Bone marrow is nutritious, but do you want it in your waffle cone?
Portland-based ice cream maker, Salt & Straw, maintains some of the world’s biggest stars as fans, including Oprah. And it’s probably because the company has absolutely no chill when it comes to flavor creation. They claimd their smoked cherry and bone marrow scoop has “a taste unlike any other.” Yeah, we don’t doubt that at all.
Lox-Flavored
Nova lox ice cream pic.twitter.com/59thibESrd
— Patrick (@sporkfest2010) August 12, 2013
Ever wished your ice cream was more like a bagel?
Smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel is a New York classic. And who are we to mess with classics? Max & Mina, a Flushing-based ice creamery, decided to take this idea to its next illogical conclusion. They created a lox ice cream, but we can’t comprehend why. The reviews are mixed. Some more adventurous tasters calling it delicious, while one Yelper admitted, “it tasted like a bunch of lox in vanilla ice cream.” We’ll stick to chocolate, thank you.
Horse-Meat-Flavored
Basashi ice cream (horse meat flavour) pic.twitter.com/ElbvSLMZO4
— sex life (@NudeLifeXXX) July 10, 2013
They’re not horsin’ around with this one.
Japanese food is delicious. It just might not always be for people who like to play it safe when it comes to eating. Even we must draw the line somewhere, though. In Tokyo, at a store called Ice Cream City, a flavor called basashi vanilla became a local favorite. The vanilla ice cream features chunks of horseflesh sashimi. Apparently, it’s very chewy and sweet. On the plus side, the meat is lean. So if you’re on a diet, it’s essentially guilt-free (depending on your feelings about horses).
Corn-On-The-Cob-Flavored
This ice cream takes a barbeque staple from dinner to dessert.
Remember Max & Mina, the Flushing ice creamery behind the lox ice cream? Well, they have plenty more ideas where that came from. This time, the flavor inventors tried their hand at a dinner table favorite, and we’re not sure how we feel. According to reviews, the corn treat is a summertime favorite. People even say the flavor is “mind-blowing,” but we’re not convinced.
Fish-And-Chip-Flavored
This British meal has gone to Australia and now to the freezer.
Fish and chips have gotten a creamy makeover and people seem to love it. In 2010, UK creamery Fredericks Dairies created what looked like a piece of fish. In actuality, it was a cod fillet ice cream encased in a vanilla and pepper batter with potato ice cream chips and salt and vinegar seasoning. Australian ice cream shop Kailis decided to do things a little more simply with a scoop flavored to taste like the British dish.
Creole-Tomato-Flavored
Please more of this! Seared Skirt Steak with Savory Creole Tomato Ice Cream at the Franklin in the Marigny pic.twitter.com/8cUZ9QLrpi
— Bacchanal Wine (@Bacchanalwine) June 23, 2014
This New Orleans ice cream store is more than adventurous, it’s downright wild.
The South is home to some of the most delicious food. But when it comes to ice cream, the locale might have missed the mark. Creole Creamery’s motto is “eat ice cream, be happy” but how do you feel when eating a scoop of creole tomato? Apparently, it’s a summertime favorite and it isn’t their only wacky treat. Their current roster includes Creole cream cheese ice cream, pine forest ice cream, and azuki bean ice cream.
Cheeto-Flavored
At this point, we’ve really put Cheetos in everything.
From KFC’s monstrous chicken sandwich to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos macarons, nearly every food company tried their hand at some sort of Cheeto food. But nothing compares to Big Gay Ice Cream’s “Cheat-Ohs” dipped soft serve. The cheese-flavored soft serve is infused with dehydrated cheese and then dipped in crushed Cheetos. It’s bright orange; it’s weird. And we can’t lie, we’re a little curious.
Salad-Flavored
This is one way to make sure you eat your greens.
If you’re trying to eat healthier and opt for salads, this ice cream could be right up your alley (despite the added calories). The strawberry base sounds tasty, but then you encounter bits of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers. It’s a dieters dream come true and a great way to punk someone reaching for a sweet treat.
