What Is This Iced Cream?

It's green-tea flavored, topped with some Italian hot fudge sauce, and it's lunch today.


I dropped the first scoop right on the floor in my eagerness to fill my little trough, but after I got that straightened out, pure deliciousness. The pleasant bitterness of the green tea blends so well with cream and sugar, and the grainy, dark chocolate sauce on top just amplifies the happy mix. If only people could be so well-balanced.

My younger sister, the most serious ice-cream connoisseur (or consumer) I know, actually introduced this new Haagen Dazs flavor ($4.99 for a pint) to me about a month ago, on one of the very first sticky city nights we had. I was surprised that she had found it in the limited selection at a bodega right down the street.

Could it be a sign that tea is making more headway in this country? I'd say so. The main conduit to American palates, for green tea at least, are the health benefits.

Placing it in ice cream may appear to counteract any salubrious qualities but hey, at least the company is trying. And the ingredient list is short and sweet- cream, skim milk, sugar, egg yolks and green tea- which as a very rough guideline, translates into not as bad for you (case in point: check out the list on a bag of Doritos, not that I have anything against those little triangles from heaven).

Regardless, it's heartening to see tea used in such a widespread format. I just hope it stays on the market. Better whip up some hot fudge sauce and try it before it disappears. And please, make the sauce yourself- even if you've never cooked anything before, I promise you, you can make this. Everyone you live with will thank you.

Salsa di Cioccolato
Makes: 1 cup.

2 1/2 ounces high-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 heavy cream

1. Melt chocolate and cocoa powder in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over extremely low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and difficult to stir.

2. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Return to low heat and stir until sugar has dissolved and sauce is thick and smooth. Add cream; stir until smooth.

3. Remove from heat and let cool. Sauce can be refrigerated for up to two weeks.