Eat ice cream all year round

Ice cream, that dessert that is as sweet as it is icy, which we enjoy at all hours of the day in summer. Nowadays we can find them in all flavours, shapes and colours. From the classic nougat ice cream to the novel ice cream cones with potato omelette, tequila or anchovies.
There are as many ice creams as there are tastes, but the classics never fail: chocolate, stratachela, vanilla or dulce de leche - it's hard to choose just one! This year the ice cream parlours have closed with a great end to the summer, which has been compensated by the start of a spring with dubious weather and in which it seemed that we Spaniards had not taken the step of starting to fill our freezers with popsicles, tubs and sandwiches.
The ice cream season has closed with a turnover of more than 500 million euros in Spain and everything points to 250 million units being sold by the end of the year. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, last year Spaniards consumed a total of 126.3 million kilograms of ice cream, 2.3 million more than in 2014.

Valencians, addicted to ice cream

Caloret is present in the Valencian Community for most of the year. The sun, the beach and the terraces are the ideal ecosystem for eating ice cream at all times of the year, regardless of the season. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Valencian Community is the biggest consumer of ice cream in Spain, with no more and no less than 214 scoops of ice cream per inhabitant. Madrid, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are the other three regions that eat the most ice cream, unlike Cantabria, Castile-León and Extremadura, which seem to be more reluctant to eat this delicacy.

The problem comes when the heat is over and the 'blanket and film' season begins, when chocolate and churros start to gradually replace ice cream. That is why companies in the sector want to start seducing consumers during the rest of the year, and thus stop being a seasonal product.

To this end, different formulas have been invented to attract consumers, playing, above all, with new textures and flavours, always in an attractive packaging that invites them to enjoy this dessert regardless of the month of the year.

Griddled ice cream and mini cones

The Internet has witnessed how, in some Thai ice cream parlours, ice cream was made on a griddle. So-called 'fried ice cream' is made on a griddle at minus 40 degrees Celsius, into which a liquid of the desired flavour is poured and spread with a spatula until, in a few seconds, it becomes a delicious sheet that is rolled up and placed in a tub with all sorts of frills. This manufacturing technique allows the customer to watch the solidification process of the ice cream live and it is usually quite an eye-catching spectacle. It has already begun to spread in the USA and even in Madrid, there are already several ice cream parlours that practise it.

Mini-cucuruchos are another of the star products for this winter, and the fact is that we all fancy an ice cream treat between meals from time to time. Snacking is all the rage and it seems that these mini delicacies have come to winter to stay.