Ice cream is one of mankind’s best inventions, at least according to my standards. Whether it’s peak summer or I’m at my most stressed, having a spoonful of this flavored, cold stuff is enough to make my mood a little better. I also love to experiment with different flavors, toppings, and additions to my frozen scoop although just eating vanilla can sometimes be enough. But what I haven’t really thought much about is smelling ice cream.
Designer: Salt & Straw and Imaginary Authors
American ice cream chain Salt & Straw has partnered with perfumery Imaginary Authors to create three fragrances that can also serve as ice cream toppings. It may be weird to think of perfume and eating ice cream in the same breath but it is an interesting concept all the same. In reality, you cannot smell ice cream on its own since the chemicals that trigger smell are frozen at these low temperatures. You can only technically smell the fragrant ingredients once it has melted in your mouth.
So they have come up with three fragrances which you can smell on its own and then add them to your ice cream if you feel like enhancing the flavor. Think of it like a wine or coffee tasting where smelling before drinking actually enhances the flavor and experience. Only this time, with these perfumes, you spray it and smell it before spraying it onto your ice cream. They say that the way you smell your food is actually critical to how you eat it even though it’s something that we don’t consciously do.
The three culinary flavors they’ll be launching are: A Cloud of Cocoa with Ecuadorian chocolate, malted milkshake, and Japanese whisky notes; A Swoon of Citrus that includes the scents of key lime pie, lychee, and Italian lemon grove; and A Plume of Blooms which combines the scents of jasmine, honeysuckle, and wildflowers. There are also travel-size samplers with all three flavors. Spraying them onto different ice cream flavors will give you a fully immersive experience with scents and flavors all blending in your mouth.
These perfumes/toppings will be making their debut on National Ice Cream Day on July 17 Salt & Straw scoop shops. Let’s see if this unique product will actually become a hit with ice cream lovers or those who want to experiment with their desert.
