America's Ice Cream Diversity

On this Fourth of July eve, remember that America is one of the  most ethnically  diverse countries in the world. We have come together as one for decades. It's the same with our food, especially our ice cream. The days of just vanilla, chocolate and strawberry are over.  There are some new exotic flavors.

Regular contributor, Ligaya Mishan, wrote about the diversity of the ice cream in this country in today's New York Times Food section. It is truly a part of our heritage, from Jefferson bringing back a vanilla ice cream recipe. It was a fancy treat  being made by French and Italian chefs for wealthy European families. Here in the States, it was the dessert of the masses, being made in labor saving machines to drive the price down. It belongs to us and each ethnic group puts their own spin on  it. Ms Mishan had the lucky job of traveling to different cities and trying all sorts of frozen treats , from the Caribbean to Thailand, from Syria to Peru. It would have been nice if she had included recipes so home chefs could make some of these treats. Fortunately the shops are in major cities around the US so anyone can visit it, whether they 're a native or a tourist.Of course the bigger cities such as Los Angeles and New York have the most  dessert diversity. In LA, try the Iranian Saffron and Rose which is the shop's most popular flavor..It is one of the oldest , having been started by Ali Kashani-Rayfe in 1979 after the Revolution. Way on the other coast,  New York City's Island Pops , owned by Trinidad born Shelly Marshall and her husband , Khalid Hamid, use soursop and ponce de creme a Caribbean egg nog  as their flavors.

America's heartland has some pretty awesome ice cream shops.Richardson Texas is home to Big dash, a Syrian ice cream parlor that started off as a kitchen. Owners ,Asmaa Khattab and her husband, Kareem, create booza, Arabic for ice cream with giant  wooden mallets in buckets.It is a chewy kind of treat, thanks to the addition of mastic, the ingredient that makes gum sticky . It's rolled into a log and covered with pistachios. Lexington Kentucky residents enjoy Crank & Boom which features Toa Green's traditional Thai ice creams such as coconut served on a hot dog bun.Miami is such a Cuban influenced town ,it's no wonder about Azucar. thrives. Owner , Cuban -American Suzy Batle chose the city's Little Havana neighborhood to create Cuban vanilla, richer than the American version, thanks to the inclusion of egg yolks. There is also violeta  and Abuela Maria, made with maria cookies, cream cheese and guava marmalade. Stroudsburg PA has a Peruvian ice creamery  LLama Ice Cream East that feature the Peruvian fruit lucama while Seattle boasts  the Filipino Central District Ice Cream. Columbus OH, is proud of  the Indian Mardi Gras Homemade Ice Cream black plum jamun flavor.Paleterias Tropicana of Kansas City , KS has a salute to Mexican classics like mamey. Of course  Asato Family Shop in Honolulu features guri-guri, a Japanese confection of soda and condensed milk.

America  and its' food are wonderfully and deliciously diverse. Its' variety of ice creams are no different. They reflect the different  groups and flavors that make this country great.