Pero conviene advertir que ante tanto sabor extraño, tal como dice Yukiko Ueki (creadora de sabores exóticos): “Una cosa es inventar esos sabores, y otra bien distinta es disfrutarlos”
Pero puesto que el exotismo siempre tiene un punto de atracción cada vez más en las heladerías conviven con los sabores tradicionales otras variedades de sabor (hay catalogados más de 300 sabores de helado).

Pero tal como dicen los expertos, la clave de un buen helado no sólo estaría en el sabor, sino que también es muy importante la textura, así algunos de los que más triunfan en el mercado español son los que contienen pequeños trozos de galleta o chocolate sólido.

Transcribo un artículo relacionado en inglés.

Anyone for octopus ice cream?

Vía Kinetik

It would probably have to be a really hot summer before most people would be tempted to try ox tongue or octopus flavoured ice cream but Japanese are lapping up the unusual flavours at a special ice cream exhibition.

Odd varieties such as Pacific saury (a type of fish), chicken wings and wasabi (Japanese horseradish) are the cool new treat at the Namja Town indoor theme park in Tokyo as customers take shade from the heat.

Yukiko Ueki, one of the creators of the 100-plus flavour ice cream exposition, said: "The ones that seem eccentric are the most popular.

"She says attendance at the park - which also features rides and role-playing mystery games - jumped 60 per cent in the week after the exhibit opened in mid-June.

"People think since they came all this way, they might as well try something strange," she said.

Even Japanese customers - by now used to blends such as green tea, red potato, and sweet bean ice cream which would be distinctly unorthodox elsewhere - were stunned at the array of flavours.

"The salt flavour is actually rather refreshing," said 40-year-old computer engineer Katsuya Tashiro as his family dug into a frozen feast of shrimp, miso (soy bean paste), cafe au lait, crab and salt ice cream.

"But I really have my doubts about putting seafood in ice cream," he said.

Akinori Sato, a 24-year-old university student, said he was sorry the saury did not taste fishier.

"I couldn't taste the saury, even though I was looking forward to it. It turned out to taste just like chocolate."

Ueki said some of the slimier treats had brandy or wine added to soften the fishy kick

.But even she turned her nose up at some flavours."As in the case of cuttlefish or octopus, some of the ice creams have the boiled essence of the creature added, so there is quite an impact when you try it," she said."I don't ever want to put those ones to my lips again.

"The treats, sold in small cups for about 300 yen ($4.75) each, are supplied by producers all over Japan, including those representing six foreign countries like Canadian maple syrup or stretchy Turkish "dondoruma" ice cream made domestically.

The expo, put on by arcade game maker Namco, runs until the end of September.

Ice cream "freaks" Satoru Shuto, 20, and friend Miyuki Shimamoto, 21, were making the most of their time, and rated wasabi as the best.

"We've already eaten 20 kinds between the two of us since coming here," said Shuto, adding he and his companion skipped lunch in the process.

No problem, said Shimamoto, a student of nutrition at university. "There is milk and protein inside."

She added that the ice cream made from the notoriously pungent durian fruit was the "strangest"."The taste and smell really lingers."

Labels: Curiosidades, Gastronomía