La fiesta!!!!

On Sunday, we picked up the ice cream and discovered that instead of the 50 kilos we had expected, we were only taking home a mere 26 kilos. The folks at the ice cream parlour had transferred it to eight environmentally unfriendly styrofoam containers, and each container held about three kilos of the sweet stuff. The flavours were a big hit among the Argentines, which was a relief because we were worried about how they would be received. The dulce de leche was gone by the end of the evening. Andy took home the lemon and apple and cinnamon flavours. We were left with half a container of chocolate and three-quarters of a tub of mint chocolate chip.

Unfortunately, the day was chilly and a number of people were scared off by the temperatures, and even the promise of all-you-can-eat free ice cream couldn't lure them from their poorly heated homes and apartments. Others claimed to have had myriad work and family commitments. It was a Sunday, and it was pretty chilly, so we understand (kind of). Thanks to those who braved the fall weather to eat our creations. We still have about 16 kilos left over, so there will be more parties in the future.

Flavour round-up:
Lemon and cardamom was a interesting mix that turned out much better than we had expected. Fernando the maestro heladero had been very worried that it would taste more like cardamom ice cream with a hint of lemon than the reverse, but it turned out to be a good combo and the cardamom wasn't as overpowering as it had been the day before.

Apple and cinnamon: a great hit. Because it's a water-based flavour, it wasn't as creamy. It has to do with the sugar point and the freezing point of sugar. Regardless, very tasty and obviously fat-free.

Dark chocolate: I had expected it to be much darker and more bitter, but it was closer to regular chocolate than to dark chocolate. The recipe needs to be tweaked to make it darker and less sweet. However, it was a popular flavour.

Dulce de leche: a three-kilo tub, gone by the end of the party. Personally, I think it needed more caramel, more chocolate chips and less sugar, but I suppose I shouldn't tamper with perfection given that everyone ate it.

Mint chocolate chip: when we tried it right out of the machine, it had a dark-green alien colour and an overpowering mint-powder taste. The day after, it was quite good. That said, I think the recipe needs some changes. First, it needs to be lighter in colour. Second, it needs mint liqueur. Third, it needs waaaay more chocolate chips. It wasn't bad, but I think Freddo's mint chocolate chip is better.

Agradecemiento: a public thanks to Sara for letting us store 10 kilos of ice cream in her freezer. Gracias!!! Ana, ayudanos comerlo!!


Cultural notes:
This is a broad generalization, but Argentine taste preferences tend to skew towards the extreme end of bland, so we were worried about how our flavours would be received, especially the lemon and cardamom and apple and cinnamon since they are both combinations that you wouldn't find at a regular ice cream parlour. The cardamom was especially concerning because it has a strong scent and Argentines tend to prefer foods that aren't as strongly scented. I am very pleased that they have proven me wrong (or at least had the decency to lie and tell me it was good).

Tener frio vs. estar resfriado. There is a popular misconception that one day of cold weather will give you a cold. It's not true. Germs give you colds; cold weather in and of itself does not. Chances are good that you don't HAVE a cold, you ARE cold. Put on a sweater and socks. Dressing for cold weather keeps you warm; trust me, it's the trick to surviving -20 Canadian winters.

Sunday: the sacred day of the week for late family lunches, birthday asados, and other assorted clan activity. Most of the city shuts down on Sunday and most locals are busy with family commitments.