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The U.S. market for ethnic foods is becoming increasingly mainstream. The dairy industry, with its many facets around the world, is no exception. Consumers today are well acquainted with European cheeses such as Brie, Parmesan, ricotta and Roquefort, and in recent years have expanded their horizons to include feta, quark, queso blanco and kasseri. Yogurt and drinkable yogurt have paved the way for kefir and probiotic dairy beverages. Now it is time for ice cream marketers to benefit from Americans' curious palate.

For many years, consumers' impression of Italian ice cream was limited to the corner beef stand's scooped Italian lemonade ice or the grocer's packed spumoni ice cream, which, if you were lucky, actually contained a few pistachio nuts.

Today, thanks to Haagen-Dazs' Gelato pints and Parmalat's Gelateria shops, Italian ice cream is so much more. Traditional gelato is made fresh daily using the basic ingredients of milk, fresh cream, sugar and egg yolks. It is typically lower in fat than U.S. ice cream (around 6% butterfat as compared to a minimum of 10% butterfat according to U.S. standards for ice cream) and lower in overrun. The low overrun allows the flavor to be absorbed by the cream, which results in a uniquely dense and smooth product with intense flavor. It's the intense and rich flavors that set gelato apart from traditional American ice cream.

The most common gelato flavors are amaretto, chocolate hazelnut and plain hazelnut. Other popular varieties include cherry, espresso, mocha, strawberry and tiramisu.

Street vendors pave road for helado

Beef stands may not do justice to Italian ice cream, but street vendors in concentrated Hispanic neighborhoods sell some of the best helado around. These ice cream vendors, called paleteros, often work for small local ice cream manufacturers that supply licensed carts, and, at wholesale, a variety of frozen desserts. One of their specialties is "arroz con leche" or "rice with milk." This is basically frozen rice pudding on a stick, often with a hint of cinnamon and never very sweet.

Paleteros also sell freshly made water ice and ice cream novelties made with authentic Hispanic fruits and spices. Varieties include lime, mango, strawberry and tamarind.

Wells' Dairy Inc., Le Mars, Iowa, knows the strong following of the paletero and about a year ago teamed up with Hispanic candy manufacturer Lucas [R] to roll out a line of water ice novelties under the Lucas brand. Lucas Pelucas [R] combines tamarind fruit with chili powder. Lucas Limon [R] is zesty lemon and lime with a hint of salt, like a margarita. And Lucas Chamoy [R] is a chamoy and chili powder treat.

CoolBrands International, Ronkonkoma, N.Y., is in the process of rolling out a new Tropicana [R] novelty line called Tropicana with Chunks of Fruit. Many of the flavors specifically target the Hispanic flavor palate, such as Creamy Coconut, Guanabana, Guava, Mango and Tropical.

Fruit and flavor suppliers at the recent World Wide Food Expo were promoting such exotic and tropical flavors as guanabana, kiwi, kumquat, papaya, passionflower, pomegranate, starfruit and tamarind. One supplier sampling key lime soft-serve could barely take a break from the almost continuous line of tasters.

Asian flavors in ice cream

When you think of South Asian food, seldom does ice cream come to mind. However, ice cream is as much of a favorite dessert in these far off lands as it is in America.

The ice cream product that comes from India and its surrounding countries is kulfi, which is a rich, very sweet dairy-based product that is reduced to produce an ultra-creamy texture. Traditional kulfi flavors vary greatly, and include cardamom, saffron, pistachio, almond and mango.

To date, only mom and pop shops in ethnic neighborhoods make kulfi in the United States. They use one of many combinations of a list of ingredients that includes sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, whipping cream, frozen non-dairy whipped topping, gelatin, cubed white bread and even ricotta cheese. In larger metro regions with heavily populated Asian neighborhoods, some specialty stores will import kulfi.

Other more common Asian flavors such as ginger, green tea and chai, which includes a spice blend of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon and cloves, are slowly making their way into frozen desserts. Rumor has it that some of the larger players are exploring such offerings for the upcoming ice cream season.

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The famous Penn State Ice Cream Short Course is scheduled for Jan. 7-17, 2002. This nine-day, hands-on seminar offers "something for everyone," according to Robert Roberts, associate professor of food science at Penn State, University Park, Penn., and director of the ice cream short course.

The first Penn State Ice Cream Short Course was held in 1892, with the first alumni reunion breakfast held this past October, during World Wide Food Expo in Chicago, and sponsored by David Michael & Co. The reunion breakfast enabled attendees to "get the scoop on old classmates."

The course has come a long way since the beginning, and continues to evolve to meet the needs of the industry. "It is a dynamic entity and as such changes from year to year," says Roberts. "In addition, the University Creamery continues to upgrade its processing capabilities. In 1999, we added two new continuous freezers, and this year we added new half-gallon and bulk fillers.

"The food science department will be saying goodbye to 'good old Borland Laboratory' when the new food science. building and creamery are finished in 2004," he adds.

For more information on the course, call 814/865-8301, or visit http://conferences.cas.psu.edu.