Camel Milk Ice Cream: the New Dessert Straight From the Desert
Ice cream is clearly having a culinary moment. First, there was goat cheese ice cream. Then chic, in-the-now Los Angeles creamery introduced wacky savory flavors, like pastrami on rye and pizza-flavored ice cream. But what about camel ice cream? Would you try this peculiar creamy confection, or would you rather desert this dessert?
Camel milk ice cream doesn't look any different from traditional ice cream. It has the same enticing creamy texture and is made the same way -- rendered with 50% more air after the initial churning process. In a typical ice cream cup, adorned with sprinkles and whipped cream, no one would know the difference. The difference, of course, lies in its base. Typical ice creams are made with cow's milk, which has a creamy and natural sweet flavor.
Camel's milk, in contrast, has a saltier taste. Although it isn't yet on the mainstream market in the United States, the United Arab Emirates are dubbing it as a good source of vitamin C with lower fat than typical cow's milk.
At Dubai's Al Ain Dairy Farm, 1,600 camels are present, producing up to 40,000 bottles of milk daily. The company started marketing their milk, called Camelait, across the Middle East, in 2004. Since their launch, they now produce powdered milk, regular milk, and ice cream.
In early times, nomadic herders in Arabia relied on camel milk to survive the harshness of the climate's heat. Mubarak Mohamaed Al Hamdi, manage of Al Ain's Dairy Farm, hopes camel milk will soon be a staple worldwide.
"We grew up on camels," he explains. "Our ancestors had nothing but camels for food and milk. It's always been part of our heritage and who we are. They give us life."
In America, the cow certainly seems to fill that dairy niche already -- especially when it comes to ice cream. 1.5 billion gallons of ice cream are produced in the U.S. each year, and that only accounts for about 9% of the total dairy production in the United States.
While camel millk ice cream will not be gracing the ice cream cups or tasting spoons of America's ice cream and yogurt shops anytime soon, it is exciting to know that the world is always coming up with unconventional ways to enjoy the much loved frozen treat.
Camel milk ice cream doesn't look any different from traditional ice cream. It has the same enticing creamy texture and is made the same way -- rendered with 50% more air after the initial churning process. In a typical ice cream cup, adorned with sprinkles and whipped cream, no one would know the difference. The difference, of course, lies in its base. Typical ice creams are made with cow's milk, which has a creamy and natural sweet flavor.
Camel's milk, in contrast, has a saltier taste. Although it isn't yet on the mainstream market in the United States, the United Arab Emirates are dubbing it as a good source of vitamin C with lower fat than typical cow's milk.
At Dubai's Al Ain Dairy Farm, 1,600 camels are present, producing up to 40,000 bottles of milk daily. The company started marketing their milk, called Camelait, across the Middle East, in 2004. Since their launch, they now produce powdered milk, regular milk, and ice cream.
In early times, nomadic herders in Arabia relied on camel milk to survive the harshness of the climate's heat. Mubarak Mohamaed Al Hamdi, manage of Al Ain's Dairy Farm, hopes camel milk will soon be a staple worldwide.
"We grew up on camels," he explains. "Our ancestors had nothing but camels for food and milk. It's always been part of our heritage and who we are. They give us life."
In America, the cow certainly seems to fill that dairy niche already -- especially when it comes to ice cream. 1.5 billion gallons of ice cream are produced in the U.S. each year, and that only accounts for about 9% of the total dairy production in the United States.
While camel millk ice cream will not be gracing the ice cream cups or tasting spoons of America's ice cream and yogurt shops anytime soon, it is exciting to know that the world is always coming up with unconventional ways to enjoy the much loved frozen treat.
