For starters, I hate the term nice cream. I would much rather refer to it as “banana soft serve,” as it was originally known, at least to me.
Probably because I hate the word nice. It is a meaningless word that plagues the dialogue of many cultures, notably my home Midwestern community.
When I was home for my brother’s wedding, I heard the following in the span of a couple hours: What a nice day this turned out to be! She’s a nice girl. He’s such a nice guy. They are a nice couple. Your family is so nice. It was nice being here today. What a nice wedding! It’s so nice to see such a good couple. It’s nice you were able to come from New York to be here. Is it nice there? That’s nice.
That’s just one example. My dislike for the word nice goes farther back than the wedding two months ago. Anyway, since “nice cream” has caught on so much, and I rarely hear anyone refer to it as “banana soft serve” anymore, it would be futile for me to try. It’s not going to happen.
I have a lot of opinions about banana soft serve nice cream, beyond just its name. Personally, I think I make better *ahem* nice cream than anyone else, but we all have our preferences. If you have struggled to find nice cream enjoyable, you might want to consider some of my tips!
photo credit: Whole Foods Market
- Make it thick. Don’t add water/milk. If your blender or processor is weak, add as little liquid as possible. I add about a tablespoon of water to mine, just enough to aid my dinky little processor. Remember: you’re making an ice cream alternative. Ice cream is not melted and runny like a smoothie. If you make your nice cream runny, it will just taste like a smoothie. Do you want ice cream, or do you want a smoothie? You decide.
- Peel your banana before freezing it. Peel and slice your banana, and THEN freeze it. Not only will this make the process no less than FIFTY TIMES EASIER, but it will also taste better. For some reason, freezing it inside the peel gives it this sour, overly ripe flavor. Yuck.
- Don’t go crazy adding other fruits. I stick to only bananas, and once in a while I add a few strawberries. Again, does ice cream have a bunch of pineapple or blueberries or apples? No. You know what does? Smoothies. A lot of people add fruits to their nice cream, and they love it. But those people are really making smoothies, in my opinion. 😉
- Add vanilla extract. And cocoa powder, ideally. Alternatively, add peppermint extract and chocolate chips. You will be amazed at how close this rivals actual mint chocolate chip ice cream! In fact, if you think about your favorite ice cream flavor, there’s a good chance you can recreate it with nice cream.
- Consider texture. Let’s be honest, the best ice cream usually contains nuts or crunchy chocolate bits. Or we add them as a topping. The same is true for nice cream! I like to stir in cacao nibs (they stay crunchy!), chocolate chips, nuts, or even pomegranate arils if I am lucky enough to have some around.
Again, these are my (very strong) preferences. There is no wrong way to make nice cream.
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