I scream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! I wonder if there is a German expression that is similar? Perhaps not, as ice cream is not called ice cream here, it's only called "eis", pronounced: ice. And it tastes kind of like gelato, very different from what I'm accustomed to in the states. With the exception of Haagan Daaz (which we have here) and Ben & Jerry's (which we also have here now), I really dislike most ice cream in the states. I always get these massive headaches and feel sick after eating it. Once I started eating ice cream here I'll never again want to attack a bowl of Breyer's. Sorry, but I'm American and so I can say this: yuck.

German Ice Cream

If you visit Germany please stop at one of the many, many eis cafes here, they are amazing and the ice cream is soooo amazingly delicious (and cheap) you won't ever want that American stuff again. It's just as good as the ice cream in Italy, trust me. And if you want something fun, ask for Spaghettieis. Near my house there are several eis cafes and there I can get 2 scoops on a waffle cone for 1,60- and no, I'm not even kidding. When I got the equivalent size and portion in New Hampshire this past summer, the lady at the ice cream stand charged me nearly $5! And if you cannot get to a cafe for ice cream, there is plenty of it in the grocery stores here. Movenpick of Switzerland is a favorite but also there is Langnese of Germany. This brand is dope, ya'll. (Do people still say dope?). There are other brands too, but this is what the average carton of ice looks like here. And when you open it, it looks sort of pretty, don't you think? And you know what else is pretty cool here? Ice cream is seasonal in that you can only get certain flavors during certain times of the year. Don't you love that? Same with chocolates too. And lots of baked goods are also seasonal. I mean, c'mon how great, right? There is actually something to look forward to. Like in the states kids look forward to peeps and those cadbury eggs with the yolk inside, and candy cones. Seasonal is nice... So this is a random food musing... I'll try to share more products here because I'm willing to bet that most of you are interested in seeing what my mundane things look like in comparison to your mundane things... (image: holly becker for haus maus)

Comments

Nadine said…
As a German living in London I do miss the Eiscafes. Thanks for reminding me. I will have to visit one and have some yummy Eis next time I'm back home.

Love your blog by the way!

Nadine
gretelies said…
Hi Holly,

you should try the "Bonito" at Da Lozzo, Limmerstraße 89 :-)

Best wishes
Anne

http://hannover.golocal.de/locations/eisdielen-eiscafes-ead42de547b20d53fbf5f850ea079c9e/
Juliette said…
we are addicted to the Tiramisu flavor of Langnese. oh yeah.

and the Italian eis cafes..yup all over them like white on rice!

I have to say that I miss my Breyer's Vanilla Bean. Well, really I miss making my own, so I just need to get the KitchenAid ice cream bowl attachment for my mixer, then I'll be all set w/vanilla ice cream!
Ice cream is never mundane ;-) And you should try the Moevenpick yogurts if you haven't already. They're around 12% cream, so definitely an indulgence, but sooooo creamy and worth it. They were my go-to 'special treat' when i lived in Germany.
SoniaBonia said…
Aww...you are so cute trying to pull off "dope."
LittleAngel said…
I am not a big ice cream eater but this, omg. looks sooooo yum!
I don't know when I can go to Europe... maybe never happens, but if I ever happe to visit Europe, I def. get those ice cream!!!
frauheuberg said…
oh...spaghettieis...is our favourite, too...;)yummy...and here we have a little ice cafe which offers very housemade icecream...Then you can really taste the ingredients like the fruits, the milk and so on...i love it very much...so enjoy the tasty delight with your better half...lovley evening...;)
Alexis said…
I miss Langnese from my childhood visits to Egestorf!
Penny said…
Yummy! Can you get vegan icecream there? Or would people think you're mad?
Heidi Jo said…
Yum! I know there is a saying because my dad is German and has said it before. I'll have to ask what it is. : )
ah, we have that ice cream in the UK, my fav is the one with summer fruits sorbet swirled through, just one scoop on top of a belgian waffle, yum! I dont think iv ever had US ice cream so cant comment but here we also have a mr wippy ice cream which is a fake mixed powder stuff they pump out of a machine and it's gross, makes me feel so sick. Look at me getting all passionate about ice cream! :)
Ana said…
Try the Carte Dor. The taste is very close to Movenpick and the packaging looks like Cremisimo.

http://www.cartedor.co.uk/

That is my favorite :)
Monica said…
Yes, yes and yes. Ice cream is way better in Europe. Although, I love Mint Chocolate Chip and I haven't found a good one yet. But there are so many flavors over here that I can deal with the loss. Recently I discovered "Dark Chocolate". I love walnut, pistachio, banana, yogurt, malaga, coconut, mango and waldmeister. But in reality I pretty much love it all and I am definitely screaming for ice cream!
Anonymous said…
My alltime favorite is Vienetta, with all those chocolate layers, you should really try it! By the way, "Eiscreme" or "Speiseeis" is the correct word, we just shorten it to "Eis", lazy as we are.
Headstraight75 said…
Best foreign name for ice cream has to be the Turkish "Dondurma" which literally means "Don't freeze"...Its also so chewy you can eat it with a knife and fork.
Bee Designs said…
Movenpick is my absolute favourite ice cream, the problem is I can never decide between the white chocolate or pistachio, I usually just end up having a scoop of both. The weathers horrible here, cold and damp but now I might just have to wallk down the lane to the cafe at the end to buy ice cream. Yum Yum.
haus maus said…
Anne thank you - I just looked it up, that's in Linden Nord, right? Glad you told me, I never get over to that neighborhood.

For ice cream shops in List I hit either La Creme next to Noa Noa on the Lister Meile or this other one before it, I can never recall the name but they're great!

Juliette - You miss Breyer's Vanilla Bean? Funny, that was the only one that I did like that didn't give me a headache. Can't you find anything like it here?
haus maus said…
Anon - I don't think that is lazy, it's modern. Language has to evolve over time, right?
Juliette said…
nope - nothing like Vanilla Bean here. I've been really bummed about it b/c I like a little scoop of it as a side to certain desserts, or just by itself w/fruit.

There's "bourbon vanilla" here which just tastes different. And they feel foamy/fake somehow on top of the flavor weirdness. I went through about 4 different kinds one summer and none of them were 'right'. In fact, they all got frosty in our freezer after weeks of abandonment, and when I went to thaw them so I could dispose of everything, they all turned into this sticky paste. So icky.

I'm not kidding about getting my own ice cream maker/attachment, I'm pretty stumped on how to get around this problem. =( There are worse things in life, though!
Victoria Klein said…
It didn't take my long after trying gelato to swear off US ice cream for good!
Chelsea Van Tol said…
i wouldnt eat breyers either if I had that!
alix said…
Yummmmmm! Or should I say, lecker!!
Jaimie said…
Oh yes, once you taste good-quality ice cream you can never go back to the grocery store stuff! There is a chocolate shop near our house that also makes their own ice cream, in creative flavours, and everything is fresh and homemade. You never know what's going to be on offer until you get there (for example, once they offered apple pie ice cream, and they had baked an apple pie from scratch and then mushed it all into homemade vanilla ice cream).
Miss Tiffy said…
Oh thank you, Holly! That makes me appreciate again how nice it is to have seasonal chocolate, ice cream, baking goods - as a German, you tend to take this for granted. But indeed - it's a great thing.
Laura said…
We love visiting the eiscafe here in Ludwigsburg in good weather. I often get an eis kaffee.

I was just in the States for 2 weeks and have to admit I loaded up on chocolate and peanut butter cup ice cream. Extremly hard to find that combo here...
Tara said…
I like the sentiment of the seasons giving you something to look forward to. In California we had two seasons. Where I am in Turkey we have four and though I'm still getting used to the snow in winter I enjoy all the things that each season brings. Thank you for helping me see it that way - something to look forward to.

Enjoy your ice cream :)
nichole said…
I second the Carte de Or. OMG, the chocolate is to die for. That all we eat when we are in France (with the exception of trips to Berthillon.
Anonymous said…
It's interesting this issue with ice cream. I'm American but have lived in Europe for 10 years. Though i like to think i've acclimated very well, ice cream is the one sticking point with me. In general, i dislike all ice cream i've had in Europe (with the major exception, of course, being gelato) and always mourn the lack of ice cream and frozen yogurt from the States. But apparently i'm in the minority here
BJ
Binky-Bo said…
Ice Cream in Germany: Funny you find it so good... I find that up until a few years ago lots of the "Eisdielen" offered slightly artificial tasting varieties. Luckily there are more and more Eiscafés that use natural ingredients. I don´t know about Hannover, but Berlin & Hamburg both have several "Bio-Eis-Dielen" and a few ice cream entrepreneurs, who make a real effort using the best ingredients.

After trying their icecream Langnese/Mövenpick tastes like candyfloss with fabric softner (als my boyfriend says)
:-)
haus maus said…
I was just researching the history of ice cream and we can all thank a German. Here's why, "The development of industrial refrigeration by German engineer Carl von Linde during the 1870s eliminated the need to cut and store natural ice and when the continuous-process freezer was perfected in 1926, it allowed commercial mass production of ice cream and the birth of the modern ice cream industry." -- Wikipedia.

Interesting huh?
haus maus said…
Oh and I just talked to my husband and it seems that the ice cream I'm eating at the local ice cream places (that some of you said you dislike) actually has its roots in Italy, "Italian ice cream parlors (Eisdielen) have been popular in Germany since the 1920s, when many Italians immigrated and set up business. As in Italy itself, ice cream is considered a traditional dessert and the ice cream at an Eisdiele is still mostly hand-made." - Wikipedia.
haus maus said…
After more research I learned that most American ice creams are made from cream (hence the word cream) and ice cream in Germany, most is actually gelato (italian ice cream) does not have cream in it but rather, milk instead. That must explain why I can eat so much of it and not gain weight! LOL

More info on gelato in Germany and why:

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4589003,00.html
Binky-Bo said…
Yes, most "Eisdielen" in Germany are italian owned. Thats why they are often called "Venezia" or "Dolomiti", "Dino" or "Tutti Frutti" :-))
I once had a schoolfriend in Hamburg whose (italian) dad had an Eisdiele. My Mum sometimes chats with him and he complains that the "Öko-Eismacher" are ruining his business.

I do feel sorry for anyone who runs a business and looses customers, but I do understand the big run towards the "Bio-Eis" in our cities. Lots of the "old" Eisdielen do make their own gelati, but it is often full of artificial ingredients. I think they should change their ingredients soon, or else they wont be here much longer...

If you are ever in Hamurg, try www.eis-hilmar.de
or one of the 5 shops of this company:
www.eis-schmidt.com

In Berlin Tamelli, Eismädchen and Caramello are great adresses to go. The last even does vegan icecream!
ruthie said…
Ice cream research is very important and a lot of fun!! lol :-) LOVE the Stracciatella flavour!!
Lisa Golightly said…
oh, i haven't had Spaghettieis since i spent a summer in Germany as a teenager, sooo goood. thanks for reminiding me, such fond memories!
likeschocolate said…
My favorite Movenpick flavor is passionfruit!
tiina said…
I have my ice cream favorites in both continents. I love mint-chocolate + vanilla in Europe, and cookies & cream in the States. Ben & Jerry's Macadamia-chocolate ice cream is good no matter what country:) It's also organic!
Hello Hausmaus,
check out my blog. I gave you an award.
Imke aka stylemaedchen
sarah b. said…
Looks just like the ice cream I eat in Holland! I love the triple chocolate & coffee flavors.
Null said…
i love any post that talks about my idea of heaven. every single night my husband and i have a bowl of ice cream. i don't know if any of you live in NY, but i think that the local Ronnybrook dairy might rival some eis scream over there!;-)

http://www.ronnybrook.com/product.html
Deardeedle said…
LOVE this post! I wish my ice cream looked like that when I opened it :]
Mimi said…
All I can say, is OMG!! My heart is literally skipping a beat...I am SUCH a sucker for ice cream..really! That is my one addiction...well..other than magazines;) Wish I could buy that here.
beautyparler said…
Your right Eis is so good in Germany. Whenever I there on a layover I always go to an EisCafe & eat my fave Pistachio. I also love the yogurts, taste so different than North America. Another country that has amazing ice cream is Japan.
Glynda said…
I lived in Germany for 3 years and SOOOO miss the "real" food and ice cream, especially. DEEE-LICIOUS!
kl said…
i so agree!
i remember living in holland when i was 17 and they had eis stands where you could purchase a scoop on a cone for 25 cents. this was 1999, but still. 25 cents and SO good!!
Dian said…
Ok, some serious ice cream snobs on this post! Different strokes for different folks. Just because you dont like American ice cream doesnt make it bad. geesh.
My husband and I are living in Germany for 6 months (we have 4.5 left) before we head back to the states. While I miss many American foods, the ice cream here is impossible to compare to those sold in the U.S. I love it! I don't understand how it can be any better! I thought ice cream was already heavenly and now I've been even more surprised. If only I could take this ice cream back to the states with me for our apple pies.
Maryah said…
When I was a young girl I had a live-in nanny from Germany and her father would send us the most delicious chocolate from Germany, Ritter Sport. It has come to Canada in the last 10 years, but I know that certain falvors are only produced for certain countries. If you are having a choco craving, I highly recommend the coconut creme square!

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