Just when the world has settled into the idea that ice cream is awesome, it becomes even more awesome.
That's thanks to Xamaleón, an ice cream treat whipped up by Manuel Linares, a physicist-turned-cook from Spain. What happens when he combines the things he loves? Color-changing ice cream.
Say what?
Color-changing ice cream. That's what Xamaleón is. Tasting like tutti-frutti, the ice cream is made with strawberries, almonds, cocoa, banana, vanilla, pistachio, caramel and the secret ingredient that makes it possible for Xamaleón to change color. He does reveal that the magic doesn't all happen within his all-natural, dairy-free concoction. He has what he refers to as a "love elixir" which is sprayed on the ice cream before it is served. The love elixir boosts chemical reactions brought about by changes in temperature to intensify the color-changing properties of the ice cream.
"I am a huge fan of the British ice cream genius Charlie Francis, the creator of a fluorescent ice and founder of the company Lick Me Delicious and I wanted to create an ice cream that changed colour to try and do something new as well. As a physicist I know that there are various possibilities that might work and I was delighted when I managed to crack it and create an ice cream that changes colour. It was important to me to make sure I only used natural ingredients, so it took a bit longer," Linares explained.
Linares hopes to bring Xamaleón beyond his ice cream parlor in Calella de Mar and into the world but he's not sharing the secret to color-changing ice cream just yet. He doesn't want to go into too much detail because he's waiting on his patents.
The ice cream maker took up physics and engineering at a university prior to becoming a cook. He took an ice cream making course which encouraged students to come up with a new flavor. When he told the course instructor at Barcelona's Hotel Business School that he wanted to create color-changing ice cream, Linares was laughed at.
Look who's laughing now.
After Xamaleón, Linares hopes to make ice cream that changes color from white to pink and one that glows when exposed to ultraviolet light. Xamaleón starts out a cool periwinkle blue, changing to bright purple and then pink once it starts melting and comes into contact with saliva.
