August 2019 Faulkner Lifestyle Magazine

good taste
Jocelyne and Luis Recinos,
Owners, Rolled Up Ice Cream Shop
On a Roll... Rolled Ice Cream
BY XOCHILT HAWKS
PHOTOS BY BRANDY STRAIN-DAYER
The weather in Faulkner County is
perfect for enjoying frozen desserts
typical of summer. One of the
most traditional warm-weather treats is
ice cream — a frozen mixture of cream,
sugar, milk and flavorings. Ice cream has
changed a lot in the last 200 years, and
now a new style of ice cream is spreading
in the United States: rolled ice cream—a
global phenomenon of ice cream delight.
Most ice creams are made ahead of time
in an electronic ice cream machine, but
rolled ice cream—also known as stir-fried
ice cream—is made to order by hand.
This unique style of ice cream is not
pulled from frozen buckets by the scoop,
rather its liquid base is poured onto a
frozen pan and then chopped, mixed,
spread and rolled right in front of you.
With its origins in Southeast Asia being
first served in places such as: Thailand,
Malaysia, Cambodia, and the Philippines,
under the name “Thai rolled ice cream” or
“stir-fried ice cream,” the U.S. picked up
on the trend around 2015.
The concept is as simple as its name: Rolls
of ice cream are placed in a cup, it allowing
for the addition of as many toppings as
desired, such as toasted marshmallow,
gummy bears, coconut or hot fudge. The
reference “Thai stir-fried” is because it
looks like it is made on the hot grill that
people cook meat and vegetables. The first
step for the ice cream however is to pour
the ice cream milk base over a freezing (5F
to -4F) stainless steel plate (some places
use dry ice to chill it, others run coolant
underneath that plunges the temperature
well below zero). As the base freezes,
it’s manipulated with little paddles, like
kneading bread, and then spread out
across the steel plate. Then they push a
spatula underneath it to turn it into rolls
of the now frozen liquid ice cream base.
The rolls are then stood on end in a cup
and covered with your favorite toppings.
It’s the freshest form of ice cream that you
can get right now, as everything is made to
order right in front of you.
You don’t need to buy a plane ticket to
get your hands on a cup of rolled ice
cream. Rolled Up Ice Cream Shop on
Bob Courtway in Conway is where I
was able to try some last week. Inside
the shop a cluster of people waited
patiently in line to place their orders.
They laughed and took photos of the
staff at work while waiting for their
orders. There are many options with
fresh fruit (strawberry, pineapple,
32 faulkner lifestyle | august 2O19