Benguet State University (BSU) is a government-funded school in La Trinidad, Benguet Philippines. It used to be a small school established by the Americans in 1916. It’s mission is to provide quality education to enhance food security, sustainable communities, industry innovation, climate resilience, gender equality, institutional development and partnerships. Thus, faculty members of BSU also engage in product development.
So a faculty member of one of BSU’s colleges which is the College of Home Economics and Technology came up with the basil flavored ice-cream, what is unique about it aside from the basil is that it contains freeze-dried basil. Simply said, only the water content of the herb is removed so the taste and aroma is well-preserved, tickling the taste buds.
The basil ice cream was developed at the College of Home Economics and Technology (CHET) by Jao-jao Somyden, Johnabel Basatan, Rhea Contada, Pelin Belino and Ruda Fe Suanding.
“Ice cream is a comfort food with the cream, milk, fat and sugar. We only need to come up with something new to make it interesting,” shared Somyden. Basil is a culinary herb with a strong aroma and astringent taste. According to Somyden, people generally do not expect basil in ice cream because it is commonly used in pasta and side dishes.
“Iba kasi iyong dating niya, agkikinatawa da ngay (the appeal of the ice cream is unique, they laugh) after tasting, but you know that they enjoy,” Somyden said describing the reaction of people who first tasted the product. The basil ice cream made an impression because it really captured the natural taste of the herb.
“It tastes weird the first time and then it comes as a surprise when you realize you’re eating ice cream,” commented one of those who tasted the product.
Basil is highly perishable and this could possibly result to a stale taste. Initially, the research team used basil along with other freeze-dried fruits to flavor ice cream as a way to test the acceptability of freeze-dried fruits and herbs.
