The Bold Seasoning You Should Be Sprinkling Over Your Ice Cream

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Ice cream might be considered a summertime treat, but we think you should eat it all year round — and add some unconventional toppings into the mix, too. One bold seasoning you might not think to add, but which can bring a delightfully contrasting zing to your next ultra-sweet dish? Pepper. Yes, you read that correctly — pepper, a spice native to India and found on tables in the West since the time of Alexander the Great. Food Republic spoke to Tyler Malek, Salt & Straw co-founder and head of innovation, about how to use pepper on and in your ice cream. When it comes to store-bought, he said, "I'd freshly grind a little on top. Avoid melting and mixing in to preserve the integrity of your ice cream."

Of course, with the spread of countertop ice cream machines, plenty of people are making the cool treat in their own homes. When making ice cream from scratch in your kitchen, you can mix the pepper in; Malek suggested using freshly ground fine black pepper and adding it to the ice cream base before pouring it into your ice cream machine (or stand mixer bowl). "You'll be able to taste the pepper right away," he advised, "so you can season to taste with as much or as little as you'd like."

Some flavors of ice cream, whether store-bought or homemade, will suit black pepper better than others. Vanilla is a winner, thanks to its simplicity (try it with this deliciously simple vanilla ice cream recipe), and milk chocolate pairs beautifully with it, too. But some flavor combos might end up surprising you. "I love our Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper," Tyler Malek told us. Because strawberry is quite a mild flavor, and in that case, the black pepper complements the berries and "really lets their sweetness shine through."

Caramel is another ice cream ingredient that works effectively with black pepper, providing a nuanced and flavorful complexity. Additionally, the sweet, nutty flavor of pistachio ice cream complements it well. If you'd like to serve your black pepper-enhanced ice cream à la mode, pair it with a fruit-forward dessert, like pie or a simple fruit crumble. The reason for this is that freshly ground pepper — which you should absolutely be using when combining it with ice cream — actually tastes bright and fruity, as well as subtly spicy.