Month: October 2015

Crembo….Israel’s National Winter Dessert

Published by Ruth Nieman

Last night I was introduced to the ‘Crembo’….Israel’s winter ice cream substitute and considered to be ‘the best thing ever’ by all sweet toothed Israelis. The Crembo is a thin biscuit base, with a dome of unctuous, sweet, vanilla flavoured cream, with an almost Italian meringue consistency, smothered in rich dairy free milk chocolate and wrapped in foil. It is dairy free and therefore can be eaten after a meat meal. They are exported to the United States to mostly Kosher shops. Being a nation of coffee lovers, the Crembo can too be found in a coffee flavoured cream middle, but it is the vanilla flavoured confection that is still the favourite. Crembo is only found in the shops after the heat of the summer and as autumn begins. It is eaten only in the winter months, usually from October to February when is disappears from the shelves, to make way for ‘real’ ice cream. Once tasted, there is no going back from the national winter dessert….’The Crembo’

still hot for ice- cream….

Published by Ruth Nieman

With temperatures still lingering on in the 80’s, ice cream remains a hot topic with new parlours opening throughout Israel, with flavours to excite everyone’s taste buds. Ice cream, sorbets and frozen yoghurts with a taste of Sicily or Tuscany thrown in to the mix are delighting all of the country, with creative combinations of flavours to cater for all tastes. These new boutique parlours are missing no-one out, with sorbets and granitas for vegans, ice cream that is gluten free using rice flour as their substitute for wheat flour and all are being made with out additives or preservatives and using natural and local produce. Innovative infusions have caused a stir on the palate with the addition of warm spices or nut pastes added to the all the old favourites of chocolate, coffee and vanilla to name but a few…..pure decadence!!

The Coffee Culture…..

Published by Ruth Nieman

The coffee culture is Israel is one to be taken very seriously….. In 2003, Starbucks closed it’s 6 branches, as Israeli’s voted with their feet deciding that the coffee was not to their liking and favoured their own chains of coffee shops, namely Aroma, ArCafee and CafeCafe, as well as supporting independent businesses producing quality coffee for the locals. Coffee names in Israel differ from the UK or America, so when ordering a ‘latte’, you will probably find you are handed a “café hafuch,”, literally meaning “an upside down coffee”, but put simply, it is a rich espresso with creamy hot milk. Try the dark, aromatic Turkish coffee known as “cafe Botz” or “mud coffee”, with a heady cardamom spice or even “nescafe” Israel’s instant coffee, that is enjoyed all over the country and replacing the cafetiere or percolated coffee. Today is the first International Coffee Day, an excuse to enjoy the drink as well as “support the millions of farmers whose livelihoods depend on the aromatic crop”, so whether your drink is a cappuccino, …