The spicy scent of gingerbread baking in the oven, the warmth of a hot chocolate mug against frozen fingers and the buttery taste of grandmother’s holiday cookies all evoke an emotion just by seeing the word such as gingerbread on a menu. According to Marcia Pelchat, a scientist at the Morrell Chemical Senses Center, consumers associate tastes with memories and want to relive those memories – the stronger the link between tastes and memories the more likely people are to indulge. For frozen dessert businesses there’s no need to lose frozen dessert sales in the winter months. Lure customers in with the tastes of warm, winter nostalgia. Help your customers relive their happy winter holiday memories and indulge their taste buds with some of these sentimental tastes that can be created for gelato, ice cream, frozen yogurt and soft serve:
1. Hot Toddy Sorbetto: Slow busy holiday shoppers down from rushing home with their treasures by enticing them in from the cold by “warming” them up with Hot Toddy Sorbetto – who could resist the flavors of lemon, honey and bourbon melting on their tongue?
Idea to try: PreGel Base Allegra makes the perfect base for this adult beverage-themed sorbet.
2. Gingerbread Gelato: Perhaps no dessert says winter holidays better than gingerbread – cakes, houses and cookies. These wonderfully fragrant desserts combine the warm flavors of molasses, ginger, cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gingerbread is only made better by topping it with lemon frosting.
Idea to try: PreGel’s Grisbi® Arabeschi® is a lemon cookie inclusion that will make gingerbread gelato a hit.
3. Tom and Jerry Gelato: A Tom and Jerry is a traditional, American winter holiday cocktail. A Tom and Jerry is the “hot” little brother of eggnog made from a meringue-like base that is stirred into hot milk or water with brandy and rum.
Idea to try: Dust a cup of Tom and Jerry gelato with freshly ground nutmeg for the perfect cup of cheer.
4. Mulled Cider Sorbetto: Apple cider, citrus and spice. There’s nothing like the aroma of mulled cider steeping on the stove. However, who says mulled apple cider needs to be hot? According to juliausher.com, apple cider sorbetto makes a wonderful stand-alone dessert or a holiday pie topper. Give your customers an indulgent winter treat by topping with fresh whipped cream and garnishing with a cinnamon stick.
Idea to try: Create this sorbet with PreGel’s Fruit Base Bio and organic fruit for an organic cider sorbet.
5. Hot Buttered Rum Gelato: The taste of hot buttered rum “makes the toes tingle and the hearts merry,” according to the Cocktail Times website. Spiced dark rum, butter, brown sugar and a hint of vanilla will make this gelato a sure favorite among your patrons.
Idea to try: Add Malaga Traditional Paste to add rum soaked raisins to the mix.
6. Glog Sorbetto: This Scandanavian adult drink mixes red wine with spices, raisins, figs and almonds. Your customers will feel as if they’re warming their feet by the fire in their favorite ski chalet once they dip their spoon into a cup of this sorbetto.
Idea to try: Using PreGel’s Base CinCin create the tastes of this classic hot spiced wine, which is traditionally consumed during the winter holiday season.
7. Sugar Cookies with Sprinkles Gelato: Who doesn’t have memories of sitting around the kitchen counter pressing tin cookie cutters into rolled-out sugar cookie dough? Your customers can relive the fun of eating those buttery, sweet cookies they decorated as a child with Sugar Cookie with Sprinkles Gelato.
Idea to try: PreGel’s Biscotto Traditional Paste (Cookie) makes the perfect base for this memorable gelato. Just before serving, shake colored sprinkles on the gelato for a fun and festive touch.
8. Rum Raisin Bread Pudding Gelato: Bread pudding – the quintessential cold-weather comfort food. There is nothing like relaxing with a warm bowl full of bread pudding dotted with plump raisins, fragrant with rum and drizzled with caramel.
Idea to try: Create a frozen version of your own by using PreGel’s Malaga (Rum-Soaked Raisins) and Oro d’ Oro (Custard) Traditional Pastes and Mou Topping (Creamy Caramel).
9. Peppermint Hot Chocolate Gelato: Is there anything better after hours of playing in the snow than the taste of a peppermint stick melting into a frothy mug of hot chocolate? Recreate these fond childhood memories for your customers with a gelato flavored with this classic taste combination.
Idea to try: PreGel’s Mint Pastes offer a variety of minty flavor from peppermint (White Mint) to Spearmint (Green Mint).
10. Hot Chocolate Caféttone®: A famous restaurant in an even more famous city is known for its decadent frozen “hot” chocolate concoction which has been featured in many holiday-themed movies. But, your patrons don’t need to get onto a plane to enjoy this dynamic “beverage.”
Idea to try: Create your own signature sweet, hot and cold drink utilizing PreGel Dark Chocolate Tenerissimo® and PreGel 5-Star Chef Pastry Select™ Vanilla Compound as base ingredients.