Vegetable Ice Creams and Frozen Hugo Spritz Spark New Icy Food Trends

Star chefs in Germany and Austria are experimenting with ice made from vegetables. Marcel Klisch, deputy chef at Waldfein in Kiedrich, recommends peas, carrots, pastinaca, beetroot, pumpkin and even asparagus for a creamy “vegetable‑ice” that can be served as an appetizer – “Why must ice always taste sweet? A vegetable ice works great as an appetizer,” he says. Alexandru Simon of the Relais & Châteaux Glasswing in Vienna adds celery, fennel and corn, noting that the fat in cream mellows the flavours and turns the beet into a fruit‑like taste. Both chefs outline a simple method that uses heavy cream, egg yolks and sugar, cooked in a water‑bath to avoid curdling, then frozen without a machine.

At the same time, the Frozen Hugo Spritz is gaining traction as a summer cocktail alternative to the Aperol Spritz. The drink mixes crushed ice, elderflower syrup, Prosecco and lime, creating a slushy, floral and lightly acidic beverage that bars across Europe are adding to their menus. It is promoted as “the fresh summer drink of the year” and can be adjusted for sweetness or made non‑alcoholic.

Consumer watchdogs caution that not all ice‑cream parlours are transparent about their products. An NDR investigation highlights that tall ice‑cream towers often signal the use of emulsifiers such as soy lecithin, which can slow melting. Labels like “self‑made” are not legally binding, so shoppers are urged to watch for overly bright colours or excessively high towers as possible signs of industrial additives.