From BLK Water to the Halloween Burger King burger, black foods dominate food blogger feeds everywhere. And now, the newest addition to the monochromatic phenomenon has come just in time for summer: black ice cream.
Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream is an ice cream shop in New York City’s Lower East Side with fun flavors like durian, Sweet Potato Mellow and a peanut butter and caramel delightfully called MothaKnucker. Their Coconut Ash flavor however, has really taken Instagram by storm.
Photo courtesy of @melissamale on Instagram
Food bloggers are obsessed with this goth version of a childhood classic. The ice cream depends on black color from charred ashes of coconut shell—instead of traditional food dyes (usually made from squid ink)—to provide it such rich saturation. Essentially, this ice cream is made from charcoal. At least it’s all natural? Plus, that makes it totally vegan.
The idea of using charcoal as dye has been floating around the food space for years now, most notably in cocktails. While some state that activated charcoal has detoxifying properties, there haven’t been many conclusive studies to prove it. That doesn’t mean coconut ash is without health benefits; founder of Morgenstern’s, Nick Morgenstern, explained that the shop gets its coconut ash from a local health food store, but to keep in mind that it is still ice cream, and that the health benefits do not substantially outweigh the frozen treat’s dessert properties.
While it might not seem so at first glance, black ice cream is actually quite refreshing. The combination of coconut cream, coconut flakes and coconut milk makes for a light and creamy treat perfect for the summer heat. Be warned, while it’s totally worth the picture op, charcoal will stain your tongue, teeth and tee shirt—virtually anything it comes in contact with. Food-blog with caution, people!