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Obscure Food Holidays – September

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September is largely low on the holiday list. While Oktoberfest starts late in the month, the rest of the month is filled with boring holidays such as Labor Day, Constitution Day, and then religion-speicific ones such as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Still, there’s a few days to celebrate the waning months of summer with a fair amount of fruits that thrive in those months. As usual, a lot of desserts are included.

September 2nd
This is an oddity. When you think of popsicles, blueberry is probably not the first flavor to jump to mind. Yet, September 2nd is National Blueberry Popsicle Day. Looking around, people seem to want to mix bananas, cheesecake, strawberry, and lemonade flavors with the blueberry; stick with the basic blueberry to keep not dilute the day. If you want to make your own, don’t forget about the popsicle sticks.

September 3rd
Up until researching for this article, I believed Welsh Rarebit (also known as “Welsh Rabbit”) actually included rabbit. If you’ve never had it, the dish is basically melted cheese and seasonings served hot on toasted bread. It’s basically a British Hot Brown. Try it out on National Welsh Rarebit Day.

September 4th
No, as Homer Simpsons declares it, the nut is not called “Macamadamia”. High in fat, low in protein, and toxic to dogs, there’s not many health benefits to the nut with the highest amount of monounsaturated fats. Try it on ice cream for something different for National Macadamia Nut Day.

September 6th
Chocolate and vanilla are the classics, strawberry is a nice summer treat, and Ben and Jerry have gone overboard in trying new things. Somewhere in the middle is the focus of National Coffee Ice Cream Day. Adding some caffeine to your sugary treat just might be what you need to cure the ice cream headache that’ll come from eating this. Circle of life and all that.

September 9th
If you’re not sure what weinerschnitzel is, all you need to know is that it’s breaded and fried veal. Sounds delicious. For September 9th, you need to celebrate Weinerschnitzel Day with the dish. Make sure it’s not pork, because that actually has to be called weinerschnitzel vom Schwein to delinieate the differentce in Austria.

September 10th
Isn’t every dinner made to be eaten in front of the television in this day and age? With refrigerators including televisions, it’s not an absurd concept to catch some television while eating up, but it all started with the TV dinner. Go grab some Hungry Man with unhealthy amounts of sodium, nuke the tray, and watch that container of chocolate flavoring firm up into a brownie. TV Dinner Day does not need anything fancy; it’s best done with a microwave and a TV tray.

September 11th
Hot Cross Buns being celebrated on this day is an oddity. The spiced sweet bun with currants or raisins is traditionally associated with Easter, and yet National Hot Cross Bun Day is celebrated months later? They’re still delicious, but it’s just an oddity to enjoy the dish on this day.

September 12th
Will anyone ever complain about being encouraged to drink a chocolate milkshake? Go enjoy one on National Chocolate Milkshake Day. We won’t tell if you dip some salty, greasy fries in the shake; there’s a reason it’s a great pair for a cheeseburger and fries, and is a true American classic.

September 13th
Just don’t expect a full meal today. When you combone National Peanut Day and Snack A Pickle Day, you’re just expected to have snack food at the ready. Theoretically, you could pickle peanuts, but that can’t be delicious for anyone.

September 14th
End the second week of September with a hearty meal. It’s Eat A Hoagie Day and National Cream Filled Donut Day. You could theoretically make a hoagie out of donut and then fill it with some sort of custard if you really wanted to combine the two dishes, but just play it safe and eat the two seperately.

September 15th
Hope you want a delicious dinner. Enjoy National Linguine Day and pair it with a Crème de Menthe Day drink. I’d prefer to go the Ian Fleming route and copy Thunderball: a creme de menthe frappe with a maraschino cherry on top would be delicious. Linguine is simple enough pasta that it’s hard to mess up. With that in mind, go ahead and drink the creme de menthe before and while you cook.

September 16th
Guacamole goes great on tortilla chips, and thanks to Subway’s encouragement to “Add-vocado”, people have begun throwing it on their sandwiches. I can’t imagine it tasting delicious on cinnamon-raisin bread, but that’s what is in the cards for the day that shares both of these highlights, National Cinnamon-Raisin Bread Day and National Guacamole Day.

September 17th
If you like Tim Conway and Don Knotts, be sure to toss in The Apple Dumpling Gang and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again into your DVD players. Oh, I guess you could theoretically buy or make apple dumplings for National Apple Dumpling Day, but that doesn’t include the fun of Conway and Knotts.

September 18th
Seriously, do I need to even explain National Cheeseburger Day? A bun, a beef patty, and a slice of American cheese. It’s the default fast food burger in this day and age, and there’s no reason not to get one. They average a dollar at a fast food chain for one of the most basic iterations, or you can deck it out at home. Ground veal, blue cheese, and a homemade bun? Go for it.

September 20th
National Rum Punch Day obviously suggests that you drink rum punch, but it’d be good to go meta and watch Jackie Brown; the 1997 Quentin Tarintino movie was based off the 1992 Elmore Leonard novel Rum Punch. Heck, pour yourself a glass of rum punch as you watch the movie.

September 21th
This sounds like it could pair well; September 21st is both International Banana Festival Day and National Pecan Cookie Day. If you really wanted to enjoy it, cut up some bananas and include them in the pecan cookie mixture. It could turn out delicious if you let sugar caramelize on top of it, and…

I’m sorry. I’ve appeared to have drooled on my keyboard.

September 22th
We all know ice cream tastes better in a ice cream cone. It’s taken Wendys forever to realize that their Frosties taste better in a waffle cone. Celebrate National Ice Cream Cone Day by watching Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz; they’re the first two parts of the “Blood and Ice Cream” Trilogy from director Edgar Wright, featuring violence and Cornetto-brand ice cream cones in each installment. Fill it up with the leftover coffee ice cream from earlier. To make everything better, you can even make your own, fresh waffle cone.

September 23th
It’s the lesser-loved variation on chocolate, but find time on September 23rd to celebrate National White Chocolate Day. While dark chocolate has it’s beneficial properties, white chocolate lacks these antioxidants. If something’s marketed as white chocolate in America, be sure that it at least has 20% coocoa butter, 14% total milk solids, and 3.5% milk fat (and no more than 55% sweeteners). Regulations have cracked down on it, making sure that something advertised as white chocolate actually is chocolate.

September 24th
We seem to be on a roll combining alcohol with sweets this month. Light a dish of cherries and liqueur on fire and pour that on some vanilla ice cream, and you have National Cherries Jubilee Day. Playing with fire is always fun, especially with a culinary torch but just be a little careful to not eat the dish until the fire has gone out.

September 25th
Crabmeat, onion, butter, mushrooms, flour, milk, dry sherry, cayenne pepper, toast points, and paprika. That’s all that goes in this dish that I had never heard of, at the heart of Crab Newberg Day. It seems to be a simple variation of lobster newberg. If you want to know the origins of that, look up a dish called “Lobster Wenberg” and rearrange the last name; after an argument between a sea captain and a restauranteer, the name was rearranged out of spite.

September 26th
IHOP may declare National Pancake Day to be February 28th, but the nationally recognized day is September 26th. You can still go to IHOP, but don’t expect them to honor your wishes for a free shortstack on this day. If they turn you down completely, go home and make as many as you want with a pancake dispenser.

September 27th
This is an odd combo, but work with us here. Corned Beef Hash is a great breakfast item, combining leftovers from the night before with some breakfast-esque items, such as potatoes and eggs. Chocolate Milk is a great breakfast treat. Enjoy yourself a big glass of chocolate milk alongside a dish of corned beef hash.

September 28th
This is not an odd combo. Eat a slice of strawberry cream pie, and wash it down with a beer. Drink Beer Day should technically be every day, and Strawberry Cream Pie Day is good to celebrate at the end of dinner.

September 29th
Go enjoy coffee throughout National Coffee Day. I personally prefer a hot apple cider or hot cocoa to coffee, but I’m sure the rest of the world that actually enjoys coffee will go for this.

Obscure Food Holidays – August

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Fourth of July is over, and the summer festivities are beginning to wind down. School will be starting soon enough, followed by an election, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and before you know it, the year will be over. Before then, we need to make sure we enjoy the heat of the summer, and nothing makes a nice hot meal better than a cool desert. It looks like you’ll have to stock up on vanilla ice cream, raspberries, marshmallows, and pie crusts this month.

August 1-
The month starts off with National Raspberry Cream Pie Day. Apparently, Raspberry Cream Pie is a thing. I’ll personally stick with some of the pies listed later in the month.

August 2-
National Ice Cream Sandwich Day is something I can fully support. Remember how I said you should stock up on vanilla ice cream? This is where you’ll start using it. Sure, you can go out of the norm and put various flavors in between various cookies, but I’ll stick with something like a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream between two chocolate-chip cookies. If you can’t keep it cold, just go buy a pack of Oreos and say they’re freeze-dried ice cream sandwiches that astronauts eat. Someone just may believe you.

August 3-
The day is both Watermelon Day and, I kid you not, “Grab Some Nuts” Day. I could go with the comment that the peanuts in question would make you thirsty, and that pairing them with watermelon would sate you. Or, we can just all bask in the knowledge that there is a day suggesting you to grab some nuts.

August 4-
I hope you’re up for a delicious dinner. The Fourth Of August (a much less celebrated holidays, except for those who always show up to things way late) should involve a dinner of lasagna, paired with champagne, and finished off with a bag of chocolate chips. All three are highlighted foods of the day, and are common enough to not make you break out of your comfort zone.

August 5-
Notice how the previous day balanced out well? Naturally, this day has to have the combination of waffles and oysters. Go ahead; we dare you to combine the two. National Waffle Day and National Oyster Day are best enjoyed at different meals.

August 6-
Still have some ice cream, right? Drop a scoop in root beer, as it’s Root Beer Float day. Don’t drop a scoop in real beer; it won’t taste nearly as good.

August 7-
Remember Raspberry Cream Pie Day? Scoop the filling out of the pie pan and enjoy “Raspberries in Cream Day”. Seriously, it seems to be that easy… until you find out that there’s a popular flower called “Raspberries In Cream“. Are we supposed to eat the flower, or the actual raspberries in cream? Much like how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop, the world may never know.

August 8-
Bread, gratin, grilled, fettuccine, fried, ratatouille, stuffed, crisps, sauteed, pancakes, chili… it sounds like I’m talking about what you can do with potatoes or with grains, but nope, it’s zucchini. I’m personally not a fan, but with a look at all the recipes you can make with it, there might be something tolerable in the batch. In the worst case, I can turn Zucchini Day into Frozen Custard Day. Frozen Custards are like ice cream, but with a lot less air, and includes eggs. Someone could probably craft a Zucchini Frozen Custard, but you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who will give that a try.

August 9-
Arroz con leche, sweet rice porridge, burbur sumsum, firni… rice pudding has dozens of names across the globe, but it all boils down to similar ingredients: rice, milk, spices, flavorings, sweetener, and eggs. On August 9th, go international and try one of these variations for National Rice Pudding Day.

August 10-
Bust out that vanilla ice cream one more time, and make yourself a banana split. If you don’t want a cold treat, but are enjoying a campfire, toast some s’mores. I told you to stock up on the marshmallows; this is your chance to use much of them. They’re best when they’re burnt. Just don’t get the two dishes mixed up for National Banana Split and National S’Mores Day.

August 11-
This month really pushes raspberries. Use some excess pie crust and make yourself a raspberry tart for National Raspberry Tart Day.

August 12-
It’s “Julienne Fries” day. What’s a “Julienne Fry”? It’s just a french fry. “Julienne” is the type of cut the fry comes in. We don’t need to be classy after french fries, do we? Do what Canadians do and slather them with cheese curds and gravy; it’s poutine, and it’s a national delicacy. The American equivalent would be chili-cheese fries, in a way. If you want a variation from the norm, try making sweet potato fries; they’re undeniably healthier in any situation.

August 13-
We do need to be classy about filet mignon though, and we should treat ourselves to one on National Filet Mignon Day. The name literally means “cute” or “dainty” fillet. What makes filet mignon so expensive? Most steer or heifers only contain around 4-6 pounds of it, and since the muscle does not bear weight, it less connective tissue, contributing to it’s tender nature.

August 14-
Ah, the mighty creamsicle. My favorite is orange juice and whipped vodka.

Oh, wait, I think they mean the actual popsicle with a vanilla ice cream center and an orange icy exterior for National Creamsicle Day.

Yeah, I’ll stick with my vodka and orange juice.

August 15-
Get back to baking pies, as it’s Lemon Meringue Pie day. This is one of the few pies you’ll find without an upper crust

August 16-
This is a combo I can stick by; bratwurst and rum. Two great tastes that combine together. Just a splash of Coke to not be totally gone, and a fair amount of carb-loaded side dishes, and this sounds like a meal unto itself. National Bratwurst Day and National Rum Day can be National Delicious Day.

August 18-
Leave some of that vanilla ice cream you stocked up for this month out on the counter. It’s Soft Ice Cream Day. It’s called Creemee in New England, softcream in Japan, Soft Ice in Europe, and Machine Ice Cream in the Domincan Republic, but Israel calls it American Ice Cream… it has an American holiday, after all.

August 19-
August 19th is a combination of two things that might taste great together. On one side is National Potato Day, which works great if you bought a lot for Julienne Fry Day. The other side is Hot and Spicy Food Day. You can make a spicy potato soup, hot and spicy potato skins, and more, but I suggest using potatos in a good, spicy curry.

August 20-
Cut yourself a slice, and pour yourself a glass; the combination of lemonade and chocolate pecan pie will make any hot summer’s eve tolerable, and the combination of Lemonade Day and Chocolate Pecan Pie day is amazingly fortuitous.

August 21-
Keep your pecans around, as it’s Pecan Torte Day. Or, if you’re tired of pecans, just skip this day.

August 22-
Traditional spumoni contains cherry, pistachio and chocolate or vanilla ice cream. You could swap out peach for one of the flavors if you wanted to celebrate both National Spumoni Day and National Peach Day.

August 23-
Sponge Cake Day is here. You may know it as butter cake or pound cake, but those in the UK call it Madeira cake and Victoria sponge cake. That ice cream you’re begging to get rid of goes well with this cake.

August 24-
Peach Pie is the pie of the day, but after chocolate pecan pie, lemon meringue, and raspberry cream pie days, you might be a little exhausted of pies at this point.

August 25-
Whiskey, lemon juice, sugar; It’s the simple ingredients for a delicious Whiskey Sour. You can mix in egg white, bourbon, or grenadine to change it up into a Boston Sour or a Ward 8, and you should top it with an orange slice and maraschino cherry. On this day, make sure to enjoy a Whiskey Sour.

August 26-
Much of the deserts we’ve covered this month involve a little bit of preparation. Relax, and pull a cherry popsicle out of the fridge for Cherry Popsicle Day.

August 27-
It’s Pots de Creme Day. What’s that? It literally translates to “pot of custard”, and is a loose custard in a porcelain cup. A combination of eggs, egg yolks, cream, milk, and a bit of flavoring, baked in a water bath. Add a little bit of banana flavoring to the dish, as it’s also Banana Lover’s Day. For some reason, it’s not a day to celebrate the banana, but a day dedicate to those that do.

August 28-
This month seems to be dominated by pastries, as August 28th is National Cherry Turnover Day.

August 29-
Finally, August 29th breaks up the monotony of focusing on pastries, ice cream, and the like. It’s National Chop Suey Day. Chop Suey literally translates into “to break into many pieces” (makes since, with the “chop” in the name). The origin of the dish is debated, but it seems to have been sold by owners of Chinese restaurants to Americans, while Chinese people would avoid the dish. Lemon Juice is also celebrated this day. I guess you could put a dash of lemon juice in Chop Suey for a little bit of flavor.

August 30-
We’re back to sweets with Toasted Marshmallow Day. The best way to toast a marshmallow is over a fire, but remember, if a giant Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man is attacking, you need to cross the streams (warning: mild language, it’s Ghostbusters) to toast the giant monster.

August 31-
Almonds, peanuts, soybeans, cranberries, raisins, apricots, apples, candied orange peels, chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, M&Ms, cereal, pretzels, pumpkin seeds, cashews, sunflower seeds, granola, carob chips, banana chips, shredded coconut, Brazil nuts, crystallized ginger, and marshmallows: grab a handful and variety of these ingredients, and you can celebrate National Trail Mix Day to the fullest extent.

Obscure Food Holidays – July

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Obscure food Holidays in JulyWe all know that July is the home of Independence Day in America, one of the biggest days of the year for grilling out with friends (and one of the biggest days for firework-related injuries). While hot dogs and hamburgers may be the unofficial food of the Fourth, the rest of the month is filled with days dedicated to certain foods. In the American spirit of ingenuity, this month is also filled with days that can use leftovers from previous holidays.

 

July 1 - Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day and National Gingersnap Day
To start the month off with a sweet tooth, July 1st is both Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day and National Gingersnap Day. If you want to knock both out with one pint, Ben & Jerry’s sold a limited batch of Gingersnap ice cream, “brown sugar cinnamon ice cream with gingersnap cookies & a ginger caramel swirl.” It might be out of production, but it is ice cream, so you might find a safe pint in the back freezer somewhere.

July 3 – Eat Beans Day
Chances are you’ll be having beans the following day, but this day encourages all to eat more beans. We’ll leave all the crass jokes to your imagination here, and just say that beans are high in fiber and a great thing for your diet.

July 4 – Caeser Salad Day
You may be chowing down on pounds of meat, whether it be barbecue, hot dogs, fried chicken, ribs, or hamburgers, but for a relatively lighter option, you may decide to celebrate Caeser Salad Day. Caeser salads are great for a hot summer day, with cool and crisp lettuce topped by parmesean cheese and fresh-baked croutons, and then drenched with an unhealthy amount of caeser salad dressing. Why would Caeser Salad Day occur on the Fourth of July, when it’s decidedly not part of Independence Day meals (as Homer Simpsons once chanted, “you don’t win friends with salad“)? Caeser Cardini, the titular creator of the dish, crafted it on that day in 1924 when he ran out of everything in his kitchen but the traditional ingredients.

July 6 - National Fried Chicken Day
Do you still have some leftover fried chicken from the fourth? Make sure to bring it out on National Fried Chicken Day. It may be two days old from the fridge, but as any college student will tell you, it’s still good. Japan might even love fried chicken more than America, given the attention (and outfits) that Colonel Sanders recieves.

July 7- National Strawberry Sundae Day
Stock up on vanilla ice cream this month, as you’ll be using it throughout. Toss some vanilla ice cream (or if you want to go all out, strawberry ice cream), coat it with fresh strawberries and strawberry sauce, and enjoy during the hot summer months.

July 12- National Pecan Pie Day
If you’re in the south, you should know how amazing pecan pie can be, no matter how you pronounce it. Whether the traditional recipe, a chocolate variation, or even the bourbon style, most people like to scoop a little bit of whipped cream on the top, but during the middle of July, a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream can make the pie just that much more inviting. For those located in Georgia, the greatest pecan producer in the world, this is a great use of the delicious snack food. If you have a few extra pecans lying around, keep them in your pocket like George Washington is rumored to have.

July 13 – National French Fries Day and Beans’n'Franks Day
Did you stock up on beans for Eat Beans Day? What about hot dogs for Independence Day? Go ahead and combine the two for Beans ‘n’ Franks Day. It may not be the classiest meal, but great food doesn’t have to be classy. You could cook the beans yourself in a beanpot, and toss in some higher quality kosher franks versus the traditional bulk hot dog fare. Combine it with National French Fries Day, and you have a meal fit for a pauper that a prince may crave.

July 17 – National Peach Ice Cream Day
Any Georgia peach could tell you that peach ice cream is delicious, and making it yourself is even better. While you can follow the traditional recipe and make it from scratch by effectively just adding peaches to the mixture, the quick and dirty way would be to take vanilla ice cream (that you stocked up on, right?) and chop up the fruit in it. It may be a chunkier style, but it adds a nice mixture of textures, especially if you include chopped pecans as a topping. You do have some pecans left over from National Pecan Pie Day, right?

July 20- National Lollipop Day, National Ice Cream Soda Day, and Fortune Cookie Day
July 20th seems to be a day dedicated to sweets, with National Lollipop Day, Ice Cream Soda Day, and Fortune Cookie Day all falling in line with one another. Treat yourself to a lollipop, add a scoop of ice cream to your soft drink, and bring out those fortune cookies from the last time you ordered Chinese take-out. Just don’t combine them all in one dish, as nobody wants to pull lottery numbers out of a soft drink stirred with a lollipop stick. If you really want to celebrate the fortune cookie, go ahead and get one marketed as “bigger than a baby’s head.” It may or may not include an entire book instead of one fortune.

July 23 – National Vanilla Ice Cream Day
You stocked up on vanilla ice cream just for Vanilla Ice Cream Day (and all the other days that use it). Go all out, and enjoy it by itself, or with any number of toppings. If you want to break out of the mold, go for some liquid-nitrogen blasted ice cream, such as Dippin’ Dots. Be careful if you’re making it yourself.

July 25 – The Feast of St. James and National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
The English traditionally enjoy oysters on this religious holiday, following the adage of “whoever eats oysters on St. James’s day will never want money!”, akin to the American tradition of eating greens on New Years Day for financial success. France celebrates the day with “coquilles St. Jacques”, or the “shells of St. James”, a scallop dish named for the saint.

National Hot Fudge Sundae is this day as well, so go to your month-long supply of ice cream, coat that in hot fudge, and enjoy. If you’ve got $25,000, to spend, you can get the most expensive desert ever. It mgiht freeze your tastebuds and your assets. If you want to celebrate both days, don’t fear the combination of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, oysters, and scallops in your stomach. If it could survive french fries, franks, and beans, you’re on your way to an iron stomach.

July 27 – National Crème Brulee Day and National Scotch Day
Tempted to get a little adventurous with fire in the kitchen? Try making crème brulee, a relatively simple desert that only requires heavy cream, vanilla bean, vanilla sugar, eggs, and water. While the recipe is rather simple, the fun part comes when you make the caramel on top; coating the mixture with sugar, you could play it safe and put it under a broiler, or you could have fun with a small blowtorch and set the sugar aflame.

Be careful not to celebrate both National Scotch Day and National Crème Brulee Day; playing with flamethrowers while inebriated is never a good idea. They probably needed both ingredients to craft the Guiness World Record for largest crème brulee: weighing in at almost 1,600 pounds, you’d have to have some scotch to attempt such a feat.

July 29 – Cheese Sacrifice Purchase Day
Are you a fan of cheese? Shed a silent tear for your fallen comrade, and place some cheese on your mousetraps this day. While mice may love cheese, they will not love what happens soon after.

July 31 – Jump for Jelly Beans Day
You may have had enough of beans earlier in the month, but now you can enjoy the completely different variety. Ronald Reagan’s favorite snack was jelly beans, leading to a Blueberry flavor being crafted for his inauguration, alongside a special holder for Air Force One as to not spill Jelly Belly beans.

10 Incredibly Strange Ice Cream Flavors

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Strange Ice Cream Flavors from Instawares.comAs summer approaches and temperatures start to rise, the sales of ice cream begin to climb. Over 70 percent of all ice cream sales occur between the months of June and August, and the most popular flavors are vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. To attract customers with more diverse palates, Ice cream companies are constantly coming up with new and unique flavors. Many of these experimental flavors walk the fine line between appealing and revolting, while others make you question whether or not the creators have actual, functioning taste buds. Take a look at this collection of 10 incredibly strange ice cream flavors from around the world:

Buttered Popcorn – Maggie Moo’s, an ice cream parlor known for unique flavors and the revolutionary ice cream pizza, debuted their buttered popcorn ice cream in 2011. By combining butter pecan ice cream, popcorn, and caramel, Maggie Moo’s has created a sweet and savory twist in the spirit of Jelly Belly’s incredibly popular buttered popcorn jellybeans.

Maine Lobster – Ben and Bill’s Chocolate Emporium in Bar Harbor, Maine has been selling lobster-flavored ice cream since the early 1990’s. The recipe is simple: frozen chunks of lobster meat in butter ice cream. This interesting combination was invented in order to prove that all of the ice cream sold at Ben and Bill’s is made from scratch. No thanks, Ben and Bill. We believe you.

Maple Bacon Sundae – During Baconalia, the heart-stopping bacon celebration, Denny’s unveiled the maple bacon sundae. This breakfast-meets-desert concoction was designed to take advantage of America’s increasing infatuation with bacon, one of the unhealthiest meats around. Layers of vanilla ice cream, maple syrup, and bacon crumbles are combined to create this potentially delicious health hazard.

Late Night Snack – This unique snack combination was created after the host of Late Night, Jimmy Fallon, sang a tribute song to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Fallon was then approached by Ben & Jerry to promote a new flavor that blends sweet and salty together in harmonious fashion. Vanilla bean ice cream is rippled with salty caramel swirls and mixed with fudge-covered potato chip clusters.

Firehouse #31 – Baskin Robbins is known for featuring a wide variety of interesting ice cream flavors. One of their seasonal offerings combines sugar and spice in honor of America’s fire fighters. Firehouse #31 is a mixture of vanilla and cinnamon ice cream with red hot candies and atomic fireball swirls.

Prosciutto – Nearly any type of meat mixed with ice cream makes for an awkward combination, but prosciutto may be the strangest one yet. Prosciutto is a thinly sliced dry-cured ham that is used primarily in Italian dishes. Humphry Slocombe, an ice cream parlor in San Francisco, offers vanilla ice cream that is blended with prosciutto to create a creamy, salty experience like no other.

Strawberry Basil – Basil is an herb from the mint family that is used prominently in Italian and Thai food, but it is certainly not recognized as a common ice cream topping. Cold Stone Creamery introduced this unusual flavor in 2011 after extensive internal taste testing sessions. The basil is added in small amounts to provide a small hint of flavor that accompanies the strawberry, yellow cake, and whipped cream toppings.

Pizza – Max & Mina’s is a popular ice cream parlor in Flushing, New York that is known for offering incredibly odd flavors. Their pizza flavored ice cream is created with an egg yolk base and mixed with garlic, oregano, tomatoes, and cheese. Don’t bother making a special trip, because it tastes horrible.

Sardines & Brandy – The Heladeria Lares ice cream shop in Puerto Rico offers up to 50 unique flavors every day. The flavors are so strange that the shop was featured on the Travel Channel program, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman. Heladeria Lares’ sardines and brandy ice cream combines distilled wine with smoked fish, a concoction that you will never see at your local grocery store.

Basashi Ice – To put an end to this list of incredibly strange ice cream flavors (and your appetite), I present you with Japan’s Basashi Ice. The Cup Ice Museum in Tokyo’s Ice Cream City features Basashi Ice, an ice cream made from raw horse meat. Just thinking about it gives me nightMARES. Get it?!