As summer heats up, ice cream brings joy but often messy meltdowns, staining clothes after just a few scoops under 30°C. While we've enjoyed poolside lounging, scientists have innovated solutions. In 2015, Scottish researchers engineered a natural protein that binds ice cream components longer, slowing melt rates while reducing calories—targeting market availability between 2018 and 2020. Japan advanced this further with Kanazawa ice cream, which resists melting even in direct sunlight. The upside: it's already on shelves. The caveat: only in Japan for now.
At a biotherapy research center in Kanazawa, Japan, scientists accidentally discovered a molecule that solidifies cream. Post-2011 tsunami, local farmers grew strawberries unfit for market, prompting a pastry chef to experiment. Strawberry polyphenols unexpectedly hardened his desserts, inspiring researchers to apply them to ice cream. Independent tests by Quartz magazine confirmed: after 5 minutes in direct sunlight, it held shape and stayed fresh-tasting. Find it in select stores in Osaka and Tokyo.
Strawberries offered the answer to summer's melting woes all along. Imagine enjoying ice cream without the rush. When will it arrive in France?
