Adding a bit of science to the sweetness of ice cream, one Spanish physicist turned culinary mastermind has created a secret weapon he calls "Xamaleón" that'll blow your mind and your taste buds away. A man of many talents, the master inventor Manuel Linares is Barcelonian marvel, whose many talents can best be explained by his inability to settle for less.
As a physicist and electrical engineer, Linares' early career was consumed with the inability to defy the laws of physics. But as an artisanal ice cream churner, Linares has found a way to break through the laws of food.
"What do you plan on doing your project on? My professor for my Masters in Expert Creation of Artisanal Ice Creams asked" Linares said in an interview with Spanish press site Cocinatis. "I enjoy playing around in the laboratory, so I thought 'I'm going to attempt to emulate British ice-cream maker Charlie Francis-the creator of glow-in-the dark ice cream and founder of 'Lick Me I'm Delicious'-and in fact I decided to go a little bit farther and create an ice cream that can change its color."
Combining a well-balanced understanding of chemistry, thermodynamics and the art of making perfect ice cream, Linares' newest invention may change the way we see an ice cream cone.
Named after the biological shape shifters of the wild, chameleons, "Xamaleón" is an ice cream that can change its appearance in the form of its color. As you begin licking away at the creamy dessert, "Xamaleón" will change from a subtle periwinkle to a deep magenta.
So what's inside the cone? The primary ingredients in "Xamaleón" are a combination of locally-sourced fruits, liquor and high-quality sugar blends that create the "Tutti Frutti" taste, known as Frutas de Macedonia in Spain.
But in spite of many guesses and probing interrogation-like questions in the parlor of his ice cream shop, Linares is keeping the secret close to his vest. The first of its kind, Linares is quite aware of the yearning to replicate his scientific marvel for the rest of the world, and is patiently awaiting his pending patent on the fruity treat.
Some believe that the secret lies in the "elixir of love" Linares sprays on top of every heaping scoop, which he has disclosed accelerates the reaction, but most are far from discovering the secret ingredient. With possibilities ranging from color-changing cultures, temperature-changing enzymes, to even acid-base indicators that would react with the acids on your tongue, ice-cream enthusiasts are none-the-wiser to Linares secrets, but all want a scoop of his delicious dessert.
"As a physicist I know that there are various possibilities that might work and I was delighted when I managed to crack it, and create an ice cream that changes color" Linares says.
