If potatoes aren’t the future of ice cream, they should be.

Potatoes sure are great, and I’d even eat them raw if they didn’t tend to cause stomachaches that way. That being said, when I heard convenience store chain Family Mart was coming out with potato ice cream, even a potato fan like myself felt some trepidation. Bear in mind that this isn’t sweet potato, which is very often used in Japanese desserts, this is your standard meat-and-potatoes potato.

Any hesitation was outweighed by my curiosity, however, so I went down to Family Mart to pick one up for 184 yen (US$1.24). These ice creams are what’s known as “monakas” in Japanese, which in frozen dessert parlance refers to ice cream encased in a wafer with a similar texture to an ice cream cone. In the case of the Potato Monaka (Jagaimo Monaka), the potato ice cream is bundled with chocolate chips and white sweet beans.

It’s important to note that this isn’t “potato-flavored” ice cream with some extracts to give ordinary ice cream a simulated potato taste. This is ice cream with actual potato — or potato paste to be exact — blended in. Looking at the ingredients, I was surprised to find there’s actually more potato than sugar in it.

The wafer was shaped to resemble a potato, but unfortunately, mine got a little busted up in transport.

On the bright side, the damage created a little window to let me see what was under the hood. The Potato Monaka has a series of ice cream globs like peas in a pod, and each one was nestled atop a dollop of white bean paste.

Taking a first bite, the flavor wasn’t overwhelming. Potatoes in general don’t have an overbearing taste and that was also the case here, but its presence was clear. I never would have thought that potato paired well with chocolate chip ice cream, but it did. The potato flavor was like a mellow backdrop that allowed the sweetness of the white beans and chocolate to shine intermittently, creating a very well-balanced taste.

But where the potato really, REALLY delivered was the texture. Because of the high starch content of the potato, the ice cream felt silky smooth and fluffy like a cloud. It was honestly unlike any ice cream I’ve ever eaten. It was like eating the wings of angels… or some less horrifying simile.

By the way, these snacks boast the use of Hokkaido potatoes and richly aromatic butter, but having never eaten potato ice cream before, I’m not sure how much of a difference that made. It’s not like I’d spit it out and shout, “You call this potato ice cream?!”

Nevertheless, as incongruous as potato and ice cream sounds, Potato Monaka is a brilliant example of flavors and textures in perfect harmony. And because its flavor is so subtle, I’d go as far as recommending potato paste in all ice cream just for the improvement to the texture.

If you can, make sure you try this one out soon because it’s only available at Family Mart stores across Japan while supplies last.

Source: FamilyMart
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