Two of Filipino desserts have been hailed as the world’s best frozen desserts, according to food encyclopedia TasteAtlas.
The Filipino dirty ice cream or sorbetes and halo-halo were among those listed in TasteAtlas’ “50 Best Rated Frozen Desserts in the World.”
Sorbetes ranked fifth overall with a score of 4.5 out of 5, while halo-halo settled on the 43rd spot with a score of 3.8.
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TasteAtlast described sorbetes as a “popular Filipino ice cream,” with flavors including mango, chocolate, cheese, coconut, and purple yam or ube.
“Traditionally, it is produced from carabao milk and served in tiny scoops on sugar cones. Some Filipinos like to consume it sandwiched between bread buns, like a hamburger,” TasteAtlas stated.
“Although it sounds similar to a sorbet, coming from the Spanish sorbete, it is not a sorbet, but a dirty ice cream, as the locals jokingly call it due to the fact that it is sold along polluted streets. Sorbetes can usually be found at numerous street carts throughout the Philippines,” it added.
Meanwhile, halo-halo was tagged as “a summer dessert or a snack of mixed fruit and beans, topped with finely crushed ice and either milk or ice cream.”
The local dessert usually mixes ingredients such as bananas, jackfruit, coconut, sweet potatoes, red mung beans, chickpeas, sugar palm fruit, purple yam jam, leche flan, and even sweet corn or corn crisps.
“Originally, halo-halo desserts were sold by Japanese vendors in halo-halo parlors or at numerous street stalls before the occupation of the Philippines in the 1940s,” TasteAtlas wrote.
“In fact, this Filipino specialty is often said to have been inspired by a shaved-ice cooler called anmitsu, another Japanese summer drink,” it added.
Iran’s bastani sonnati or a saffron-infused ice cream topped the list, followed by Peru’s queso helado, Turkiye’s dondurma, and United States of America’s frozen custard at second, third, and fourth places, respectively.
