Episode 6: The Scoop on Ice Cream

Companion post to the Yum But Why podcast episode: “The Scoop on Ice Cream”

In this episode, Aparna and Kinara explore the surprising history of ice cream, frozen treats from around the world, the science behind brain freeze, and sit down with Priti, co-founder of Koolfi Creamery — an Indian-inspired ice cream shop here in the Bay Area. This post has everything you need to dive deeper!

🍦 Visit Koolfi Creamery

If you haven’t been yet, go! Koolfi has two Bay Area locations:

San Leandro: 599 MacArthur Blvd, San Leandro, CA 94578
San Francisco: 50 Fremont St, Suite #125, San Francisco, CA 94105

Website: koolficreamery.com Instagram: @koolficreamery

Kids love their Klassic Koolfi (their most popular flavor!) and the truly one-of-a-kind OG Dosa Waffle Cone — more on that below.

🎙️ From Our Interview with Priti

🥛 What is Kulfi?

Kulfi (KUL-fee) is often called the traditional ice cream of India — but it’s made quite differently from Western ice cream. Here’s the quick breakdown:

Origin: Kulfi dates back to 16th-century Delhi during the Mughal Empire. The word comes from the Persian qulfi, meaning “covered cup.”
How it’s made: Milk is slow-cooked at low heat for a long time until it reduces and thickens, then flavored with spices and frozen in cone or cylindrical molds. It’s never churned, so there’s no air whipped in.
How it’s different from ice cream: Kulfi is denser, creamier, and melts more slowly. Classic flavors include saffron, cardamom, pistachio, mango, and rose.
How it’s eaten: Traditionally served on a stick from street vendors called kulfiwallahs, who carry their frozen treats in insulated clay pots.

Priti’s spin at Koolfi? She uses organic cream and eggs to make it scoopable — so you get the depth of kulfi flavor with the texture of a premium ice cream.

🎬 Watch kulfi being made:

🍴 Try making kulfi at home:

🫓 What is a Dosa — and What’s a Dosa Waffle Cone?

Koolfi is home to the world’s first OG Dosa Waffle Cone. But if you’ve never had a dosa, here’s the scoop:

What is a dosa? A dosa (DOH-sah) is a thin, crispy crepe from South Indian cuisine, made from a fermented batter of rice and black lentils (urad dal). It’s been eaten in South India for at least 1,000 years. Think of it like a savory, slightly tangy crepe — crispy on the outside, soft inside — usually served with chutney and sambar. It’s a breakfast staple across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh.

Why a dosa cone? Priti spent a full year figuring out how to make a dosa cone that stays crispy. Regular cones were too sweet and just added more sweetness to the already-rich kulfi. She wanted something savory, light, and tart — a perfect contrast. The dosa’s natural slight tanginess from fermentation pairs beautifully with the sweet, creamy kulfi. The result is something completely unique in the world of ice cream.

🎬 Watch dosas being made:

🍬 What is Mysore Pak?

Priti’s favorite Koolfi flavor is the Salted Caramel Ghee Fudge (Mysore Pak). Here’s a little background on this royal South Indian sweet:

Mysore Pak (MY-sore pak) is a traditional South Indian confection made from just three ingredients: gram flour (besan), ghee (clarified butter), and sugar. It has a rich, golden, melt-in-your-mouth texture — somewhere between a fudge and a buttery dense cookie.

It originated in the royal kitchens of the Kingdom of Mysore in Karnataka, India. According to tradition, a palace chef named Kakasura Madappa created it for Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV in the early 20th century. The king was so delighted he had the chef open a sweet shop outside the palace — and that shop, Guru Sweets, still exists today in Devaraja Market in Mysore.

At Koolfi, Priti’s mother’s recipe is used to make the Mysore Pak from scratch, which is then crumbled into salted caramel ice cream. The result is a genuinely one-of-a-kind flavor that mixes the beloved Bay Area obsession with salted caramel with a royal South Indian sweet.

🎬 Watch Mysore Pak being made:

Traditional Mysore Pak Recipe — Hebbar’s Kitchen (YouTube)

🌍 Ice Cream Around the World

We covered a lot of ground in this episode! Here’s a quick reference guide to the frozen treats we mentioned, plus some videos to explore:

Dondurma 🇹🇷 (Turkey)

Stretchy, chewy ice cream made with salep flour (ground orchid root) and mastic resin. Street vendors perform tricks with it, twirling and dangling the ice cream before handing it over. It’s been made in the Kahramanmaraş region for over 300 years.

🎬 Watch: Turkish ice cream vendor tricks

Mochi Ice Cream 🇯🇵 (Japan/USA)

Ice cream wrapped in sweet, chewy glutinous rice dough. Invented by Japanese-American entrepreneur Frances Hashimoto in the early 1990s in Los Angeles.

🎬 Watch: How Mochi Ice Cream is Made — My/Mochi (YouTube)

Helado de Paila 🇪🇨 (Ecuador)

A sorbet-like frozen dessert invented in 1896 by a teenage girl named Rosalía Suárez, who stirred fruit juice in a copper bowl surrounded by ice and straw until it froze. Families still make it the same way today.

🎬 Watch: Helado de Paila

Sorbetes / “Dirty Ice Cream” 🇵🇭 (Philippines)

Sold from colorful pushcarts on the street, made from carabao (water buffalo) milk, in flavors like ube (purple yam), macapuno coconut, and — yes — cheese.

🎬 Watch: Dirty Ice Cream

Akutaq 🏔️ (Alaska — Indigenous)

A traditional Inuit frozen dessert made with foraged berries (salmonberries, blueberries) and animal fat like caribou or moose tallow. Originally made to preserve and transport nutritious food across long distances. It’s still made today, especially at potlatch feasts.

🎬 Watch: Making Akutaq

🧪 The Science of Ice Cream

Want to go deeper on the science we discussed?

Why is ice cream creamy? Ice cream is made of fat, sugar, water, and air. The size of the ice crystals determines how creamy it feels — smaller crystals = smoother texture. Churning the mixture while freezing keeps crystals small and incorporates air. That’s why artisan ice cream made in small batches (like Koolfi’s) feels so much richer — less air, finer texture.

What is “overrun”? Overrun is the amount of air in ice cream. Regular commercial ice cream can have up to 100% overrun — meaning half of what’s in your container is just air. Premium ice cream like Koolfi runs around 50% or less.

Brain freeze — the science: The official name is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia (SFEH-noh-PAL-uh-teen GAN-glee-oh-noo-RAL-juh). When something very cold hits the roof of your mouth, blood vessels rapidly constrict and then expand. Nearby nerves send a “pain” signal that your brain misreads as coming from your forehead — that’s called referred pain. The fix? Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth to warm it up, or sip room-temperature water.

🎬 Watch the science:

🌏 Ice Cream History Resources

The history of ice cream goes far beyond what most textbooks cover. Here are some great places to learn more:

Who Invented Ice Cream? — HISTORY.com — A great overview covering Persian, Chinese, and Arab origins
The 2,500-Year History of Ice Cream — The Conversation — More detailed look at the global timeline, including yakhchals
Kulfi — Wikipedia — History of kulfi in the Mughal Empire
7 Frozen Treats From Around the World — Smithsonian Magazine — Excellent Smithsonian overview of global frozen desserts

🎧 More Episodes You Might Love

If you enjoyed this episode, check out:

The Taste Buds Episode — How do we actually taste sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami?
Fall Festivals & Food Memories — Diwali, Día de los Muertos, Mid-Autumn Festival, and more
The Ultimate Food Trivia Challenge — Four rounds of food facts, myths, and mysteries