• The world's most expensive ice cream, holder of the Guinness World Records title, Byakuya is certainly an unusual and precious creation.
Japanese ice cream brand Cellato set out to conquer the coveted Guinness World Records title by creating a special dessert made from rare ingredients. Ice cream "Sleepless night" is described on the Cellato website as a "gelato", an allusion to his Italian origins, which "will delight you to the cellular level".
This luxurious frozen dessert experience also comes at a price to match: a serving of the delicious and iconic Byakuya costs ¥873.400, the equivalent of £5.469 or $6.696, a hefty sum.
The reason for the exorbitant price is the ingredients used to make this ice cream, the highlight being the rare white truffle grown in Alba, Italy, at a price of 2 million Japanese yen (nearly £12.000; $15.192) per kilo. The dessert is completed by an edible gold leaf, two types of cheese, one of which is "Parmigiano Reggiano" and "sakekasu", a paste ingredient derived from the sake-making process.
“It took us over a year and a half to develop it, with a lot of trial and error to get the taste right. Achieving a Guinness World Records title made all the effort worthwhile.”, said a representative of the company for Guinness World Records.
Those who had the pleasure of tasting the resulting product described it as rich in taste and texture, and that's because "the robust aroma of white truffle fills your mouth and nose, followed by the complex and fruity flavors of Parmigiano Reggiano. Sake yeasts round off the glorious taste experience.”
Unique taste and texture
The company says its mission isn't just about making expensive and tasty desserts. The stated goal is to create a culinary adventure that combines European ingredients and traditional Japanese foods.
To do this, Cellato brought in Tadayoshi Yamada, head chef from RIVI to stand, a restaurant in Osaka known for its cuisine fusion full of imagination.
Ice cream also comes with instructions very accurate for consumption, being packaged together with a container of white truffle oil and a special metal spoon, handcrafted from the same materials found in some of Kyoto's temples and shrines.
Cellato lays down meticulous steps to regulate how the special dessert must be consumed once in the possession of the lucky ones. They are instructed to pour the white truffle oil when the ice cream reaches the right texture, just as it begins to soften, then stir with the artisanal metal spoon.
They are advised to let the ice cream thaw at room temperature or microwave it at 500 watts for 10 to 20 seconds if the texture is too hard.
No aspect of the tasting is left to chance. Thus, the creators recommend accompanying the dessert with sake or a French white wine for a special taste experience.
Cellato, which also has black truffle-based products on its menu, said it plans to diversify its line of luxury products to include other ingredients in the future high-class such as champagne and caviar.
Photo source: www.foodandwine.com, www.guinnessworldrecords.com, CNN, cellato.tokyo.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
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