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November 3, 2009
Horse ice cream: big in Japan, less popular everywhere else
Horse ice cream: big in Japan, less popular everywhere else

I’m doing a bit of work connected to Mackie’s of Scotland and chatting to the Inverurie-based, family firm of ice cream makers has thrown up some fun factoids. Obviously, warm weather can always help boost sales of ice cream but, according to research, the moment that the temperature gauge hits sixteen degrees C then our brains begin to think that a little bowl of choc chip wouldn’t seem such a bad idea.

It made me wonder how low the temperature has to drop before a salad suddenly seems really unappetising but a plate of rib-sticking stew looks just the ticket?

Anyway, Mackie’s has dug up some global ice cream facts and the one that caught my eye was that the Japanese have developed ice cream flavoured with fish, ox tongue, crab and octopus. My Japanese isn’t so good but this website would seem to have a pic of chicken wing flavoured ice cream and, haud me back, horseflesh ice cream.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Mackie’s have decided against marketing similar flavours. Their biggest seller is the Traditional Ice Cream which has no added flavours – not even vanilla.