No Holy land travel experience is complete without tasting your way through the myriad of cultures present all over this land. And while ice cream and sorbet may not be traditionally Israeli or Palestinian dishes, they are still quite popular in the Holy Land, particularly during the hot summer months. The sorbet and ice cream here are fresh and rich in taste and are worth eating…often.
So, to all the ice cream and sorbet lovers wondering what the Holy Land offers in this all important food category, this post is for you.
I recently happened upon an unusual ice cream store where I was introduced to a world of new frozen flavors, many of which were inspired by the many cultures present in this region.
Unlike other ice cream stores, you won’t find typical chocolate, vanilla, or coffee at Mousseline. Rather, flavors like wasabi, berry cheesecake, basil, and olive oil and interesting Middle eastern inspired sorbet flavors such as grapefruit-basil, sour cherry, lemon-mint, and almond are a few of the unique tastes offered.
Mousseline is located in Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda (also known as the Jewish shuk) situated in the west side of Jerusalem. The store prepares its ice cream using the freshest ingredients from within Machane Yehuda market, producing a regular supply of incredibly fresh and tasty frozen flavors.
During my first visit to Mousseline, I was intimidated by all the unusual flavors. I did not even know which one to try first! Luckily, the friendly staff allowed me to sample as many as I wanted and even suggested which ones to try.
The phrase I repeatedly used was,“ef-shar li-tome? meaning “may I taste?” No need to worry, though, the staff speaks fluent English (and perhaps even other languages).
With pressure mounting after several samples, I ultimately decided on the grapefruit-basil sorbet. Two thumbs up!
An Israel cultural tour will most likely include a visit to the Machene Yehuda shuk. Make sure you take the time to walk around and not only see the different stands selling colorful fruit, vegetables, nuts, candy, pastries and more but taste your way through as well. To know a people is to know their food.
Which flavors would you like to taste?
For more information about the store and its location, click HERE.
For the store’s website (in Hebrew), click HERE.
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