Salt & Straw's Picnic-Inspired Ice Creams Feature Unexpected Savory Flavors

Salt & Straw, the innovative ice cream company behind unexpected frozen treats like adaptogenic mushroom ice creams, nostalgic cereal-inspired pints, and floral-infused flavors, is no stranger to bold, creative takes on the classic treat. And now, the Portland-based ice cream company is back with a new line of funky flavors inspired by picnic staples. 

The brand's Picnic Series was created in partnership with some of Salt & Straw's favorite food and beverage brands, from an award-winning organic cheesemaker to a popular fried chicken chain. "This menu at Salt & Straw is all about coming together to kick-off those warm summer days," co-founder Tyler Malek said in a press release. "With each ice cream, we've partnered with our favorite award-winning culinary artists to create the most iconic picnic experience captured in five scoops of ice cream."

No picnic is complete without rosé wine, so the ice cream company fittingly created subtly tart Pink Rosé & Watermelon Sorbet in partnership with the award-winning, Oregon-based winery Sokol Blosser. The fruity, wine-infused sorbet is a vegan option made with watermelon, rosé punch, and a swirl of raspberry jam.

For a more outside-of-the-picnic-basket option, fans can try a scoop of Devilled Egg Custard with Smoked Black Tea, which pairs salted egg yolk custard ice cream with peach balsamic marshmallow fluff and a smoked tea-infused shortbread crumble. The deviled egg-inspired flavor — which was made in partnership with Portland-based teamaker Smith Tea – is infused with the brand's Zheng Shan black tea and Himalayan black salt.

Another savory, picnic-inspired option is the Cinnamon & Honey Fried Chicken flavor, which features vanilla ice cream swirled with bits of chicken fat-fried croissants and Creole-spiced chicken from Ezell's Famous Chicken. "This is probably the most complex flavor we've ever made," Malek said of the poultry-infused ice cream, which features "sudden pops of crackling texture," according to the press release

The Picnic Series' dessert-inspired flavors include a Baked Brie & Fig Cheesecake ice cream made with chunks of Brie cheesecake swirled with fig jam and baked into a candied Ritz cracker crust mixed into salted sweet cream ice cream for a "gooey, silky, slightly funky and quite sophisticated" take on a classic cheesecake ice cream. The Brie-infused ice cream was made with cheese from the California-based organic artisan cheese maker Cowgirl Creamery.

And for the chocolate lovers, the collection is complete with the Chocolate Nocino Cherry Pie flavor, "a rich, single-origin chocolate ice cream spiked with Nocino brandy and hunks of rustic cherry slab pie" made in partnership with the Portland-based craft distillery, Stone Barn Brandyworks. The cherry pie-studded ice cream is infused with Stone Barn's green walnut liqueur for a sweet, tart, and nutty combination of flavors. 

The imaginative ice cream company's entire Picnic Series is available at Salt & Scoop shops and for nationwide delivery via their website for a limited time.