This fall, as the season of 90-degree lunch breaks and heat-induced Mr. Softee binges draws to a close, millions of people will be left searching for an excuse to prolong their ice cream eating habit. Alright, maybe millions of people aren’t looking, but we certainly are.
Which is why we’re so grateful to Manuel Linares, a Spanish physicist turned cook and ice cream aficionado. In his hometown of Blanes, Linares has debuted an ice cream that changes colors as you lick it. The dessert—aptly named Xamaleón after its color-shifting cousin the chameleon—morphs from periwinkle to electric pink after coming in contact with the tongue, much to the delight, amazement, and confusion of its inaugural (and lucky) tasters.
What’s in color-changing ice cream? Linares is tight-lipped about the answer. According to physicists, however, the ice cream’s “tutti-frutti” flavor is comprised of natural ingredients that include vanilla, strawberries, almonds, and bananas. Too bad these alone don’t do the trick. Instead, they’re catalyzed by a spray accelerant Linares calls his “love elixir” that reacts to temperature changes and natural acids in the mouth to spur the color change.
As he waits to secure a patent for Xamaleón, Linares is already working on his next project, an ice cream flavored with Peruvian and African plants that sparks aphrodisiac effects. Top that off with some “love elixir” and we’re looking at one very hot frozen dessert. We’re skeptical, but if it gives us a reason to keep eating ice cream well into winter, we’ll bite.
