Whale Poop Was An Original Mix-In For The World's Oldest Ice Cream Flavor - Tasting Table

"Whether you like simple chocolate or vanilla, or prefer something decadent like jamocha almond fudge covered in strawberries and caramel sauce, it's hard to top ice cream as one of the greatest desserts ever made. But refreshing ice cream recipes have come a long way since the treat was first created, and thankfully, progress means we no longer use ambergris - which is essentially whale poop."

"Ambergris was a luxury additive in foods and perfumes for many years. For centuries, this greasy, smelly, hardened substance was harvested from the ocean, but little was known about its source. People were eating it, even using it as medicine, with no understanding of what it actually was. As the whaling industry grew in the 1800s, people learned that it is produced by sperm whales."

Ice cream has evolved from simple chilled creams to elaborate flavors and once incorporated unconventional luxury additives. Ambergris served as a food and perfume additive for centuries despite its initially unpleasant fecal odor when freshly harvested. The substance was collected from the ocean with little early understanding of its origin. Scientific knowledge and growing whaling activity revealed that ambergris is produced by sperm whales, likely formed when squid beaks become bound with mucus and digestive fluids in the whale's stomach. A mid-1660s recipe called for cream boiled with mace, orange blossom water, and ambergris, then sweetened and frozen in ice.

Read at Tasting Table