It’s no secret that ice cream doesn’t have to include its signature dairy cream to be, well, creamy.
On Monday, Tucson was introduced to the area’s first ever ice cream parlor that uses cashews instead of dairy in its ice creams.
Owner Jennifer Newman said she starts with raw cashews and turns them into a milk that’s used as the base for the six rotating flavors of ice creams at Cashew Cow Dessert Parlor. The restaurant, 16 S. Eastbourne Ave. in Broadway Village, opened Monday.
“Cashews have a very mild flavor in terms of nuts so it’s easier to mask that with flavorings. It’s a pretty neutral base in general,” said Newman, who studied nutrition and worked at a number of restaurants in New York City.
Her ice cream, made in-house, substitutes a natural emulsifier for eggs and is prepared just as you would traditional dairy ice cream in a batch freezer that whips it around until it’s frozen.
“You’re going to be surprised that it’s not dairy in terms of the consistency and flavors,” said Newman, who spent 11 years of her childhood in Tucson and moved back here three years ago. “The consistency is really rich and creamy and I would put it up there with Häagen-Dazs.”
Cashew Cow was at least a year in the making, time spent working out the base formula, creating flavors and dealing with all the codes, licenses and other legal hurdles involved with opening a business.
“It’s exciting to finally take the paper off the windows and serve this treat to everyone,” Newman said last Friday as she was putting the final touches on Monday’s opening.
As of last Friday, she had not set the prices, but she said they will likely be competitive to Tucson area specialty ice cream shops.
Newman planned to open with coffee, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, vanilla-orange cream and either a mint chip or chocolate chip — or both, she said.
“I’ve been having so much fun with the flavoring,” she said, adding that “now that I have the base down,” creating flavor combinations is a lot like baking, where you can experiment with different ingredients and flavors.
Newman will offer Cashew Cow ice cream by the cup in singles and doubles, and in pints and quarts. She plans to introduce house-made cones soon.
Cashew Cow is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Details: facebook.com/cashewcow
