Nostalgia as a creative language in ice cream

Nostalgia is trending, and in so cool.. magazine 3, it reveals itself as a true creative fuel. Far from being understood as a negative emotion or rooted in sadness, the sensations it awakens become a fertile platform from which to construct narratives brimming with expressive power.

Nostalgia acts like a magic wand, capable of fixing certain episodes of daily life so they don’t fade with time, as happens with most memories. In this issue, we explore the territory of affective memory with professionals such as Bang Gai, Prathana A. Narang, Russ Thayer, Alexey Grebenshchikov, Mario Masiá, and Paula López. An itinerary that traverses China, India, Canada, Russia, and Spain to demonstrate that, as Bobby Cortez states in his article, “the beauty of ice cream is that each time I have a bite or lick, I instantly feel 8 years old again, if only for a moment. There is nothing better.”

Here we gather some of the most significant examples from this latest issue—though there are many more in so cool..3. A journey through time that begins with classic Neapolitan gelato reimagined as a colorful ice cream cake; continues with a childhood rhubarb transformed into a restaurant-style frozen dessert; and follows with popular American buckwheat ice cream, evolved into a signature tub. The nostalgic narrative is enriched with a vintage sandwich elevated to the realm of artisanal creation, an apricot fruit tea transformed into an appealing ice cream, and a popsicle that captures the Indian heritage of ghewar and kulfi.

Discover so cool.. magazine 3

Bang Gai (China). Apricot Tea

Apricot is one of the featured ingredients in the article by Chinese ice cream maker Bang Gai. An ice cream that encapsulates the memories of this professional and his wife: “Both my wife and I have fond childhood memories tied to apricots. As a child, I loved a fruit tea made from dried apricots and rock sugar, its sweet-tart flavor a favorite among kids. My wife, on the other hand, adored a snack of dried apricots mixed with licorice, always finishing the whole pack”.

Inspired by these memories, Gai combines both flavors to create an ice cream that evokes the warmth of childhood.

Prathana A. Narang & Vinesh Johny (Bangalore-India). Saffron Pistachio Ghewar Popsicle

As Prathana A. Narang explains in the report about Lick, the Indian ice cream shop she runs with Vinesh Johny, “We’re building Lick as a nostalgia brand for the next generation”. The best example of this nostalgia brand is the Saffron Pistachio Ghewar Popsicle, which pays homage to two traditional Indian sweets: ghewar and kulfi.

In Narang’s words, “Ghewar is a disc-shaped Rajasthani sweet with a distinct honeycomblike texture. It has been a festive favorite for centuries, especially during the Indian monsoon festivals of Teej and Raksha Bandhan. Kulfi is a super creamy and dense ice cream-like dessert that’s eaten all over the Indian subcontinent. It is traditionally made by boiling down milk slowly until it condenses and sweetens”. In this way, this popsicle is a fun fusion between the airy crunchy ghewar and the rich creamy saffron-infused kulfi. And in the heart of it all lies a layer of silky pistachio ice cream, which adds a nutty depth that perfectly complements the floral notes of saffron.

Russ Thayer (Canada). Trifecta

Inspired by the classic Neapolitan gelato combination, Trifecta reinterprets a collective memory through a contemporary lens. Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry come together in a dessert that balances texture, flavor, and presentation with a modern twist, without losing its emotional core.

A chocolate cookie base supports layers of chocolate and vanilla gelato, culminating in a mirror sheen strawberry gelato. The vanilla meringue and micro-basil finish adds freshness and aromatic nuances.

This creation demonstrates how nostalgia can be transformed into high-flying gelato creativity. As Russ Thayer summarizes: “there’s just something about ice cream-it combines creativity, craft, and nostalgia all at once”.

Alexey Grebenshchikov (Russia). Rhubarb & Wild Strawberry

From Bobo Restaurant (Bourgeois Bohemians) in St. Petersburg, Russia, Alexey Grebenshchikov conceived an ice cream dessert born from a childhood memory: Rhubarb & Wild Strawberry.

As he explains, “as a child, I had rhubarb growing in my garden, and wild strawberries in the nearby woods. My grandmother often made compote with the two, and that pairing became the heart of this dish. It’s a warm, vivid, nostalgic dessert. It’s not about technique, it’s about feeling”.

Mario Masiá (Spain). Waves

In his article, Mario Masiá, the Spanish Ice Cream Champion and president of the National Association of Ice Cream Makers (Anhcea), champions the tub as a creative format. And of the creations he presents, Waves is undoubtedly the most artistic.

The base of this sculptural tub is Roasted Buckwheat Ice Cream, a deep, cereal flavor reminiscent of certain American cereal ice creams, where the infused milk evokes home and childhood. “I myself remembered those infused milks that our mothers used to make before commercial cereals existed. I added caramelized pear to this base to provide a warm sweetness and a balanced contrast, as well as a croustillant that introduces texture and aromatic nuances, something I always look for in ice cream”.

Paula López y Mariluz Villegas (Spain). Cottage cheese ice cream sandwich with goat butter wafers

In Spain, at the end of the last century, ice cream sandwiches became widely popular due to American influence. These were ice creams made quickly and industrially in blocks that required nothing more than a cross-cut with a knife to serve them, and in which the subtleties of texture or emulsion were hardly important or necessary. They were served between two wafers or cookies, which soon became wafers to adapt to the traditional wafer custom we have here, especially in Madrid. However, although they were popular, they were generally of poor quality, both the ice cream and the wafer, which soon began to be made with vegetable fats.

“But for us, ice cream sandwiches have a nostalgic quality, and we are particularly fond of them because they were one of the desserts we used to have in the afternoon as a snack in the summer. In an effort to restore them to their rightful place, but with care, recovering the craftsmanship of the concept, we set out to make ice cream sandwiches in an artisanal way and, in addition, to recover two flavors that had been lost: cottage cheese and goat’s butter wafers”, explains Paula López.