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When it comes to ice cream trends, there's the weird flavor movement (prosciutto, foie gras, olive oil), the ice pop craze (honey peach popsicles, anyone?)...and now, the "wait a minute, what?" combination: pairing two seemingly pedestrian--but unlikely--flavors. Two new ice cream cookbooks from San Francisco shops with cult followings have opened our eyes to such craziness as strawberry and olive, for starters. Whether you're into making your own frozen desserts or just want to pick up a pint, here are some of the blends we're most intrigued with.

From Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones by Kris Hoogerhyde, Anne Walker and Dabney Gough, based on ice creams from Bi-Rite Creamery:

Vanilla and tangerine. A scoop of tangerine granita (or just whole tangerine sections) on top of plain old vanilla results in a smooth and tangy Creamsicle-like effect.

Chocolate and blackberry. The darker and more intense the chocolate ice cream, the better this duo tastes.

Cookies & cream and mint chip. There's a reason Nabisco created a spin-off of Double Stuf Oreos in "cool mint"; this kid's dream combo is a winner.


Lemon and gingersnaps. The gurus at Bi-Rite suggest making sandwiches out of Meyer Lemon Ice Cream and Lemon Gingersnaps (though we'd also like to recommend crumbling regular ginger snaps over lemon sorbet).

From Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream Book by Jake Godby, Sean Vahey and Paolo Lucchesi, based on ice creams from Humphry Slocombe:

Cantaloupe and cayenne. A fruit sherbet may seem an unlikely match for kicky pepper, but there's something soothing about the cooling melon with cayenne. You could also try it with mango sorbet.

Strawberry and olive. No, not olive oil, but straight-up olives (Kalamata, actually). The authors say, "If they don't know any better, people won't even figure out that those are specks of olive" and will just lap up their bowls of salty deliciousness.

Honey and thyme. While the folks at Humphry Slocombe put honey and thyme into the ice cream itself, you can pull off this floral fusion the easy way by drizzling vanilla ice cream with honey and chopped thyme.

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