Home Bites: It's Congelada!

As much as I love eating, I don't really have the traditional sweet tooth most people have. I don't love chocolates. An uneaten bar can stay inside my fridge until it's expiration date and I wouldn't even notice (it's happened a lot of times). I'm more of a savory/main course type of girl. Desserts won't usually come first with me.

But there are still days when I am craving for something sweet, and the usual store-bought ice cream just won't cut it.

My friend Denise Martinez asked me to try her home made ice cream and sorbets. Denise is a teacher who loves to tinker in the kitchen on her spare time. Early this year, Congelada was born.

Congelada means "frozen" in Portuguese. Denise, a linguist, went on an exchange program in Brazil in 2009.

Denise makes all her ice cream and sorbets from scratch. Here are the available flavors:

photo from @itscongelada on Instagram

Congelada is based in the South, but there are pick-up points for clients in the North. Denise and I met at Power Plant one Saturday for my Congelada tubs.

I ordered one ice cream flavor (Caramel) and one sorbet flavor (Zesty Chamomile Crisps). They came in these white tubs and gold gift boxes with two plastic teaspoons. Sorbets are best eaten immdiately, while you can store your ice creams in the freezer.

The Zesty Chamomile Crisps is perfect for cooling down on a hot afternoon. It has the right amount of sweet and zest, with crunchy waffle chips. It's surprising how they stay crispy even when soaked in the sorbet. I couldn't finish the whole tub in one sitting, so I placed it in the freezer. When I ate it again, it retained its flavor and wasn't watered-down. You can be sure Congelada doesn't scrimp on ingredients.

Surprise crisps in every bite!

My favorite is the Caramel ice cream. I love the salty-sweet combination, my kind of sweet. Because it's home made, don't expect ice cream quality from the store. But what it lacks in form it makes up for in flavor. Each spoonful gives you a rich, decadent caramel taste. I finished the entire tub in one sitting! Yes, I'm not even embarrassed about it, haha. I wasn't even able to take a photo!

Denise tries to come up with new flavors regularly. The Speculoos Cookie Butter craze gave birth to Cracker Butter. She also made Cashew Nangka as a special order.

This week, Congelada offered its latest flavor, Pink Velvet Ice Cream:

photo from @itscongelada on Instagram

I still can't decide which flavors to order next, but I'm choosing between Cake Batter and Cracker Butter. I'd probably end up getting both! Each tub costs P245. :)

You can send you orders and inquiries to +09178421986 or follow them on Instagram. The photos and texts are always pretty, it would definitely brighten your IG feed!