Toh Gen Kyo vol.36 - MIHO MUSEUM

There are many vanilla ice creams but they all taste different. MIHO MUSEUM’s vanilla ice cream, for some reason, tastes like sunshine. It’s both refreshing and rich; each bite is a mouth full of vanilla-flavored happiness. The key ingredient is naturally farmed vanilla from Madagascar and naturally farmed milk and eggs. Madagascar is an island nation that is slightly larger than Japan in east of Africa. Over 70% of the world’s vanilla is produced there. Vanilla flowers bloom in the morning and fall at night so they must be pollinated that day for the vanilla beans to grow. The harvest of 800 hand-pollinated flowers per day is packed into our ice cream. The scent of vanilla rises from the pod as soon as it is cut open with a knife. Inside, tiny seeds are packed tightly. Our cooks immediately place the vanilla beans and pod into the milk to capture as much of the vanilla’s scent as possible.

　 The milk that goes into our ice cream comes from a farm in Kumamoto that raises Jersey cows that are fed only all natural grass. Thirty cows leisurely live on an area of land that is three times the size of the Tokyo Dome, if the mountaintop were cut off. The milk from cows that are carefully raised without chemicals is sweet, rich, and flavorful. According to the milk farmers, grass-fed cows produce milk that has unsaturated fats that dissolve quickly and are good for the body. Although it has a creamy yellow color, this milk is smooth and completely unlike any milk you find in stores. But each time it’s delivered, a surprising transformation in its flavor occurs. Our cooks are impressed every time by its deep sweetness, strong scent, richness, and smoothness as they make our original ice cream.

　 Meanwhile, the eggs come from specially raised chickens that primarily eat naturally farmed rice-bran and rice that are mixed with finely cut grass and oyster shells as feed. The chickens do not eat any commercial feed or chemicals, and they live in a spacious area. Their light lemon yellow-colored eggs are soft and incredibly delicious.

　 According to a recipe book, to make ice cream, you must warm vanilla-infused milk to body temperature, mix in egg yolks, sugar, and cream that have been heated, and continue heating until the mixture thickens. But our ingredients do not thicken for some reason. When the cows and chicken live happily, something different happens. If the mixing temperature is raised above 65 degrees, the ice cream becomes grainy, and if the ingredients are poured into an ice cream maker that is too cold, its texture crumbles. Our kitchen makes soy ice cream, chocolate ice cream, and occasionally hōjicha (roasted green tea) ice cream but we’re this sensitive only with our vanilla ice cream. We make it carefully almost as if handling a baby.




Vanilla beans from Madagascar Adding the vanilla beans and pods to the milk The soft lemon yellow eggs Vanilla-infused milk is warmed to body temperature When it’s made, our ice cream comes out like a rich soft cream.	There are many vanilla ice creams but they all taste different. MIHO MUSEUM’s vanilla ice cream, for some reason, tastes like sunshine. It’s both refreshing and rich; each bite is a mouth full of vanilla-flavored happiness. The key ingredient is naturally farmed vanilla from Madagascar and naturally farmed milk and eggs. Madagascar is an island nation that is slightly larger than Japan in east of Africa. Over 70% of the world’s vanilla is produced there. Vanilla flowers bloom in the morning and fall at night so they must be pollinated that day for the vanilla beans to grow. The harvest of 800 hand-pollinated flowers per day is packed into our ice cream. The scent of vanilla rises from the pod as soon as it is cut open with a knife. Inside, tiny seeds are packed tightly. Our cooks immediately place the vanilla beans and pod into the milk to capture as much of the vanilla’s scent as possible. 　 The milk that goes into our ice cream comes from a farm in Kumamoto that raises Jersey cows that are fed only all natural grass. Thirty cows leisurely live on an area of land that is three times the size of the Tokyo Dome, if the mountaintop were cut off. The milk from cows that are carefully raised without chemicals is sweet, rich, and flavorful. According to the milk farmers, grass-fed cows produce milk that has unsaturated fats that dissolve quickly and are good for the body. Although it has a creamy yellow color, this milk is smooth and completely unlike any milk you find in stores. But each time it’s delivered, a surprising transformation in its flavor occurs. Our cooks are impressed every time by its deep sweetness, strong scent, richness, and smoothness as they make our original ice cream. 　 Meanwhile, the eggs come from specially raised chickens that primarily eat naturally farmed rice-bran and rice that are mixed with finely cut grass and oyster shells as feed. The chickens do not eat any commercial feed or chemicals, and they live in a spacious area. Their light lemon yellow-colored eggs are soft and incredibly delicious. 　 According to a recipe book, to make ice cream, you must warm vanilla-infused milk to body temperature, mix in egg yolks, sugar, and cream that have been heated, and continue heating until the mixture thickens. But our ingredients do not thicken for some reason. When the cows and chicken live happily, something different happens. If the mixing temperature is raised above 65 degrees, the ice cream becomes grainy, and if the ingredients are poured into an ice cream maker that is too cold, its texture crumbles. Our kitchen makes soy ice cream, chocolate ice cream, and occasionally hōjicha (roasted green tea) ice cream but we’re this sensitive only with our vanilla ice cream. We make it carefully almost as if handling a baby.
Now, when we take out our ice cream, it’s like a thick soft cream. The blade of the ice cream maker is thickly covered with butterfat. Our cooks smiling say, “Only those who make it can taste test it.” 　 The flavor is so delicious! The scent of vanilla that has been sun-drenched in Madagascar and the creamy flavor of milk leave a sweetness that melts away in your mouth. Occasionally, granules of milk fat appear, then quickly disappear as it adds an accent to the flavor. But the ice cream changes flavor ever so slightly each time you eat it. The first time, it’s like a nostalgic sunny spot from the distant past. The second, the flavor becomes delicate and smooth, making you feel like swinging on a lace hammock in a refreshing shade. Perhaps it’s the milk. The flavor of seasonal foods should change with the season, each tasting delicious in their own right. We hope you try our ice cream with a crunchy tuile!