What happens when you take the vibrant, colorful, nostalgic experience of ice cream and rely on other senses to rethink how it should look and taste? Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has joined forces with artist Cj Hendry for a provocative exploration of color and flavor.
OPAQUE — an all-black limited-edition ice cream — is a sensory experience that immerses viewers beyond the visual, reframes our relationship to ice cream, and uses fine art to explore the boundaries between art and consumption.
OPAQUE — a jet black ice cream made with black cocoa, espresso fudge, and balsamic
cherry — strips the traditionally vibrant ice cream experience of all color. An edible work of
art that speaks to Jeni’s roots in the art world, OPAQUE transforms a familiar treat into an
experience that prompts guests to reconsider how they contextualize ice cream.
Developed around Cj Hendry’s simple yet open-to-interpretation directive of “black,” Jeni’s crafted a flavor that is not only shocking in its hue, but stop-you-in-your-tracks delicious. What initially appears monolithic and unfamiliar, by design, invites the imbiber to peel back the layers that exist within the ice cream without relying on visual cues to hint at the flavor.
Ribbons of tart cherry balsamic jam (dyed black with all-natural ingredients) and creamy
espresso fudge are encapsulated in rich cocoa ice cream, but, as the OPAQUE name
suggests, become nearly indistinguishable from the ice cream itself. The resulting flavor is
undeniably familiar and lies in stark contrast to its appearance.
Jeni’s worked hand-in-hand with Hendry over several months to create OPAQUE,
formulating a naturally black ice cream with layers of depth and contrast — just like
Hendry’s work.“This wasn’t just about creating a ‘black’ flavor,” said Beth Stallings, Director of Innovation at Jeni’s. “It was about creating something that is layers deep, that feels like an excavation of flavor. With OPAQUE, guests will have to rely on their senses, allowing the flavor to unfold with each bite.”
The limited-edition flavor launched on August 14th and is available in all Jeni’s scoop shops and online at jenis.com.
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