Moon Mist is probably Nova Scotia’s most iconic ice cream. A dreamy pastel swirl of banana, grape, and bubblegum that tastes like childhood summers and looks like a Lisa Frank fever dream. My kids can’t get enough of it, and this homemade version captures all the nostalgia, and then some. Let’s make some magic!
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What is Moon Mist Ice Cream?
Moon Mist blends three flavours (originally banana, blue raspberry, and grape) into a delightfully colourful scoop. It likely was invented by Bruce Hart at the Halifax Creamery (later Farmers Dairy) in the 1960s.
Scotsburn (a competing Nova Scotia dairy) soon started making its own version of Moon Mist, but swapped out blue raspberry for bubble gum. When both dairies were later acquired by Agropur, the flavour was standardized to banana, bubble gum, and grape. Ever since, the ice cream has been a cultural phenomenon in Atlantic Canada—so much so, that some people even dye their hair to match!
Ingredients You Need & Why
This egg-free ice cream base uses a few easy-to-find stabilizers (cornstarch, xanthan gum, and corn syrup) to keep it super creamy, soft, and scoopable straight from the freezer. It has a clean, neutral flavour that lets whatever you swirl in (like banana, grape, and bubblegum) take the spotlight.
- Granulated sugar not only sweetens the ice cream, it also keeps the texture of the ice cream soft and scoopable by lowering the freezing point.
- Fine sea salt enhances all of the flavours
- Xanthan gum reduces the formation of ice crystals and makes the ice cream stay creamy and scoopable even after several days in the freezer. A little goes a long way!
- Heavy cream (~35% milkfat) adds richness and a luxurious, creamy mouthfeel.
- Whole milk (3.25% milkfat) balances the richness of the ice cream
- Light corn syrup also prevents ice crystals, keeping the ice cream soft and scoopable straight from the freezer.
- Cornstarch thickens the base just like a custard, and absorbs some of the water content in the milk to prevent ice crystals from forming.
- LorAnn’ flavour oils are used for flavouring the three parts of the ice cream. You’ll need Banana Cream, Bubblegum, and Grape flavour oils.
- Food colouring gel to give the three ice cream flavours their signature pastel shades. You’ll need a couple drops each of purple, blue, and yellow.
Let’s Talk Ice Cream Makers
Ice cream makers stir (or churn) the ice cream mixture constantly as it freezes, preventing large ice crystals from forming, to create a luxuriously-creamy mouthfeel. You will need one to make this recipe, but an inexpensive ice cream maker like this one will do the trick! If you’re using the kind of ice cream maker that requires you to freeze the canister for 24 hours, you’ll need to freeze the 3 separate bases over 3 days. If you’d rather churn all three batches in one day, you may want to consider buying a compressor ice cream maker. They’re kind of like mini-freezers with a mixing blade, and most can make multiple batches back-to-back.
Tips for Moon Mist Success
The full recipe is below, but here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Chill the base completely before churning. Trying to churn a warm base will not only cause your ice cream maker to warm up, it could result in an unpleasantly icy ice cream.
- Swirl the colours gently to avoid getting an unappealing muddy grey colour.
- Whisk the cornstarch with a little milk to prevent clumps.
FAQs
The exact origin of the name isn’t clear, but it may have been inspired by the hazy pastel hues of moonlight at dusk. If you have any theories about why it’s called Moon Mist, drop a comment below!
It’s not even available in all of Canada! You can find Moon Mist ice cream mostly in Nova Scotia and the other Atlantic provinces, and in a few Ontario ice cream parlours. If you’re outside of this area, this recipe is a great way to enjoy the magic of Moon Mist in your own home.
It’s a sweet and fruity mix of banana, grape, and bubblegum. Kind of tastes like childhood!
Moon Mist Ice Cream
Ingredients
Method
- Add 150 g granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum, and ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt to a medium saucepan and whisk until completely combined.
- Take 2 tablespoons of the 360 g whole milk and whisk it together with 15 g corn starch. Add it to the saucepan along with the remaining milk and 240 g light corn syrup and whisk to combine.
- Cook over medium heat while whisking until the mixture comes to a gentle simmer and thickens slightly, 3-4 minutes. Take off the heat, whisk in 720 g heavy cream and chill until completely cool.
- Divide roughly equally into 3 separate bowls. To the first bowl, add 2-3 drops of blue gel food colouring and ⅛ teaspoon LorAnn bubblegum flavour oil, and mix to combine.
- To the second bowl, add 2-3 drops of purple gel food colouring and ⅛ teaspoon LorAnn grape flavour oil, and mix to combine.
- To the third bowl, add 2-3 drops of yellow gel food colouring and ⅛ teaspoon LorAnn banana cream flavour oil, and mix to combine.
- Churn each flavour separately, according to the instructions for your ice cream maker. Keep the other flavour bases in the fridge until they're ready to churn. After each flavour is churned, put it in the freezer for at least 8 hours to firm up.
- After all three flavours have been churned and frozen, alternate scooping the three flavours into a container. Gently swirl them together to just slightly combine them.
- Enjoy! This ice cream should keep well in your freezer for at least 1-2 weeks.
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