Orange and black licorice ice cream
Orange ice cream with a ribbon of black licorice running through it, a striped flavor that is hard to find.
Hard to find Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs. What the badge means
Orange and black licorice is orange ice cream with a ribbon of black licorice swirled through it. It is hard to find. Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs.
This page covers what it tastes like, where it comes from, and how to make orange and black licorice ice cream at home. It also covers what to serve with it, how common it is and its nutrition figures.
What orange and black licorice tastes like
Orange and black licorice is often called tiger tail, and the stripes explain the name. The ice cream itself is orange-flavored and tinted a bright orange. Through it runs a ribbon of black licorice, dark and glossy against the orange.
The taste goes back and forth between the two. The orange part is bright and citrusy, with the creamy body of a vanilla-style base. The licorice ribbon brings a deep, sweet anise flavor that some people love and others avoid.
The texture is smooth ice cream broken up by soft, sticky streaks of licorice. Each scoop looks a little different, depending on how the ribbon falls. The two main parts are orange ice cream and a black licorice ripple.
Where orange and black licorice comes from
The sources we use do not record who first made orange and black licorice or when.
Atlas Obscura calls it a Canadian favorite that is almost impossible to find outside Canada. It says the flavor sold well in soda parlors from the 1950s to the 1970s. It also quotes a Chapman’s Ice Cream vice president, who says the company keeps making it because fans protest whenever it is threatened.
Licorice still has a reputation as a bold choice. In IDFA’s 2022 survey, licorice and black licorice were among the answers makers gave when asked about their most daring or creative flavor.
How to make orange and black licorice at home
Start with a Philadelphia-style base, which uses no eggs. The Base Builder sets up this style for you and sizes it to your machine, in grams and cups. It gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
For the flavor, make a vanilla base and add orange zest and a little orange juice concentrate. Tint it orange so the stripes show. Churn it as usual.
The licorice goes in at the end. Warm black licorice sauce or melted licorice candy until it pours. Then layer it in as you pack the ice cream into its container. In factory ice cream, pieces and mix-ins go in as the ice cream leaves the freezer, when it is about as soft as soft serve, and that is why home cooks add them after churning. If you already have a recipe you like, the Recipe Scaler can resize it to your machine and convert cups to grams.
Base formula
Open the Base Builder: Philadelphia (no eggs)
The Base Builder gives a base formula built on standard food-science ranges, not a tested recipe.
What to serve with orange and black licorice
Orange and black licorice goes well with plain vanilla ice cream. A scoop of vanilla next to it softens the strong licorice and lets the orange stand out. Dark chocolate is the other good match. Shave it over the top or drizzle on a dark chocolate sauce. Its slight bitterness works with both the citrus and the anise. Keep any other toppings simple so the stripes stay the main event.
- vanilla
- dark chocolate
How common orange and black licorice is
We give orange and black licorice a waxing crescent badge, 2 of 5, which our legend calls "Hard to find." That means you will mostly see it in specialty shops and seasonal runs. The badge tells you how easy the flavor is to find, not how much people like it.
No survey we use lists this flavor by name, so the badge is our judgement alone. For a related signal, in IDFA's 2022 survey of 132 makers and scoop shops, licorice and black licorice were among the answers makers gave for their most daring or creative flavor.
No survey we use lists this flavor by name, so its badge is our own judgement of how easy it is to find.
- Rare Rare enough that you would most likely make it at home.
- Hard to find Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs.
- Sometimes found Found in some shops and some grocery freezers.
- Easy to find Common in most grocery freezers.
- Classic A classic you can buy almost anywhere.
Nutrition, roughly
FoodData Central has no record for orange and black licorice itself. The figures shown are for a plain vanilla base, from regular to rich. Regular vanilla has 207 kcal per 100 grams, and about 137 kcal in a 1/2 cup (66 g) portion. Rich vanilla has 249 kcal per 100 grams. The licorice ribbon, orange flavoring and any extra sweeteners will change these numbers.
Nutrition per 100 grams
| FoodData Central record | Calories | Fat | Saturated fat | Sugars | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ice creams, vanilla FDC 167575 1/2 cup (66 g): about 137 kcal, 7.3 g fat | 207 kcal | 11 g | 6.79 g | 21.2 g | 3.5 g |
| Ice creams, vanilla, rich FDC 167573 | 249 kcal | 16.2 g | 10.30 g | 20.6 g | 3.5 g |
FoodData Central has no record for orange and black licorice itself: these are the figures for a plain vanilla base, regular to rich. Mix-ins and sweeteners change them.
Questions people ask
What does orange and black licorice ice cream taste like?
It tastes like bright, creamy orange ice cream with streaks of sweet black licorice. The citrus and the anise take turns, so each bite changes depending on how much of the licorice ribbon you get.
How do I make orange and black licorice ice cream at home?
Flavor a Philadelphia-style vanilla base with orange zest and a little orange juice concentrate, tint it orange and churn it. Then warm licorice sauce or melted licorice candy until it pours and layer it in as you pack.
When should I add the licorice ribbon?
Add it at the end, as you pack the churned ice cream into its container. Warm the licorice first so it pours, then layer it between spoonfuls of the orange ice cream to make stripes.
Is orange and black licorice ice cream easy to find?
No. We rate it 2 of 5, hard to find. Look for it in specialty shops and seasonal runs. No survey we use lists it by name, so that rating is our own judgement.
More flavors to try
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Regional and international
Orange cream ice cream
Orange ice cream or sherbet swirled with creamy vanilla
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Regional and international
Spumoni ice cream
Layered pistachio, cherry and chocolate, often with candied fruit
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Regional and international
Dulce de leche ice cream
Tan milk caramel ice cream with a dulce de leche swirl
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Regional and international
Kulfi-style cardamom pistachio ice cream
Dense Indian-style frozen milk with cardamom, pistachio and saffron
Plan and make it with these
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Recipe Scaler and Converter
Ice cream recipe converter: cups to grams
Scale an ice cream recipe by a factor, a batch volume or your machine, and see every line in grams and cups.
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Scoop size chart
Ice cream scoop sizes and the disher number chart
The number stamped on an ice cream scoop tells you how many level scoopfuls fill one quart, so a #8 holds 4 fluid ounces (1/2 cup) and a #16 holds 2.
Sources
- Tiger Tail Ice Cream Atlas Obscura
- Ice Cream and Frozen Novelty Trends 2022 report (132 makers and scoop shops, 1,002 consumers) International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
- Ice Cream Technology e-Book: Freezing/Whipping of Ice Cream H. Douglas Goff, University of Guelph
- Ice creams, vanilla (FDC 167575) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
- Ice creams, vanilla, rich (FDC 167573) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Every data source the site uses is on the Sources page.