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Rischart Ice Cream – Production, Varieties and Tasting | A Look Behind the Scenes – Munich's summer has finally shown us what it's capable of these past few weeks. We all certainly hope it continues like this for a while, don't we? The perfect weather for my article certainly suggests that's the case. Today's topic is ice cream. Good ice cream. There's a lot of it out there, of course, but some varieties or vendors are just the ones you always want to seek out. For me, ice cream isn't something I eat every day, but when I do, it has to be good. One place to go – as with so many good things – is Rischart. A bakery, now also a restaurant (Max Eatery at Stachus) and also a producer of ice cream. After I've already been to the Wedding cake cutting was present at the Oktoberfest and both the Elisenlebkuchen, as well as the Easter baking Having previously tasted and observed the production process, this time it was the ice cream's turn. So it was time again to put on the lab coat and hat and get into production. Hooray!

15 different varieties are sold…

Rischart ice cream – the range

I've been asked several times already, "Really...? Rischart has ice cream?!" – Absolutely! Rischart offers a total of 15 different flavors of ice cream. Four of these are vegan, and – currently – four are brand new to the selection. The classics chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry are, of course, standard offerings. These are followed by nut, lemon, and pistachio. Combinations like yogurt-cherry, Quattro Frutti – consisting of strawberry, raspberry, currant, and blueberry – or mango-passion fruit are also available. Roasted almond, orange cheesecake, apricot-elderflower, cookie-caramel (with crunchy cookies in the ice cream), coconut crunch (with coconut flakes), and sour apple rings round out the creative offerings. Strawberry, Quattro Frutti, mango-passion fruit, and apricot-elderflower are suitable for vegans. New additions to the selection include roasted almond, sour apple rings, coconut crunch, and apricot-elderflower.

Only high-quality ingredients end up in Rischart ice cream.

What makes Rischart ice cream special

For someone who simply enjoys good ice cream, taste might be the most important factor. Clearly, if it doesn't taste good, nothing else matters. But once you've stood at Rischart's large ice cream pasteurizers and witnessed the machines in operation, combined with manual labor and a good deal of effort, you know that there's much more to it than "just" good ingredients. At Rischart, these ingredients are of particularly high quality. The vanilla ice cream, for example, contains real vanilla extract, giving it a particularly intense yet natural aroma. The chocolate ice cream, not usually one of my favorites, even appealed to me. No wonder, since it's partly made with Belgian couverture chocolate. In my opinion, the most distinctive characteristic of Rischart ice cream is the intense and never artificial flavor of each variety. Of course, "Sour Apple Rings" and "Coconut Crunch" naturally taste sweeter and more intense than lemon or vanilla—made from purely natural ingredients—but that's exactly how it should be. What I like is that the ice cream is produced "without a lot of fuss," that attention is paid to quality, meaning that no corners are cut on the raw materials, and that there is no fatigue when it comes to creativity and variety in terms of flavor.

High-quality ingredients end up in the ice cream

ice cream production

As mentioned, I was given a closer look at the production process. Much of it happens behind closed doors. This isn't because it's secret, but simply because the pasteurizer and ice cream machine don't have viewing windows. 😉 Things look much better when it comes to processing the ice cream once it's out of the machine, i.e., after pasteurization. Then, a fair amount of manual work is required, and one of the flavors needs to be enriched. For example, with the new Coconut Crunch flavor, the coconut mixture is stirred by hand with great care into each five-liter container. More precisely, a layer of ice cream is poured in, then the mixture (e.g., Coconut Crunch or Cookie Caramel) is added, mixed in, and then mixed again with ice cream and finally with the mixture. Once the containers are filled, thoroughly mixed, and smoothed, they end up in Rischart's cold storage at -20 degrees Celsius. Each container yields 4 to 4.1 liters of ice cream. Rischart produces the ice cream daily, delivering 100 to 150 boxes to its Munich branches each day. But let's start at the beginning… The base of the "neutral" ice cream is milk, cream, egg yolks, a binding agent, and the respective flavoring, depending on the variety. The mixture is then boiled and heated to 80 degrees Celsius. Afterward, the ice cream matures, meaning it cools slowly for approximately 3 to 10 hours. At Rischart, the ice cream is finely pureed in a separate machine (depending on the variety), resulting in an even smoother ice cream mixture. Only the finest ingredients are used, such as milk from Berchtesgaden, real vanilla extract, and high-quality Belgian chocolate. A minimum dryness level is also always ensured in the recipe for each ice cream variety, guaranteeing a smooth melt and a pleasant texture. Do you know that feeling when ice cream lingers on the roof of your mouth and throat after you swallow, leaving that greasy feeling you can't get rid of? It's not a good sign for ice cream quality, but that's definitely not the case with Rischart ice cream. Incidentally, Rischart offers ice cream from the end of April until the start of Oktoberfest. Then it's removed from the display case, and Rischart's focus shifts to Oktoberfest and Cafe Kaiserschmarrn before the Christmas season begins.

An ice cream mixture is enriched with additional flavor.

A short story about ice cream

Almost everyone I know likes ice cream. But where ice cream comes from is something very few people know. No problem, I did a little research. The history goes way back. Really way back. To be precise, all the way to 3000 BC. Stories about ice cream appear from both the Chinese and the Romans. The Roman Emperor Nero, for example, was a big fan of ice cream, and Marco Polo reported discovering ice cream parlors after his travels and brought ice cream recipes back home. Other famous figures in history also loved ice cream. In 1651, the Sicilian Procopio Castelli opened the first ice cream parlor in Paris, and in 1673, the first ice cream tax was levied. Back then, however, ice cream wasn't really ice cream as we know it today. It was more like snow or frozen water with various flavorings, such as ginger, honey, or crushed fruit. One of the first attempts at making ice cream was actually made in Munich using water from the Isar River. – Cool, right? The ice cream we enjoy today has only existed since 1530, coinciding with the invention of refrigeration. In 1873, ammonia was successfully liquefied, and in 1876, the refrigeration machine was added – paving the way for modern ice cream, the breakthrough had been achieved. It wasn't until 1851 that a milk merchant had the idea of processing surplus dairy products into ice cream, leading to the establishment of the first industrial ice cream production facility. This proved so successful that soon New York, Boston, and the entire world were talking about ice cream made from milk. The ice cream we know today was finally born.

This will be a delicious cookie-caramel ice cream. Mmmmh….

Key facts and conclusion

Fortunately, after the production tour, I had the chance to sample my way through Rischart's selection right on Marienplatz. It's a completely different experience, of course, when you've only seen how the individual flavors are made a few minutes beforehand. I quickly found my favorites: Yogurt-Cherry, Coconut Crunch, Lemon, and Apricot-Elderflower (vegan!). It's important to distinguish between milk-based and fruit-based ice creams – also in terms of production methods, meaning creamy varieties versus more refreshingly fruity ones. You absolutely must try the vegan and new "Apricot-Elderflower" flavor. For a good comparison, have a classic scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside it. From the very first spoonful, it should be clear that you're enjoying high-quality and incredibly delicious ice cream. This is true for the entire range. "Sour Apple Rings" is definitely the most unusual flavor in my opinion, partly due to its bright green color and undeniably artificial taste. The ice cream is available at five locations: Marienplatz, Café zur Mauth, Viktualienmarkt, Olympia Shopping Center, Max Eatery (Rischart's restaurant), and Rialto on Leopoldstraße. Depending on the location, a scoop costs between €1.50 and €1.80. Take advantage of the next opportunity and grab a scoop. If you're passing by the Marienplatz location—where all 15 flavors are available—don't be surprised that they no longer serve cones. There, the ice cream is only offered in cups and isn't rolled with a classic ice cream spoon, but rather scraped into the cup with a spatula—a more modern approach, in my opinion. So...which flavor(s) will you get?

Tested: Rischart Ice Cream from Max Rischart's Bakery KG
Available: Available in Rischart branches
Rischart production: Buttermelcherstraße 16 in the Glockenbachviertel

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