The Best Way To Give Ice Cream A Fruity Upgrade

Ice cream is one of those tried-and-true classics that you can fall back on when you want something sweet and refreshing. You can't go wrong, whether you get an over-the-top decadent flavor with tons of bells and whistles or you stick to a scoop of something simple (and if you think vanilla is boring, you're eating the wrong vanilla). But if you want to keep things easy and still enjoy a little extra kick of flavor, you definitely want to grab a jar of jam or fruit preserves and give that a spin as a topping.

How you combine your jam and ice cream is up to you, really. You can always just heap some on top of your ice cream scoops in a bowl. If you soften your ice cream or make a homemade batch, you can swirl it in for that ribbon effect and a touch of fruity sweetness in every bite. You can even heat your jam up in the microwave or over a double boiler so it has a thinner consistency and use it in place of hot fudge or sundae syrups. It's a sweet and low-lift way to take your ice cream from pretty good to dang delicious.

It's best if your ice cream and jam are top-of-the-line when you're eating a simple dessert that showcases both of them. You really ought to make homemade jam; you'll have full control over the flavor, quality, sugar levels, and texture of the final product and can tailor-make it to be a perfect topping for ice cream. It's still fine to use good-quality store-bought stuff, though. Our handy list of popular Bonne Maman flavors ranked from worst to best is a good place to start.

As far as flavor combinations go, you really can't beat classic vanilla as a canvas for any fruit preserves or jam you might have on hand. We love vanilla ice cream when paired with strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, apricot, and plum jams, but really, vanilla and any fruit are a match made in heaven. Chocolate makes a good base ice cream for similar reasons. You can also try less common pairings like dulce de leche ice cream with apple preserves or fudge and nut ice cream with dark cherry jam. The world is your oyster, though, so go forth and try as many combos of jam and ice cream as your sweet tooth can handle.