Helado de paila

Helados de Paila in Ecuador are believed to have started in Ibarra, a city located up in the Northern Highlands of Ecuador. It began in a time when refrigerators were pretty much non-existent throughout the majority of Ecuador and, so the story goes, would only be made when it hailed and/or there was ice available from the provincial ice maker.

They have a texture that might as well be described as being like an Ecuadorian-style sorbet, both refreshing and comparatively light on the creaminess factor when compared to traditional ice-cream. Their ingredients solely consist of: fruit, sugar and ice.

Helados de paila in Ecuador are made by blending any one of these fruits with a little bit of sugar. Once that’s prepared, the famous paila must also be prepped. This second step involves placing wheat at the bottom of the giant paila and then, on top of that, placing a large quantity of ice and salt (preferably sea salt) over the ice. The use of ice allows the temperature of the mixture around the paila to get colder.

Once its set up, the sweetened and blended fruit is poured into the paila and thus begins the slow and relatively intensive process of stirring (the trick is to have a rhythm and pattern of stirring) its contents into what eventually turns thick and relatively creamy.

Using a wooden spatula, these helados de paila in Ecuador are removed from the paila itself and then served in cones, cups or sometimes even miniature pailas (for aesthetic kicks). 

Fun Dietary Fact: Helados de paila in Ecuador contain no milk! This makes it a lactose intolerant-friendly choice for those that are craving a bit of ice-cream on a hot day!

All above information taken from https://www.metropolitan-touring.com/helados-de-paila-in-ecuador.  You might like to visit the site to see some pictures and videos.

Here's our helado de paila from last week.  

Blackberry and soursop were the flavors.  It was delicious!