Dirty ice cream, halo-halo among TasteAtlas' best frozen desserts worldwide

Filipino streetside favorites sorbetes (dirty ice cream) and halo-halo are among the best frozen desserts worldwide, according to an international food aggregated guide.

TasteAtlas's 50 best-rated frozen desserts list showed that sorbetes ranked 5th with a score of 4.5 out of 5. Halo-halo, meanwhile, placed 43rd with a score of 3.8.

TasteAtlas took note of sorbetes flavors like mango, chocolate, cheese, coconut, and ube. It also noted that though it sounds similar to the frozen fruit juice sorbet and the Spanish sorbete, it's traditionally made of carabao milk and served in tiny scoops on sugar cones. It's also sandwiched between bread buns like a hamburger.

Halo-halo, or literally mix-mix, is a combination of fruit and beans, topped with finely crushed ice and either milk or ice cream.

Common ingredients include bananas, jackfruit, coconut, sweet potatoes, red mung beans, chickpeas, sugar palm fruit, purple yam jam, leche flan, sweet corn, and corn crisps.

TasteAtlas noted that halo-halo were sold by Japanese vendors before the occupation of the Philippines in the '40s. It may have also taken inspiration from anmitsu, a Japanese dessert consisting of kanten jelly, fruits, and sweet red bean paste.

Topping the list was Iran's bastani sonnati, a saffron-infused creamy mixture of milk or cream, frozen custard, and sliced pistachios.

It is flavored with rose water and saffron and traditionally incorporates salep, an ingredient extracted from wild orchids, TasteAtlas noted.