Why Fried Ice Cream Is Worth Popping An Extra Button For

If you’ve perused any other strain reviews on The Hallowed Gram, it will be no secret to you that my palate leans heavily towards the bakery-department category of terpene profiles, having recently reviewed Ice Cream Cake and Grape Cream Cake.

So when a fresh drop of Evan’s Creek Farm’s Fried Ice Cream was recommended at Oregrown a couple of weeks ago, I knew I had to give it a closer look. 

For me, Evan’s Creek Farms is pretty much the gold standard for quality, and the strength of the smell coming out of that jar was downright nose-tingling. 

This being Cannarado’s Fried Ice Cream strain, it’s a cross between Topanga OG and Sunset Sherb, and after having smoked through a few grams already, I can tell you it’s another Sunset Sherb-underwritten banger of a strain.

But before we get into the appearance, smell, and smoking sensation of Fried Ice Cream, I’d like to thank Cannarado for the breeding work, Evan’s Creek Farms for the masterful cultivation, and Oregrown PDX for the superb recommendation and dope Sunday Flower Day deals! 

Now, if you’re a fan of dank sticky ass bud that produces deep dark creamy clouds of hard-hitting robusto flavor smoke, please, read on.

Appearance: Evan’s Creek Doth Floweth Over With Bigeth Buds

Many of my “appearance” evaluation sections in these strain reviews end somewhere along the lines of “but we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover because the smell or sensation is where it’s at”. 

Essentially, a lot of bud smokes better than it looks, and I respect that as a reality, but just like THC % isn’t meaningless (it’s additive), so is the size of the buds in impacting the overall experience.

When size and quality both align, well, that’s a thing of beauty.

Evan’s Creek worked magic here with their Fried Ice Cream: producing exceptional cannabis that looks, feels, smells AND smokes A+.

The shape of the nugs is girthy and staunch little balls of terpene-soaked dankness that’ll stick to your fingers no matter what you do, like a particularly sticky booger. 

I think the curing stage of cannabis really should be elevated in importance when we discuss what constitutes “good” bud. Even the best bud can be degraded if it contains too much or too little moisture.

Overly moist doesn’t stay lit and can breed mold. Overly dry turns to powder and burns harshly. You want it right in the middle, the goldilocks zone, that deep, dark, moist spot of bliss. 

I carefully smoked this weed, starting with the smallest nug and preserving the big boys until the end, and even then, breaking off bracts from the “trunk” of the nug. They’re gorgeous, and it pains me to break them up, honestly; it feels a bit like tearing the leaves off a rose. 

The trichome coverage doesn’t come through enough in the pictures, but that’s where the good moisture is stored and what makes it sticky as fuck when you even just break it up into manageable-sized pieces for your grinder. 

Of course, my trusty purple anodized Santa Cruz Shredder dispatched these nugs with her typical ruthless efficiency, but my fingers were still left remarkably sticky afterward.

Smell: Designer Grade Earth Notes

This Fried Ice Cream from Evan’s Creek is one of those Wonder Weeds that checks all the boxes. She’s big and chonky. She smells like the worm-addled butthole of a big ole mossy oak tree. And yeah, she smokes as smoothly as a tiramisu and espresso after a full dinner at Trattoria Gallo Nero. 

A true Beauty and the Beast strain.

Fried Ice Cream’s hardcore deep woods kush notes are infused with a bit of rubber cement kick that screams equally dank terpene. It smells like something a medieval shepherd would smoke: earthy and dark, but blended with a faint, rich, non-sweet evaporated milk cream that keeps this just on the precipice between dignified and funky.

Don’t get me wrong, I like pure funky stank too. I like everything weird and wonderful. I like richness and boldness. There is a strong root beer kind of spice, think a crisp cold Barqs on a hot summer day or something similar.

This weed is mysteriously intriguing yet friendly; deep yet sweet. Novel yet somehow familiar. It smells like a pair of well-used gardening gloves that have been sprayed over with some Burberry Rhythm. 

Transitioning away from smell into actual flavor when dry-pulled, I get more of the very obvious earthy, tree-root notes, but now with star anise and a bit of black licorice on my tongue, which is an interesting sensation paired with the mossy, wet, rooty ground smells.

This bud is crafted so well that it tastes like it was just cut from the plant, like you can taste the life in it still. Again, THIS is how curing should be done IMO. Get as close to the “too dank to stay lit” precipice without falling over it. I want MAXIMUM FLAVOR!

Parent strain Sunset Sherb also has a unique flavor profile, which is part of why Gelato is such a commercial success. You’re getting some spice and unsweet berry darkness to mellow it all out without diluting the experience. 

Overall, just like its namesake, Fried Ice Cream has a robust flavor profile, with a subtle twinge of cracked black pepper and an almost cedar-like freshness vying for dominance over the berry cream. 

An alcohol equivalent would be a rye bourbon aged in used port barrels. Spicy with a slight sweet finish, enhancing the palatability.

To me, this profile screams “perfect nighttime strain”, something to enjoy post-dinner right before cozying up on the couch for an episode of Star Trek Voyager. 

The last time I smoked something as dank and potent as this was probably Eugreen’s Soul Train (although Soul Train wins in the potency department), and the last time I smoked something as full-bodied yet smooth-smoking was probably Herbal Dynamic’s excellent Ice Cream Cake.

Fried Ice Cream kind of marries both of them in an unexpectedly harmonious manner.

I suppose it shouldn’t be that surprising; high-end ice cream parlors have been doing that for decades now at this point, mixing savory, salty, and creamy mild sweetness.

There’s a dope garlic ice cream you can get at the Elephant Garlic Festival in North Plains that is a pretty close food analog to this Fried Ice Cream strain, although I’d say there’s not nearly as much sweetness coming through in the bud as compared to the actual ice cream. 

Sensation: Low Down & Immediate Torque

This is a listening to some good tunes strain, for me a mix of house and Doja Cat, something smooth but with a beat I can groove along to in my head to keep me from wanting to just zone out for hours watching UFO documentaries stuffing my face with Costco peanut butter pretzel bites. 

Fried Ice Cream is more on the calming end of the hybrid spectrum, with more of a classical Indica genetic lineage than anything even remotely buzzy sativa. It’s not particularly sedating or anything, at least not until the tail end.

Sunset Sherb always hits hard and is a big reason why Gelato is the mega star it is today, so some of that power comes through in this Fried Ice Cream as well.

For example, during the composition of this review, it has been at times difficult to get my hands to move in synchronicity with my thoughts and holy hell, my spelling is bad. 

It’s worth mentioning that there are a few different strains out there going by the name of “Fried Ice Cream”, and there is also a “Deep Fried Ice Cream” as well. This review is specific to Cannardo Genetic’s Fried Ice Cream, which is a cross of Topanga and Sunset Sherbet. 

Topanga OG Canyon is a surprisingly gassy girl with her 707 Headband and Chemdawg roots. Topanga OG is crossed with none other than the svelt heavy-hitter Sunset Sherbert (GSC x Pink Panties) to give birth to Fried Ice Cream. 

Once you make it past the initial wave of numbing fuzziness that has washed over your body when Fried Ice Cream hits, then you are golden, able to cruise for a couple of hours at least, because this smoke has got some legs.

At 27.32% she’s a healthy girl in the THC department but it’s the show-stealing cereal bowl full of black licorice and whole milk flavors that are the show stealers here.

In case it hasn’t become obvious yet, this Fried Ice Cream is, without a doubt, my current #1 strain so far this year, which, at 3 months in, is pretty promising stuff. I get excited every time I sit down to roll this up, happily coming back for more and more. 

Is it the sweetest thing out there? No. Is it the creamiest, cakiest dough bomb ever? No. 

But the attention-grabbing blend of deep dank notes with lighter, more polished veneers results in a terpene profile that would put even Sex Panther to shame. 

Effects are pretty strong, so know what you’re getting into, but if you’re not a complete novice, you’ll be at least happy you’re getting your money’s worth, at least if it’s anywhere as well grown as this batch I have.

Blaze up some Fried Ice Cream, and you will find yourself nodding your head and reflecting on the waves of slightly numbing tranquility that pulse through your body. This weed feels like The Weeknd sounds to my ears. It is fun, but you have to stay in the moment; things might become a little fuzzy.

Mind and body-altering cannabis is always a two thumbs up in my book because hitting on both cylinders is how I like to roll, and when it looks, smells, and feels good, well, you get the picture. 

The onset of the high when smoked hits fast and holds steady for the first hour plus, before slowly descending into a lazy Sunday-afternoon-nap-type feeling.

Fried Ice Cream has proven useful in easing stress from long workdays, potent enough to be fun while cooking, eating and watching some TV, yet complementary in how efficiently it puts me to sleep afterward. 

Yes, the potency in smell, flavor, and effect makes this a bit of a heavyweight. But if you plan accordingly and, say, pop the top button on your jeans to make some room for it, you just may find it worth the trouble.

Thus, if you like potent strains that lean more towards the prototypical indica spectrum of things, this is for you. Similarly, if you like Gelato-y strains or strains with Sunset Sherb, then Fried Ice Cream is also a logical candidate.

Regardless of your specific canna-proclivities, if you happen to see it around, I highly recommend picking up at least an eighth to dip your toes into the hot tub and see how she goes.

Don’t worry, there’s plenty of room in here for everyone. We’ll make room!