Aug 17, 2026 - Food and Drink

Iowa State Fair 2026: We tried Parmesan ice cream

Linh Ta

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A hand with red nail polish holds a glass of bright red drink topped with a large pale yellow scoop of ice cream; blurred cafe counter and staff visible in the background. — 1776 Parmesan Ice Cream from Bubbly. Photo: Linh Ta/Axios

Linh here. I don't want to brag, but I eat a lot of Parmesan cheese. (I've got shredded and shaved right now.)

So when I saw that Bubbly was serving up a Parmesan cheese ice cream, I knew I had to try it.

What it is: An homage to the 18th century, when cheese ice cream was a popular delicacy.

Bubbly's version ($14) is custard-like and sits on top of a pound cake and tart cherries.

My thought bubble: The first bite had a distinctly sharp, cheesy flavor. But the more you dive in, the more your palate gets used to it, and it's just like vanilla ice cream with cherry sauce.

Not bad, but for $14, I would spend more money somewhere I get more ice cream, like Bauder's.

🧈 Butter ranking: One stick = meh. Five = don't miss it.

Aesthetics: 🧈🧈
Creativity: 🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈
Overall taste: 🧈🧈🧈

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Iowa State Fair 2026: We tried Parmesan ice cream

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