Aberdeenshire ice cream supplier Mackie’s has developed what it claims is Scotland’s first glow in the dark ice cream.
Called Light Up Lemon Sherbet, the innovation is the brainchild of Mackie’s NPD technologist Pauline MacLeod, who found that adding riboflavin (vitamin B2) made the ice cream glow under UV light.
The limited-edition flavour was developed in honour of Aberdeen’s Spectra Festival of Light (8-11 February).
It will be available for shoppers to buy (£3.50/scoop) from Mackie’s 19.2 ice cream parlour, situated in the city centre, over the course of the weekend.
“We wanted to do something memorable to celebrate the festival, and what better way than a glowing ice cream?” said MacLeod.
“Despite it looking unusual, it’s totally safe to eat, and made using natural ingredients,” she said, adding the innovation had received “glowing reviews from the staff who have tried it”.
Previous limited-edition variants served up at the parlour have included Haggis & Marmalade for Burns Night, in addition to Jaffa Cake, Christmas Trifle and Pigs in Blankets over the festive season.
Mackie’s isn’t the first ice cream maker to develop a glow in the dark ice cream.
In 2013, Bristol inventor Charlie Francis unveiled an ice cream that glowed green as it was licked, thanks to the addition of a synthesised version of the protein that makes jellyfish luminous.
Melbourne-based ice cream shop 196 Below then added UV-reactive liquid colouring to its ice creams in 2015 to coincide with night-time food festival White Night.
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