I've been thinking about ingredients that I have encountered before that seem unusual to others, and I hope to write about them once in a while. One is an absolutely delicious item called latik. I know it is found in Filipino cooking, but I really haven't encountered it in any other cuisine.
Coconut oil is made from pressed coconut milk by heating slowly it until it "breaks" - that is, as the water evaporates, the protein encapsulated lipid coalesces and forms the oil. The result of this is that the proteins and sugars clump together, and cook in the heat, forming this brown crumbly stuff that is sweet and full of Maillard reaction goodness. It's coconut oil cracklings, and is used to top any number of sweets and snacks in the Philippines. I daresay it is perhaps a bit more prized than the oil itself.
I should think latik ice cream would be an outrageous treat, as well as a sprinkling of it on top of a panna cotta.
Hmmm... I'll have to try that panna cotta trick. I'll let you know how it goes...
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