When Linda Parker taught English in Matsumoto, Japan, a city ringed by green fields of the wasabi plant, she tried a novelty ice cream flavored with the fiery root pronounced wah-SAH-bee. She didn’t anticipate that she would one day put her own twist on the pungent, green-colored condiment associated with Japanese cuisine.

“I’m so nostalgic for Japan,” the Philadelphia native said recently at her ice cream workshop in downtown Bar Harbor. “That’s how I got the inspiration for making wasabi ice cream.”

The former e-commerce developer put her considerable imagination to work and created Mount Desert Island Ice Cream. Her motto “Fearless Flavors” is fitting for the whimsical flavors she has concocted, including green tea, stout beer, Nutella and blueberry basil. She’s currently working on a Masaman curry-flavored ice cream, but says the combo needs some tinkering before it’s salable.

Parker’s top sellers are ginger, cinnamon and vanilla.

“When making ice cream, I feel like an alchemist,” she said, surrounded by fresh mangos, Ibarra chocolate from Mexico and other exotic ingredients. “You throw all this stuff in and great stuff comes out. It’s just fun.”

The ice cream is 15 percent butterfat. It’s richer and creamier than commercial brands, even the premium types, and is made with fresh and quality ingredients such as real vanilla beans instead of extract, locally grown cranberries and the best crystallized ginger she can find.

“I was concerned because my prices were higher,” she said. “But almost every chef I’ve introduced the product to understands the value in it.”

Parker plans to expand her line this winter and aims to stay in the business for the long haul.

“My goal is to sell throughout the state of Maine,” she said. “This is my vocation.”

To contact Mount Desert Island Ice Cream, call 735-5911 or visit www.mdiic.com. The ice cream and sorbets cost $6 per pint and $20 per gallon. They are available at Rooster Brother in Ellsworth, J.H. Butterfield Co. in Bar Harbor and Sawyer’s Market in Southwest Harbor, French & Brawn in Camden and the Market Basket in Rockport.