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Churned to Perfection
See how your favorite ice creams are made—and sample the frosty goods—at these top factory tours and flagship parlors.
By Amity Moore Joyce
“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM!” Yes, the season of frozen delights is in full swing. So, where can you get the best scoops AND a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making a state’s or region’s best ice cream? Lots of places! Some brands carry national recognition, like Ben & Jerry’s out of Vermont, and some are known locally, like Little Man in Denver. Across the country, ice cream makers are making it easy and fun to combine your love for ice cream with factory tours, flagship locations and farm visits to observe how America’s favorite dessert comes to be.
A cone of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream
BEN & JERRY’S/GREG COMOLLO
FACTORY TOURS
One of the mack daddies of the ice cream world is Ben & Jerry’s. Originated in a converted gas station in 1978, this ice cream company revolutionized the industry with its unusual flavor combinations and memorable names. Cherry Garcia, Chunky Monkey, Phish Food, Chubby Hubby, anyone? Reserve a tour of the company’s Waterbury, Vermont, factory, where upward of 350,000 pints are made daily. The 30-minute guided portion of the Factory Experience opens with a movie about Ben & Jerry’s culture and a look at the production room. It concludes with an ice cream tasting in the Flavor Room, followed by time on your own to order more ice cream, browse the gift shop or stroll the Flavor Graveyard, where expired flavors have gone to rest.
It’s all smiles at the Turkey Hill Experience.
Discover Lancaster/Brian Evans
Just as Ben & Jerry’s is known for quality, so is Turkey Hill Dairy, which started its ice creams as small batches made from the milk of local Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, cows. Now a major filler of cones, the nationally known brand shares its history, process and ice cream-making fun with the public through its Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia, Pennsylvania. This interactive attraction sees kids and families making their own virtual ice cream flavors, checking out rooms with hands-on exhibits and licking unlimited samples of ice cream! There’s even an opportunity to learn how to create and experiment with ice cream flavors, with help from a certified ice cream expert, in the Taste Lab.
Tillamook ice cream video
Meanwhile, over near the Oregon Coast, it’s all about the cows at Tillamook Creamery—a label that’s known equally for its premium ice cream and premium cheese. You don’t actually get to see bovines in the flesh, but on a self-guided visit within the visitor center—a modern architectural interpretation of a dairy barn—you can learn about dairy cows and what goes into the care of a Tillamook cow. Instead of going it alone, you could book a guided experience to delve more deeply into the creamery’s cheese or ice cream processes. No visit is complete without tastings—available for both Tillamook cheese and ice cream.
Blue Bell Ice Cream’s Dr. Pepper Float is a creamy vanilla ice cream swirled together with a Dr. Pepper flavored sherbet.
BLUE BELL ICE CREAM
In the South, two ice cream companies have made big names for themselves: Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries and Tennessee-based Mayfield Dairy Farms. Blue Bell, from its factory in Brenham, Texas, has earned devotees for its homemade-like quality and creamy texture. Additionally, many of the flavors give a nod to the brand’s Southern roots: Banana Pudding, Southern Blackberry Cobbler and Dr. Pepper Float (Dr. Pepper also originated in Texas). Visit the headquarters to follow a timeline of the company’s development and stand on the observation deck. Through oversized windows that overlook the production floor, watch as half-gallon, pint, quart and cup containers are filled. Seeing all that ice cream in the making sets your sweet tooth a-watering, a craving that can only be sated with a scoop from the on-site ice cream parlor. Choose from well-established flavors and a few that are found only in the parlor. Tip: If you can’t make it to Texas, Blue Bell has a second production facility in Sylacauga, Alabama. The observation area isn’t as big, but the ice cream is just as good!
Take a guided tour of the Mayfield Dairy visitor center and facility, and then take full advantage of the free scoop…
Like Blue Bell, Mayfield honors the South with flavors like Southern Butter Pecan, Smoky Mountain Fudge and Snow Cream. The seasonal Snow Cream gets its name from the Southern tradition of filling a bowl with freshly fallen snow, milk, sugar and vanilla extract. To learn more about the available flavors and how a milk delivery business evolved into one making what “Time” magazine called the “World’s Best Ice Cream,” swing by Athens, Tennessee. Take a guided tour of the visitor center and facility, and then take full advantage of the free scoop that comes with the purchase of your tour ticket. What a sweet deal!
Enjoy ice cream from a local ice cream shop.
ADOBE STOCK
SCOOP SHOPS
While the above creameries are among the most well-known in the nation, there are plenty of local ice creameries deserving your licks. Check out regional brands with parlors that might be near you.
Colorado: Little Man Ice Cream—It’s hard to miss the 28-foot-tall milk can that doubles as the flagship store of this ice cream brand on 16th Street in Denver. At its factory in the Sloan’s Lake neighborhood of Denver, tour the facility and sign up for ice cream-making classes.
Florida: Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream—Thanks to six parlors in the Orlando area and counters in select Foxtail Coffee locations statewide, ice cream lovers can sample an ever-rotating menu of more than 100 unique flavors of these house-made batch ice creams.
Rainbow Cone video
Illinois: Rainbow Cone and Whitey’s Ice Cream—For native Chicagoans, the sliced—not scooped—and stacked Rainbow Cones have been a tradition for nearly 100 years. Try the company’s five archetypal flavors of chocolate, strawberry, Palmer House (a variety of New York vanilla with cherries and walnuts that was developed as a signature ice cream for the Palmer House hotel), pistachio and orange sherbet throughout Chicagoland as well as in select locations in California, Florida and Texas.
In western Illinois and parts of Iowa, the dense, premium product of Whitey’s Ice Cream dominates with parlors dishing up flavor combinations with memorable names, such as Graham Central Station and Chocolate Peanut Butter Revel. Whitey’s also claims to be the first ice cream company to use cookie dough as an ingredient.
Iowa: Blue Bunny—The well-known ice cream and frozen novelty company calls Le Mars, Iowa—the Ice Cream Capital of the World—home. The parlor inside the Wells Visitor Center is the only official one serving Blue Bunny’s classic scoops, sundaes and shakes. Beyond the treats, visitors can explore interactive exhibits detailing the history of Wells Enterprises, including the Blue Bunny brand.
Wisconsin: Cedar Crest—Sometimes companies operate quietly without a lot of consumer-facing brand recognition. Such is the case with Cedar Crest. It supplies ice cream to scoop shops throughout the Midwest, and the only location bearing its name is in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. This landmark destination offers about 100 flavors of factory-fresh ice cream from March to October.
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