Interview with New York's MilkMaid, Owner of MilkMade!

Froot Loop Ice Cream (©MilkMade)

The other day my husband sent me this link. Froot Loop Ice Cream?! Lucky Charms Ice Cream?! Why didn't I think of it and how can I get some? Upon further looking, I found that this was the creation of MilkMade, a small batch ice cream company out of New York. Immediately I pondered the move to New York, just so I could subscribe to their hand-delivered ice cream service. Unfortunately, right now moving to New York for ice cream just isn't feasible, so second best was getting in touch with the the MilkMaid herself and learning a bit about MilkMade.

Scoopalicious: Who are you?

The MilkMade: I'm Diana, the founder of MilkMade Ice Cream.

Scoopalicious: What were you doing before you started MilkMade?

The MilkMaid: Prior to launching the business I was working as a biz dev consultant for small businesses in NY, and had just received my MBA from NYU Stern.

Scoopalicious: How did you start MilkMade?

The MilkMaid: One summer I decided to start making ice cream. I wasn't satisfied with my local pint offerings -- I want a natural product made with local ingredients with unique and sophisticated flavors. I decided I could just make that for myself, so I bought a machine and started crafting 'scream. I began serving to friends, serving at parties, and found that I wasn't the only one seeking a better pint. So I launched MilkMade and have been sharing my creations with New Yorkers ever since.

You can read a bit more about how we got started on our website and in some of our latest press.

Scoopalicious: You source local ingredients -- AWESOME -- since I am assuming there aren't any cows in Brooklyn, how what area defines your "local"?

The MilkMaid: Yes, all of our ingredients are as local as possible. Our dairy is from a farm in Ancramdale, NY, about 100 miles upstate, and all of our mix-ins are sourced from the best local artisan producers in New York and Brooklyn.

Scoopalicious: How did you learn to make ice cream? 

The MilkMaid: I bought a little Cuisinart machine and taught myself. After many trials, I created the right base recipe for MilkMade and I always manipulate that recipe based on what mix-in or flavor add I'm using.

Scoopalicious: Adorable logo. Who designed it? 

The MilkMaid: The logo is the result of a gchat conversation between some MilkMade friends. Instead of a heart, <3, we double scooped, ,<00, and thought it would serve as a perfect logo. We'll know we've made it when Google turns it right side up.

Scoopalicious: (That would be awesome if Google turned it right side up! We'd love that too!) What is your favorite flavor among your creations?

S'Mores Ice Cream (©MilkMade)

The MilkMaid: After crafting almost every new flavor, I declare it my favorite. Recent favorites have been Strawberry Shortcake and S'Mores. 

Scoopalicious: Before MilkMade, what was your go-to ice cream?

The MilkMaid: I started MilkMade because my go to ice creams weren't cutting it anymore for me. My palate had become a bit more sophisticated, I wanted a natural product, and I wanted something locally produced. Nothing quite met that, so I decided to do it myself.

Scoopalicious: Any ice cream making advice for our readers?

The MilkMaid: Get creative!

Scoopalicious: Is it still just you in a kitchen with a single ice cream maker? Do you have help?

EVOO Ice Cream (©MilkMade)

The MilkMaid: I still craft and produce every pint myself in a commercial kitchen. We have some help in the form of friends and interns, and we're hoping to bring some full time help on soon.

Scoopalicious: I notice on your blog you have a flavor a day. How many of these flavors make it past your palette to the customers?

The MilkMaid: The flavors of the day are typically trial flavors for future flavors of the month, flavors for friends or events, or just fun experiments for me. Quite often something makes me go WOAH and I change the planned flavor offerings around to fit it in for our members. 

Scoopalicious: Do customers get any say in what is delivered? For example, can someone with allergies sign up for your service or would they potentially end up with ice creams they can't eat? Additionally, could a customer request something from your blog for their next delivery?

The MilkMaid: We make two flavors every month and announce them to our members about a week before delivery. Members have a choice of which flavor they'd like to order. We always take suggestions, and as you can imagine, people are always willing to suggest an ice cream flavor. if a member has an allergy, we allow them to defer their pint that month and extend the membership a month.

Scoopalicious: Who are your "testers"? Are you hiring any testers?

The MilkMaid: Ha, we don't need to 'hire' any testers, as we have a long and growing list of volunteers. My main testers are my boyfriend, my roommate, and really, anyone who drops by my apartment/test kitchen. I'll often pull out 5 different iterations of the same flavor and ask people to rank them.

Scoopalicious: Do you have plans to expand? Mail order? Local shops?

The MilkMaid: Yep! But we'll always keep it real and hand-craft each and every pint.

Scoopalicious:  We can't wait.

There are many ways you can follow MilkMade and/or learn more:
Check out the website.
Sign up for the mailing list.
Visit the MilkMade blog.
Like MilkMade on Facebook.
Follow MilkMade on Twitter.
Watch as the MilkMaid visits the Rachel Ray Show!
If you live in New York/TriState Area, become a member! (We're totally jealous.)

Thanks so much to the MilkMaid for such a fabulous interview!

Photos and logo © MilkMade.

[Scoopalicious is celebrating National Ice Cream month with a Post-A-Day throughout the month of July!]