Visit: Turkey Hill Experience + Taste Lab

This post is dedicated to our old blogging friends who used to (and may still) write for the Ice Cream Journal at Turkey Hill and to Jessie, formerally of Cakespy. (I logged onto Facebook today just before I went to write this post to find out after eleven years she is saying goodbye to Cakespy and hello to Unicorn Love). Thank you, Jessie, for eleven wonderful years of Cakespy and good luck with future endeavors! We have so enjoyed watching your vision grow into the wonderful everything it has become over the years!


❤️+ 🍦 + 🍰, Scoopalicious


It has been almost three years since I have written a post on Scoopalicious. A lot has changed in that time. My daughter is now old enough to actually read this blog. The last time I wrote she was just about to start kindergarten, and now she's mere months away from finishing second grade. My five year old could barely say the word ice cream last time I wrote this blog and being a late walker, she was still scooting on the ground towards the ice cream. With these children came less and less time to blog about ice cream. Tina, Patrick, and I all took to other forms of social media, sometimes posting to Facebook and Instagram.

I recently visited the Ice Cream Journal where our buddies at Turkey Hill used to blog, only to find that they have since moved to a new format, the all encompassing Turkey Hill Nation. Logging in (yes, you now have to login) takes you to more options than I can fit on a page for one screenshot (see below). It seems a little less intimate, which is odd, since logging in should seem to make it more personal.

Anyway, I also somewhere along the way, rediscovered the Turkey Hill Experience (THE). With a spring break trip starting in Philadelphia (hello, Cousin Mandy!) I knew I wanted to make THE a part of our trip. And so we did.

Any visit starts off right with a photo op in front of a super large cow!

We decided to sign up for both the Turkey Hill Experience and the Taste Lab. (We don't write a beverage blog, so we skipped the Tea Experience, but we imagine it would have been fun too, and the cost is minimal...)

The Taste Lab was fun. (Look at all the bottles of flavoring and swirls. Along the walls are the mix-ins! I'd like this at my house!)

It was a mix of a video presentation (where you can learn answers to questions like "What's the most popular flavor of Turkey Hill Ice Cream?" You can either go to the Taste Lab yourself or we can tell you that if Tina were an ice cream flavor at Turkey Hill, she'd be the most popular!) and a guided mix-your-own-ice-cream bar.

While we clearly learned stuff in the video, our focus was clearly in the ice cream mixing. We started with a plain base and then picked out flavoring. Go slowly with the drops, A! You can always add more, but you can't take away if you add too much!

Next it's time to add the swirls.

Finally, it's time for the mix-in. (When you first get your pint of ice cream, it's about 3/4 full, but that's ok! It leaves plenty of room for all the mix-ins!)

And then it's time to eat! YUM!

Then it's off to the Turkey Hill Experience. THE is part science lesson, part hands-on fun, and of course, part taste testing!

Here we are using the machine that

The thread (or white path on the ground, as it were) that tied the whole experience together was using a number specific to your ticket to design a virtual ice cream flavor, package it, and then make a commercial. You could even go back online later find your creation! It's a silly and fun experience, especially when Dad is wearing the same color as a green screen and turns into a floating head!

Tickets to THE experience include all-you-can-eat ice cream. Flavors are limited to eight rotating, but there's something for everyone from ice creams to sherbets to sometimes even new flavors! Here we are loving our Fruit Rainbow Sherbet after a long morning playing and exploring at the Turkey Hill Experience!

Admittedly, I didn't get as many pictures as I should have for you all, so here's a video direct from Turkey Hill...

Next stop, Niagara Falls!

Brown Sugar Strawberry Ice Cream

Happy National Ice Cream Month!

Here's a recipe to start your month off right!

INGREDIENTS:

1 pint strawberries
1/4 cup white sugar

3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon vodka

FOR THE STRAWBERRIES:

Hull and quarter the strawberries (or even eighth them if they are really big). 

Add berries and white sugar to sauce pan and cook on low for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Remove from heat and strain the strawberry and sugar mixture through a fine sieve. 

If the liquid is runny, put it back on the stove for a bit until it thickens to a syrup. (I didn't have to do this the second time I made it, as it had thickened nicely.) Set aside syrup to cool. 

Place cooked strawberries in a small bowl and set aside to cool as well.

Once cooled, add vodka to the cooked strawberries. The vodka will help the strawberries from becoming icy when they are frozen.

FOR THE CUSTARD:

Whisk egg yolks, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl until smooth. 

Pour cream into saucepan and heat to just before it begins to simmer.

Slowly add the hot cream into the egg mixture while beating them together.

Pour mixture back into saucepan and cook on low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon.

Strain mixture through a strainer into a clean bowl. Allow it to cool slightly and add the strawberry syrup.

FINAL STEPS:

Refrigerate strawberries and ice cream base overnight (or until completely cooled).

Pour in custard into ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions. Near the end of churning, strain the strawberry-vodka mixture reserving the strawberries. (I made my husband drink the strained vodka. He didn't complain!) 

Add the strawberries to the ice cream maker and churn for a few minutes longer until well mixed. 

Save Our Swirled!

When I am gnoshing on a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream I savor the rich flavors, but as a socially conscious person, I also think about what a good company Ben &Jerry's is. This past Tuesday, March 17th, I was once again reminded why I love Ben & Jerry's when I attended the unveiling of the Save Our Swirled Campaign at the Tesla Motors Dealership in Chelsea New York.

The Ben & Jerry's team is driving across the country in a tricked out zero emissions Tesla S to Swirl up a call to action to help slow down the effects of climate change while serving the masses some ice-cream.
 Working with Avaaz, the online activist network, and Tesla Motors, Ben and Jerry's is hoping to sign up over 500,000 new members to the Avaaz petition for Climate Change while they drive across the country.

The Tesla Model S that is driving across the country has been specially designed for this trip.  Under the Hood of the car you will find a screen giving information about climate change and two i-pads that allow for people to quickly sign the petition on Avaaz.  As a global action organizer, Avaaz will help empower people all over the world so collectively we can make a difference and save our planet.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Jerry Greenfield (THE ONE AND ONLY JERRY OF BEN & JERRY's) to talk one on one about Ben & Jerry's and Climate Change.  I was immediately greeted with a giant hug from Jerry. 

Jerry told me that him and his wife have been working towards reducing their carbon footprint by decreasing the amount of plastic containers and waste while driving a diesel car.  Ben & Jerry's has been assessing and reducing their environmental impacts for a very long time and are creating innovative ways to reduce their waste and emissions.  Ben & Jerry's has made a commitment to reducing it's current emissions by 15% per unit of production by 2015 and an 80% reduction in overall emissions by 2050.

Jerry conveyed the urgency for everyone to take action to get politically involved regarding the issue of climate change and for people to create change in their everyday lives to decrease their carbon footprint.

I've met Jerry once before but this week I really had the opportunity to see his love and compassion for the people who work for Ben & Jerry's and for humanity in general.

I hope everyone is inspired to take action. Not just to meet up with the Ben & Jerry's team as they make the trek across the country, but to really invest themselves in seeing that we as a global community urge our governments to protect the future of this great world we live in.

Follow this Save Our Swirled Link to find out more about what you can do and sign the petition through Avaaz.

The Core conversation about Ice Cream

Ben & Jerry's recently sent Scoopalicious their three new flavors; Peanut-Buttah, Boom Chololatta and Spectacular Speculoos. These new flavors were a complete surprise to me but I don't know why I hadn't considered that Cookie Cores might be the next best thing in ice cream! The Flavor Gurus who create Ben & Jerry's flavors are always coming up with new ideas but I think the Cookie Cores are an ingenious and delicious new creation!

Peter Lind is the Flavor Guru resonsible for bringing the world these new Cookie Core flavors.  I had the opporttunity to meet Peter when Ben & Jerry's invited me up to Vermont last year and to me, he's pretty much a rock star.  How many people get to create one of a kind ice cream flavors and then share them with the world?!

On to the Cookie Core flavors before I share a special interview!

The three new flavors are:

Boom Chocolatta! Cookie Core: Mocha & Caramel Ice Creams with Chocolate Cookies, Fudge Flakes & a ChocolateCookie Core.

 Peanut Buttah Cookie Core: Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Crunchy Peanut Butter Sugar Bits, Peanut Butter Cookies & a Peanut Butter Cookie Core

 Spectacular Speculoos Cookie Core: Dark Caramel & Vanilla Ice Cream with Speculoos Cookies & Speculoos CookieButter Core

I really liked all of the flavors but I have to say that there was something about the Spectalular Speculoos that I particularly loved.  I didn't even know what Speculous cookies were! The belgian butter cookies give an original, crunchy and delicious flavor to the spectacular cookie core.  The caramel, vanilla, cookies and the cookie butter core are a delicious meld of flavors.

Everyone that I shared these flavors with were gushing about the Peanut Buttah Cookie Core and the Boom Choccolatta Cookie Core.  The cores are easy to dig in to and remind you of being able to eat cookie dough off a spoon before you bake them!  They just happen to be surrounded by a meld of rich and creamy ice cream!

I shared the cookie core flavors with my freind's Tracy and Scott's five year old son Nathan and he asked that I interview him to get his opinion on ice cream and the cookie cores!  Enjoy this insightful video while trying one of the three new Cookie core flavors!!!

Starting A New Tradition

Pie and ice cream go hand in hand for me. If I have a slice of apple pie I definitely want a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. I can be a traditionalist when it comes to eating over the holidays but I am all for trying new flavor combinations if given the chance.
 Well Ben & Jerry's own flavor Guru (coolost job ever!), Eric Fredette and their Assistant Manager of PR Shenanigans (that's her actual title), Kelly Mohr, saved us some creative energy and brain cells by giving us some ingenous ice-cream and pie pairings to indulge in over the holidays! Check out some of the creations they came up with!

 Pumpkin Pie with...
Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz :Think Pumpkin Spiced Latte, need I say more?
 Salted Caramel: Pairs great with warm brown spices and the salt gives a kick to the savory side of pumpkin.

Apple Pie with...
Cinnamon Buns : Uses the flavors the pie already has to add a cool creamy element to dessert Candy Bar Pie: Adds a little nostalgia to the holidays. The peanut butter reflects after school snacks with apple slices and peanut butter. Also more and more flavored peanut butter spreads are showing up on the supermarket shelves.

Pecan Pie with...
 Americone Dream: Adds a creamy and crunchy component to pie.
 Chocolate Therapy: The dark chocolate ice cream cuts the gooey sweetness of pecan pie filling. Chocolate pairs great with most nuts

Mince Pie with...
Cinnamon Buns: Cinnamon pairs well with the dried fruit and molasses flavors.
Salted Caramel: Salt is a really good complement to the stewed dried fruits that make up mince filling. 

Chocolate Cream Pie with...
Chocolate Peppermint Crunch: Chocolate and peppermint have been together forever, and they are still in love. The ice cream has fudge covered crunchy chocolate cookies that add a crunch the crust can’t match. Smooth, creamy, crunchy goodness.
 Cherry Garcia :Chocolate and cherries are great together. This pairing is like a box of chocolate covered cherries…only creamier….. with whipped cream.

Lemon Meringue pie with...
 Strawberry Cheese Cake :Sweet and tart in one bite. The lemon acidity of the pie brings out the fresh fruit flavor of the berries. Add the chewiness of meringue and the creamy ice cream and you have a great texture combo.
Honey Greek : the tangy greek yogurt plays well with the tang from the lemon filling while adding a creamy dairy note. Like crèma di limoncello, Italy rarely gets anything food related wrong.

I cannot wait to try a few of these over the next five days!  I think I'll be gunning for Chocolate Cream Pie with Chocolate Peppermint Crunch, Apple Pie with Cinnamon Buns and Pumplin Pie with salted caramel.  Let us know what combinations you try!

Two Wild and Crazy Pies!

I have always been a huge fan of Saturday Night Live from my childhood through my adult life. Improvisation and satire are a passion of mine and watching Saturday Night Live over the years makes me feel like I had the best comedic education. Ranging from Cheese Burger Cheese Burger with Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi to Gilli with Kristen Wiig.

Now Ben & Jerry's has come up with something "wild and crazy" to coincide with the 40th season of Saturday Night Live. Ben & Jerry’s fans are in for a “swinging” good time with the newest Saturday Night Live-inspired flavor, Two Wild & Crazy Pies. With inspiration from the classic SNL sketch starring Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd, which first aired in 1977, Two Wild & Crazy Pies combines coconut cream pie ice cream, chocolate cream pie ice cream, and adds in a scrumptious chocolate cookie swirl. This is the third of four unique SNL-themed Ben & Jerry’s flavors to appear at the company’s Scoop Shops nationwide.

This special flavor looks delicious! Luckily they didn't attempt to make something for Colon Blow cereal or The Bass-O-Matic. This flavor will be available exclusively at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops across the U.S! Grab some Wild and Crazy Pies and watch your favorite Saturday Night Live Sketches!

T-Wisted Frozen Yogurt

There's a gem of a frozen yogurt shop in Sudbury. T-Wisted!

My kids love it. They love choosing their frozen yogurt from the choices on the wall. They love the bright pink dishes and the colorful spoons. They love the toppings to choose from. They love the bench covered in strawberries and the wooden cutouts they can stick their faces in so they can be an ice cream cone or a pineapple.

I love it. The flavors are diverse and well, it's a frozen treat! And there are toppings galore. Who doesn't like a sundae bar?

But aside from ice cream, it's the atmosphere. When my four year old was supposed to have a playdate at the park with the other twelve four-year-olds in her class last spring, but the weather prevented it, we moved it to T-Wisted. It w as a weekday afternoon, so the shop was quiet -- well, until we arrived. The staff was so accommodating to our baker's dozen of preschoolers running around their store. I had left my Scoopalicious business card there to tell them to look us up (and check back for their write-up -- sorry for the delay, T-Wisted!) and they took the time and used it to email me about a water bottle our group had left behind. It's those little things that show you that a business actually likes interacting with people that brings me back again and again. 

And their engagement with the community is unparalleled. They have a great product. They really do. As I said, the kids and I love the frozen yogurt. But it's how they have made their space a community space that makes them special. It's the free movies they show in the summer. It's the way they hold fundraisers and give profits back to the schools or community groups. It's the weekly raffle they boast on their home page to encourage residents to "shop local." It's the student artwork that adorns the walls and rotates out regularly. 

I like ice cream because it's tasty, of course. But as I write this, I also recognize that ice cream brings people together. In the summer, groups might suggest meeting for an ice cream. Crowds gather around ice cream trucks. While I have never heard of a "hot dog social" or a "cupcake social," I have heard of an "ice cream social." And I think T-Wisted has embraced this to the fullest. Perhaps they are our modern day soda counter -- bringing people together to create a community.

Thank you, T-Wisted!

*My apologies for the pictures. I thought I had better ones but all of the rest had kiddos running through and since they aren't mine, I can't use them! 

Dairy Queen Blizzard Battle: Pumpkin or Apple?

Are you Team Apple Pie or Team Pumpkin Pie?

That's what Dairy Queen asked Tina and I when they reached out to us about their Blizzard Battle! Though Tina and I are both pumpkin fans, when our contact offered to send us pumpkin or apple swag, we decided the best idea was for one of us to be sent pumpkin and the other apple.

So as you can see, I was sent a lovely package of pumpkin themed goodies, along with a couple of gift certificates to try the Blizzards.

to divide the swag though, so Tina got the apple swag and I got the pumpkin swag and we both got gift certificates to Dairy Queen to try the Blizzards. 

When I took my family, I opted for the smallest size of each of the two Blizzards so I could try both. Small is not, well, small. In this supersized world we live in, I shouldn't have been surprised. I don't think I could have finished one of the smalls, never mind two. Anyway, in the name of science, I ordered both and knew I wouldn't be able to finish.

As you can see at left, my girls thoroughly enjoyed some cones with rainbow sprinkles while I was there doing the hard work of research for our blog about ice cream.

And what's a trip to Dairy Queen without a crown?! (Actually, I think my oldest had been wearing that crown all day and it was pure coincidence that she was wearing it...!)

And in the end? Surprise! I was totally Team Apple! I loved the flavor and the cinnamon-y pieces of pie crust mixed in.

I wonder what Tina will choose as her favorite? Do we have to switch gear? Here's the swag that Tina got in the mail -- but last I heard she hadn't made it out to DQ yet to actually try it out! Tina...we'll be waiting!

And readers, we'll be waiting! Enjoy your autumn -- if you are a pumpkin and/or apple fan like we are, this is your season!

Both Apple and Pumpkin Blizzards are wonderful. I do suggest you head out to try them out before the season ends!

The Only Ice Cream Recipe You'll Ever Need?

My dad sent this link to me the other day. Titled "The Only Ice Cream Recipe You'll Ever Need," it immediately caught my eye. I finally got to watch it. I have three cups of black raspberries in my freezer and I just watched the video (see below) and checked out the recipe to see if this is how I want to use my raspberries.


Frankly, I am not sure.

I have a recipe I love. It's from The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. It's the recipe they have for Raspberry Gelato, which I have altered slightly. It's gorgeously colored and amazingly tasty.

That being said, I do want to try this recipe, if only to see if it lives up to its hype.

But to waste this season's only three cups of black raspberries on something I don't know to be good, when I have something completely trustworthy on my bookshelf?

I think I'll visit this recipe again with something not so "precious" to me.

I'll report back when I do try that recipe.

In the meantime, do follow through with watching the video -- it's really quite informative -- and head on over to the article for a great chart. Melissa Clark gives her viewers/readers the basics and the rules and then invites them to break them and adjust accordingly. That's fair and worth some experimenting with (albeit with some less precious commodities)!

Rocky Road: The Movie

Yes, seriously. A movie called Rocky Road about ice cream! We like ice cream and we like movies, that's why we were pretty excited to hear about this new flick.

Sunday, July 20 is National Ice Cream Day and also the premiere of UP's original Rocky Road. Head over to your UP channel and tune in at 8PM. 

We can't tell you how it will be, but it looks like a sweet (yes, pun intended) story about a wall street banker who gets laid off, moves home, and drives an ice cream truck. Could be kind of cheesy, but it's ice cream and movies and it's on the UP network, which means it promises to be "uplifting." (Don't know what UP is? I didn't either. Check it out here.) I'll try to catch it, because if it makes you happy, even cheesy can be good!

And it stars Mark Salling of Glee fame, if that catches anyone's fancy.

But as LaVar Burton would say, "You don't have to take my word for it!"* Check out the preview below.

*On a non-ice cream note, if this quote is lost on you or if brings back fond memories, head over to Kickstarter to see how Burton is bringing his signature line! Whee!

Brigham's Sundae-in-a-Box Giveaway Winners!

We have chosen our winners for the Brigham's Sundae-in-a-Box Giveaway!

Thank you to everyone who entered and if you didn't win, don't worry, you can still head over to Brigham's to vote for the flavor you'd like to see make a comeback as well as share your favorite memories and enter for a chance to win a Brigham's ice cream scoop!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Winners will be notified by email with instructions on how to claim your prizes.

A big thank you to Brigham's for sponsoring the giveaway and Happy 100 Years!

Brigham's: Coffee

Since a bunch of people tried Brigham's Coffee Ice Cream, I am just going to compile the quotes:

"It's coffee." (Yes, I have very insightful friends...)

"It's a good base for toppings."

"It's a mild, generic coffee [flavor]."

"It's great for toppings."

"It's great with hot fudge."

"It doesn't even really taste like coffee, which is a good thing because I generally don't like coffee flavored anything."

"I liked it. It wouldn't be my first pick, but I'd eat it."

"Both of these are really good." (From my mom, who tried both the Coffee and the Mocha Almond.)

By the way, after complaining that two of my stores only had limited flavors, today I stopped at a more local store and hit the motherlode. It was all I could do to not buy all of the flavors. I settled on Paul Revere's Rocky Ride. I'll report back when I try it!

Don't forget, only one more day to vote for your favorite retired Brigham's flavor for a chance to win one of ten prizes of a Sundae-in-a-Box from Brigham's!

Brigham's: Mocha Almond

I brought Brigham's Mocha Almond for my husband. I wasn't expecting to like it, but like all ice cream, I'll try it.

Clearly, it was well loved by my husband.
And he's true to his word. He ate a lot of it!

I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn't bitter at all. It was quite mild. Those who really like coffee might be disappointed. I don't like coffee, but it wasn't too coffee-y! I tasted the chocolate and maybe some coffee (but not enough to bother me) and I loved crunch the almonds added (and I am also not nuts over nuts in my ice cream...)

My husband reported that "It wasn't as strong as I thought it would be, which just means I'll eat a lot of it!" He also noted that he liked that it abbreviated to MA, just like Massachusetts! (He's a little silly, sometimes.)

My mom tried it as well, simply reporting that "Both of these are really good!" (Stop by tomorrow for the other flavor she tried!)

Would I buy it again? For me? No. (There are just other flavors I'd prefer.) Would I steal some from my husband's carton? For sure!

Don't forget to vote for your favorite Brigham's flavor to return to production!

Brigham's: Peppermint

I told you in yesterday's post that there were very limited Brigham's flavors when I went to the store, and almost the same (limited) flavors when my husband went to a different store. However, coupon in hand, my husband thought he should get me something. Since we already had two of the flavors at home, and he wanted something a little more exciting than chocolate or the other vanilla, he had Salted Caramel Crunch and Peppermint Stick to choose from.

I am not sure he knows me too well. He brought home the Peppermint Stick. While I like mint chocolate chip, the idea of Peppermint Stick does nothing for me. And every Christmas I try to be all festive and eat a candy cane. And I hate them.

The trooper that I am when it comes to ice cream, I tried it. The ice cream was pretty -- white with bright red spots mixed throughout. The was mellow and sweet and very enjoyable. What I didn't like was the end -- the aftertaste of candy canes.

But this is me. I already said I don't like candy canes. But if you like candy canes, this sure is the flavor for you. And even if you don't like candy canes, it would probably be a good date ice cream, because it leaves your breath minty fresh!

Long story short, it wasn't bad. It was good. It just would have been better had I actually liked candy canes.

And if it were out of production, it wouldn't be the one I voted to bring back. Speaking of which, did you vote to bring back a Brigham's flavor? Do it while you still can! And then head back over to Scoopalicious, let us know which flavor you chose in our comments section, fill out the Rafflecopter form, and be entered to win one of ten Sundaes-in-a-Box!

Brigham's Sundae-in-a-Box Reminders

Just a few notes for our readers!

1. There is still time to enter to win a Sundae-in-a-Box courtesy of Brigham's Ice Cream. Please head over to our post from Sunday to see how to enter! Raffle ends at the end of the day on Saturday, so don't wait!
2. Since the Sundae-in-a-Box includes a coupon for Brigham's Ice Cream, which is only available in New England, this giveaway is only open to readers in ME, NH, VT, MA, CT or RI. However, if you wish to play and you are not in one of these states, you may request that we send your prize to a friend or family member in New England. Good luck!
3. Please be sure to leave a comment AND fill out our Rafflecopter form so you are eligible to win. If you haven't done one or the other, please feel free to go back in and do so!

Thanks for playing!

Brigham's: Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

As you can see from my post on Sunday, my Sundae-in-a-Box arrived from Brigham's last week and with coupons and toppings, so I told my daughter (V) we were having sundaes for dessert and we headed to the store to pick up ice cream.

I really like Brigham's ice cream, despite the fact that they keep getting rid of my favorite flavors.

Vanilla Bean, plain and simple. And that's not a bad thing.

What I don't like is the limited stocking at my favorite stores. I went to my local Shaw's and I had the following flavors to choose from: Chocolate, Vanilla, Vanilla Bean, Mocha Almond, Coffee, and Peppermint Stick. My husband went to our local Price Chopper and he found Chocolate, Vanilla, Vanilla Bean, Salty Caramel Crunch, Coffee, and Peppermint Stick. Yes. Seven limited flavors total in two stores -- only one flavor wasn't the same in each store. I don't like coffee flavoring and I don't really like candy canes, so that left me with vanilla, vanilla bean, and chocolate to choose from on my trip.

At the store, I knew I was on a mission to write four flavor review posts, so I bought three of the flavors, just in case I didn't get out in the next couple of days to buy more ice cream (the horror!). I chose Vanilla Bean and then, being the good wife that I am, Coffee and Mocha Almond for my coffee loving husband. (He has to review them though!)

I guess truth be told, I think vanilla is the best base for a sundae.

First I tried the Vanilla Bean alone. It was nice and light, and had a nice vanilla flavor. It was creamy and had the beautiful specks of Vanilla Bean in it. It did not compare to my favorite vanilla ice cream...Brigham's no-longer-existing French Vanilla. It did not have that rich custard flavor I loved in the French Vanilla. But that aside (since it's not one I can bring back with Brigham's flavor contest) the Vanilla Bean was really a nice flavor and made an excellent base for sundaes.

V was not complaining. (See her sundae at left)...

Nor was I when I had it plain or a few days later topped it with peanut butter sauce and whipped cream.

Well done, Brigham's!

Want to try this flavor or another Brigham's favorite? Head over to our post from Sunday and enter to win your own Sundae-in-a-Box from Brigham's!

Brigham's: What's your memory?

Part of Brigham's 100 year celebration is a "memory look-book" on their website.

“When consumers think of Brigham’s, they think of butterscotch sundaes and enjoying time with family,” said Lynne Bohan, spokesperson for Brigham’s Ice Cream. “We are so excited to encourage consumers to share those special moments with us during our 100th anniversary year.”

Here's my first Brigham's memory...

It may have been The Big Dig I went home with.
Or maybe not. Whatever it was, it was good, and got
me hooked. (Image courtesy of www.brighams.com)

My first experience with Brigham's was at the Scooper Bowl thirteen years ago. I lived in Boston's North End. I was just leaving the Scooper Bowl after attending with my co-interns from Houghton Mifflin, and a woman walked by with a container of Brigham's. She told me the people at the Brigham's booth had given it to her, but there was no way she was making it home without it melting -- would I like it? Government Center where the Scooper Bowl was being held was a short walk from my North End apartment, so I gladly carried the container home. I'd like to be able to tell you I remember the flavor, but I can't. I can tell you that by the time I got home, it was perfectly softened, and dinner that night was my first (and perfect) taste of Brigham's Ice Cream. 

I'm smiling and thinking of dear friends as I remember other times...eating at the Brigham's in the Financial District or eating Brigham's on the newly developed Greenway when I worked downtown. I also remember some great birthday parties over Brigham's ice cream cakes in the office where Tina and I met. (Those were some of our favorite days there, huh, Tina?!) That cookie crust was to die for. I think Tina and I may have sealed our friendship over that cake and our shared love of ice cream!

I'm kind of wordy, so my memory doesn't fit on their form, but make sure yours does so you have a chance to win an ice cream scoop from Brigham's!

While you are there, vote for the ice cream flavor you'd like Brigham's to bring back, then swing back over to our post from Saturday to leave a comment telling us which flavor you voted for and fill out our form for our rafflecopter giveaway for a Sundae-in-a-Box!

Happy 100 Years, Brigham's Ice Cream!

My assistant helps
me open my
Sundae-in-a-Box!

Scoopalicious is pleased to be part of the celebration as Brigham's Ice Cream celebrates their 100th Anniversary!

Brigham's announced that "since 1914, Brigham’s has been Boston’s favorite ice cream and a part of countless memories. Today, its rich, creamy flavor continues to be enjoyed in homes across New England more than ten decades later."

Brigham's is celebrating in their own way with an online "memory look-book" and a chance to vote for your favorite Brigham's "throwback flavor" to be announced in July and brought back into production in 2015!

Lynne Bohan, spokesperson for Brigham’s Ice Cream, explains why Brigham's is asking it's loyal customers to be the ones to choose which flavor will be revived: “Brigham’s has always loved introducing great flavors like Reverse the Curse to consumers. Now is the public’s chance to be a part of the tradition and vote which of their beloved flavors should be brought back to life.”

We at Scoopalicious are also partnering with New England's beloved ice cream company with some flavor reviews and ten Sundae-in-a-Box giveaways!

Let us know what flavor you voted for and be entered to win one of ten Sundaes-in-a-Box!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check back in this week for some of our thoughts on Brigham's flavors and some of our own Brigham's memories!

        

For more information about the 100th anniversary visit www.brighams.com.

Honeycomb Pieces and Chocolate Brownie Fudge Cubes

Last month we got an email from someone at yolli.com asking if we'd like to try out their confectionery supplies. I'd never heard of them, so I followed the link, perused the site, and found they had ice cream supplies. But of course we would!

The site is out of the UK and so there were actually some items they were offering for sale that I had never heard of, including honeycomb pieces.

I asked my contact if she would mind sending me the honeycomb pieces and the chocolate brownie fudge cubes. She kindly obliged and a few weeks later I came home to a package of ice cream mix-ins.

I doubled a nice chocolate base from The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home, divided the base, and froze each half with each of the mix-ins so I could try them out.

The honeycomb pieces, to begin with, aren't honeycomb or honey at all. Upon further research, I found these honeycomb pieces are actually a crumbled version of a type of toffee also known as sponge toffee or cinder toffee. Honeycomb toffee is a mix of sugars and baking soda, giving it a very airy feel, and a spongy or pumice-y look, as one might imagine. It somewhat reminded me of peanut brittle without the peanuts. It was sweet with a hint of that baking soda taste.

Mixing it in had interesting results. When I took the ice cream directly out of my machine, the honeycomb pieces had a nice crunch to them in the ice cream. However, after I put the ice cream in the freezer to ripen, and then scooped some, the honeycomb had dissolved, leaving only darker, sweeter spots of chocolate (see picture.) It wasn't bad, just not much of anything.

I suppose in the future I would suggest either putting them in ice cream you are going to eat right out of the machine or using them as a topping for interesting texture. (And as an added note, do not leave the remaining bag of honeycomb pieces on the counter for your three-year-old daughter to find and poke at while asking "what is this?" unless you want to be left with honeycomb powder!)

The fudge bits didn't do as much for me. They kind of reminded me of Tootsie Rolls. They gave a nice chewy texture to the mix-ins, but overall the taste wasn't too exiting to me, and the chocolate flavor wasn't as chocolately as the ice cream actually was, which was surprising with the fudge name.

Final verdict? While Yolli isn't known for it's ice cream supplies, but more for it's candy making supplies, I am not sure they would be my first stop shop for ice cream making, but I certainly wouldn't discount them for candy making. (Quite honestly, when I first went to their site, I was wishing I had a candy or baking blog so I would have an excuse to ask for samples of the cookie cutters or candy floss (aka. cotton candy) supplies or many of the other various supplies (ah, in my next blog/lifetime).

Thank you Yolli for the fun supplies and the excuse to make some new and interesting ice cream flavors! And P.S. your site is incredibly fun and bright and makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop!

Get Ready for the Scooper Bowl, Boston!

We haven't been as good at posting as we would like (and we hope this changes as it usually does in the summer!), but didn't want to forget to remind our Boston friends that next week is the Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl. (Non-Boston friends, too -- there's still time to get here to Boston for the biggest ice cream event of the year!)

The event runs from Tuesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 5 from noon to 8 p.m. every day at City Hall Plaza, Boston.

Read some of our previous posts here to get motivated for the event -- as if all-you-can-eat ice cream isn't enough of a motivator!