Your Ice Cream Questions Answered

Our ice cream contains 14-18% butterfat compared to the 10-12% minimum in most commercial brands, creating a richer, creamier texture. More importantly, we maintain only 20-25% overrun (air content) while mass-market brands often have 100% overrun, meaning half of what you're eating is literally air. We use real ingredients exclusively - Madagascar vanilla beans at $400 per pound, single-origin chocolate, fresh fruit purees with no artificial colors or flavors. Our small batch production means we make 3-5 gallons at a time and it reaches you within 48 hours, compared to commercial ice cream that can sit in warehouses for months. Every batch is made by hand with ingredients we can trace to specific farms and suppliers.

Store ice cream in the back of your freezer where temperature remains most constant, ideally at -10°F to 0°F. Avoid the freezer door where temperature fluctuates every time you open it. After scooping, press plastic wrap or parchment paper directly onto the ice cream surface before replacing the lid - this prevents ice crystals from forming on the exposed surface. Never let ice cream melt and refreeze, as this creates large ice crystals that make texture grainy. For best flavor, remove ice cream from the freezer 5-10 minutes before serving to let it temper to 6-10°F, which allows flavors to express fully. Properly stored, artisan ice cream maintains peak quality for 2-3 weeks, though it remains safe to eat for several months.

Yes, we maintain 3-4 dairy-free flavors at all times, made with a coconut cream and cashew milk base that delivers creamy texture without dairy. Current permanent options include Chocolate Coconut Fudge, Strawberry Coconut, and Vanilla Cashew. We also rotate seasonal dairy-free flavors like Mango Coconut Lime and Coffee Coconut Caramel. These are produced in dedicated equipment cleaned thoroughly before production to minimize cross-contamination, though our facility does process dairy so we cannot guarantee zero trace amounts. Our dairy-free options contain the same 14-16% fat content as our dairy versions, just from plant sources, and we never use gums or fillers to fake creaminess. Many dairy-eating customers prefer these flavors simply because they're delicious, not just as alternatives.

Four of our regular flavors contain alcohol: Bourbon Salted Caramel (Kentucky bourbon), Irish Coffee (Jameson whiskey), Wine-Poached Pear (red wine), and Rum Raisin (dark rum). The alcohol content ranges from 0.5% to 2% by volume in the finished product - significantly lower than the original spirits because we reduce some through cooking and the freezing process causes some to evaporate. For context, a standard beer contains 4-6% alcohol, so a full pint of our boozy ice cream contains less alcohol than a single beer. However, the alcohol does not completely cook off, so these flavors are not appropriate for children, pregnant women, or anyone avoiding alcohol. We clearly label all alcohol-containing flavors both on menus and packaging.

We take allergies seriously but must be transparent about our limitations. Our facility processes tree nuts (pecans, walnuts, pistachios, almonds) and peanuts regularly, so cross-contamination is possible even in flavors that don't contain nuts as ingredients. We do practice careful cleaning between batches and maintain detailed allergen logs. For customers with severe nut allergies, we offer to make special batches in equipment cleaned to medical-grade standards with 48 hours notice, though we still cannot guarantee a completely nut-free environment. Our safest recommendation for severe allergies is to avoid our products entirely. For mild sensitivities, our Vanilla Bean, Dark Chocolate, Strawberry, and several other flavors contain no nut ingredients, though again, cross-contamination remains possible. Check our homepage for the complete allergen matrix showing which flavors contain which allergens.

Flavor development starts with inspiration from seasonal ingredients, customer suggestions, or culinary trends we find interesting. We create a concept, then produce 5-7 test batches, adjusting ratios of flavoring agents, sweetness levels, and mix-in quantities. Each test batch gets evaluated by our team of 8 people using a standardized scorecard rating appearance, aroma, flavor intensity, flavor balance, texture, and overall appeal on a 10-point scale. Flavors must score at least 8.5 average to move forward. We then do limited customer tastings with 30-50 people, gathering feedback and making final adjustments. The entire process takes 3 weeks for simple flavors up to 6 months for complex ones. Our Honey Lavender went through 23 iterations before we found the perfect balance - too much lavender tastes soapy, too little disappears. Only about 40% of flavors we develop actually make it to the menu.