INSIDE SCOOP

2 s 6tH street, McsHerrystown, pa • store open year rounD 502 e Main st, eMMitsBurg, MD • suMMer fooD truck cHeck weBsite for Hours • 717-698-3785 My brother inspired me to begin making my own ice cream. He began experimenting, researching and delving into some concoctions that sounded a bit wacky to our family. Always one to go with ‘more heat’, he served up habanero-infused vanilla, ghost pepper chocolate and siracha cinnamon. He did churn up some that our family would eat, especially his ginger, which my mother loved. One flavor which I did borrow from him is Mexican Chocolate, a deep, dark, rich chocolate base with just a hint of cinnamon and chipotle pepper. I remember making one batch which I may have been a bit heavy-handed with the pepper. I tasted it, savoring the delicious chocolate, then a few seconds later was quite taken aback by the heat traveling down my throat. There really isn’t anything to be done, since the antidote for heat in food is dairy…lesson learned. When we plan our rallies, I look around our suggested routes and the areas we’ll be visiting to see if there is anything of interest. For this past Fall Fiesta, a name popped up that even Seymour O’Life would have loved: Ripleigh’s Eat It or Not Innovative Creamery, in McSherrystown, PA. So, while making the route from Moorefield, WV to Lancaster, PA, I easily had us stop for what I thought would be a most excellent late afternoon treat.

Ripleigh Maring, owner of Ripleigh’s Eat It or Not, is a 15-year-old sophomore at Delone Catholic High School. Her first entrepreneurial endeavor was at age 14 when she started her ice cream business with a food truck in Emmitsburg, MD. The brick and mortar shop in McSherrystown, PA had its grand opening on June 10 of this year. She accredits her mother, also an entrepreneur, for her inspiration to open her own business. She just didn’t think it would come at such a young age. Her travels with her family, taking her around the country and the world, helped her to develop her unique flavors. What makes Ripleigh’s shop different, special and a worthy stop when in the area? She has a very creative mind and transfers that to the flavors she develops in her ice cream. She also feels that using locally sources ingredients and patronizing local companies is very important so she gets her dairy from Apple Valley Creamery, a small family farm in New Berlin, PA, whose cows produce A2 milk which is smoother and more easily digestible. Ripleigh learned to craft ice cream at a school in Florida and churns out her super delicious and palate-testing flavors just 2 blocks from the shop on 6th Street. When not in class, she is there scooping and, unlike so many businesses today, does not have any problem hiring, working alongside fellow classmates. The young ladies serving during our visit were friendly, courteous and very willing to offer tastes of whatever we liked to try. Ripleigh’s is located at the corner in a small row of stores. With its brightly colored window treatments, it is inviting and, once inside, the same vibe is attained. At that point the challenge begins – what to order. The whimsical menu is sectioned into three zones: Safety which includes just that, those flavors most folks are comfortable with – Vanilla, Chocolate, Coconut and so on. Next up comes the ‘We Dare You’ cabinet: Funky Monkey, Banana Cream Pie and Reese’s Peanut Butter Blast (perhaps their most ordered flavor). While these certainly are not outrageous, they do go outside of the ice cream box. Then we head into some unchartered territory with cabinet number three named ‘We Double Dog Dare You’: Ube

Page 20 + Coconut (Ube is a purple yam), Maple Bacon Caramel, Old Bay Kettle Corn and……WAIT, WHAT?

Oh, you ain’t heard nothing yet.

Channeling my brother, I tasted as many of Ripleigh’s Double Dog Dare You flavors as I could before ordering. The Old Bay Kettle Corn had a buttery flavor with a backsplash of that familiar flavor of Old Bay. Ube + Coconut was definitely more coconut than yam. Spicy Pineapple Avocado certainly had bite at the back of the tongue with more pineapple coming through than avocado. I couldn’t bring myself to try the Buffalo Chicken or Pepperoni Pizza. I settle on a scoop of Honey Jalapeno Pickle and Milk Tea, with the Milk Tea having a similar taste to bubble tea and, surprisingly, the Honey Jalapeno Pickle being very smooth, sweet and a pleasant tinge of spicy pickle at the finish. They went very well together.

Brian went with a homemade waffle cone filled with Old Bay Kettle Corn and Hazelnut Cold Brew, also a great combination.

Ripleigh’s seasonal case contains those flavors ‘here for a good time, not for a long time.’ This time of year there was Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake, Apple Caramel Crumble and Salted Squire, to name a few.

As social media is such a key to success these days, Ripleigh has developed Instagram-worthy milkshakes called Freak Shakes. While they are basically milk shakes, they look amazing; four scoops of ice cream swirled to creamy perfection and poured into a clear plastic cup drizzled with syrup, coated with sprinkles and topped with whipped cream, donut, pop tart or whatever gives it the unique name of its creator. Among others there’s the Cereal Killer: Birthday Cake ice cream, Pop Tart, Froot Loops, Fruity Pebbles and whipped cream and the Sasquatch: Chocolate ice cream, Smores brownie, toasted marshmallow, graham cracker, chocolate drizzle and whipped cream. These are almost too pretty to eat but I’m sure that wouldn’t stop me if handed one. Staying with picture-worthy treats, the Monster Bowls are similarly themed but are ice cream instead of a milkshake. And there are Pop-It Waffles; hot Belgian waffle with two scoops of ice cream and topped with all sorts of beautiful things – the Fruitopia features strawberry ice cream, fresh strawberries, banana and blueberries, strawberry drizzle and whipped cream. The shop is cozy with indoor seating available, as well as one outside picnic table. If you find yourself anywhere near McSherrystown, PA or Emmitsburg, MD, you’d be doing yourself a grave disservice if you did not stop by Ripleigh’s Eat It or Not Innovative Creamery to sample some of her wonderful flavors. ,