10 minute read
Extreme Scooping
These NH ice cream makers fill cups, cones and waffles with inspired creations
BY ELISA GONZALES VERDI & JENN BAKOS
New Hampshire loves its ice cream. The cold weather that grips the state for the majority of the year doesn’t stop Granite Staters from flocking for a scoop year-round, and the 50-stop New Hampshire Ice Cream Trail has become a pilgrimage for diehard devotees of the frozen treat.
From local ice cream shops, to ice cream chains and small stands, ice cream is a part of New Hampshire’s regional tradition. There is no shortage of places to get a classic cone or cup of a soft serve twist, or maybe some moose tracks, but what about those who go above and beyond to create something that is unique, bold and fresh?
Here are a few ice cream spots from around the state that are pushing ice cream to its creative extreme.
Super Secret Ice Cream, Bethlehem
The secret is definitely out, now that Bethlehem’s (once) Super Secret Ice Cream has gained national culinary attention. In January, owner Kristina Zontini was nominated as a James Beard Award Finalist, one of the highest culinary honors in the nation.
“We were really surprised by it,” Zontini said. “They are kind of like the secret shoppers, and I guess someone came by and liked it! I think the right word about how I feel is ‘flabbergasted.’ Our kitchen team is really incredible, and they have done a really incredible job. This is only possible because of their hard work and determination.”
Super Secret’s handmade ice cream features all-natural ingredients that are locally sourced, thanks to partnerships with local farms. If an ingredient isn’t grown (or can’t be grown) locally, like vanilla beans or coffee, Zontini makes sure to source those ingredients from family-owned farms that are committed to ethical business practices.
“Our vanilla bean comes from a family farm in Hawaii,” Zontini said. “We partnered with a farm in Ecuador for our coffee, who treats their employees fairly. We make sure to be diligent about our sourcing.”
Their commitment to farm-fresh flavors means they’ve had to get creative, depending on what’s growing each season.
“Our first inspiration for our flavors comes from what our farmer friends are growing,” Zontini said. “In the summer, we get a lot of berries, rhubarb, mint — everything you would want for summer flavors. In the fall, we have a lot of squashes and apples, and in the winter, we work with Birch Hill Farm in Maine, who has frozen blueberries that were flash-frozen, so they stay fresh.”
Some of their flavors, like the popular Blueberry Juniper ice cream, are inspired by the natural world. This flavor came to be when a Super Secret employee was hiking and saw blueberries and juniper growing along the trail. After a fair amount of testing, the flavor hit the stand and quickly became a bestseller. Along with Blueberry Juniper, flavors like Honeycomb and Meyer Lemon & Pistachio are also front-runners.
“Our flavors always seem to change,” Zontini said. “You never know what you’re going to get each time you come in.”
Eldridge Family Sugar House, Tamworth
Nothing screams “New Hampshire” quite like a sugar house. Eldridge Family Farm’s maple soft serve is a fan favorite made from maple syrup they produce at their sugar house.
This small, family-owned business started making syrup in 2016 and quickly started growing. They eventually opened a larger sugar house that is home to their ice cream shop. Maple lovers flock to Eldridge Family Farm for their maple soft serve, and to try one of their other popular items, the Breakfast for Dessert. This tasty treat consists of maple soft serve, topped with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and drizzled with maple syrup, and is served in a puffle cone — a light and airy waffle cone where the squares are “puffed” out, instead of flattened.
Another fun offering is their Nor’Easter. It’s a layered dessert filled with maple soft serve, stroop waffle pieces and snowflake sprinkles, a decadent treat for those who want some layers of flavor and texture. If you like to keep it simple, try Simply Maple, which is vanilla ice cream drizzled with maple syrup.
Red Rover Creamery, Portsmouth
Nestled in the heart of downtown Portsmouth, just outside Market Square, is an ice cream shop that has become a local favorite since opening five years ago. Red Rover Creamery is a small but mighty ice cream shop, traditional in style but playful and artisanal with flavors.
With 25 years of culinary experience under her belt, former pastry chef and owner Sarah EgriAmsden decided to take her love of ice cream and local flavors to the next level by creating Red Rover Creamery.
“I noticed there was a great ice cream culture here, between the beaches and the parks, you see summer, and there’s so much joy,” EgriAmsden said. “I knew I wanted to start working again, and I saw an opportunity and jumped at it. We thought an ice cream shop that featured local flavors was a great concept, and we wanted to embrace that ice cream excitement.”
The creamery opened in the summer of 2019, one year before the start of the global pandemic. While many businesses struggled during the lockdown, Red Rover was able to use that time to build community.
“It was definitely a chaotic time to open,” EgriAmsden said. “But there was such amazing support within the community between other businesses and customers and seeing the same names for our mobile ordering.”
“We love our location on State Street,” she continued. “We’re close enough to Market Square that we get to watch people on their way to and from Prescott Park and Strawbery Banke.”
Now entering their fifth year, Red Rover Creamery has plans to expand their production kitchen, so they can meet the demands of the summer.
“This started as a spark, and it’s grown over time,” EgriAmsden said. “We’ve been enjoying the slow, organic growth, and we’re now at a place where we’ve grown enough where we’re expanding our production kitchen, so we can meet the higher demand.”
Red Rover prides itself on using fresh, simple and local ingredients. Their flavors change frequently and seasonally, which allows for plenty of creative opportunity.
“Since our flavors are seasonal, it’s tough to tell what our most popular flavors are,” EgriAmsden said. “But one of our most popular flavors, when it’s in season, has been the Santa Rosa Plum. Anything we do with coffee is also always popular, and it’s the same with fruit flavors like strawberry, blueberry and rhubarb, since the season is so fleeting.”
Not only can you get a couple scoops in a cone, but you can try their ice cream sandwiches on homemade cookies, which include some gluten-free options.
“We as a family do better without gluten,” EgriAmsden said. “We use a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour if we need, or we will find a recipe that doesn’t need flour at all. We want to make sure that this can be fun for all, since this is supposed to be a fun business.”
For those who prefer a cup over a cone, Red Rover has a selection of edible ice cream cups that come with a tiny cone on top, so there’s nothing to throw away once you’re finished. EgriAmsden also makes a wide arrangement of baked goods, and plans are in motion to expand the kitchen and storage space to be able to offer more variety for other goodies like milkshakes, soft serve, and maybe even some grab-and-go breakfasts.
Lickees and Chewy’s, Dover
Inside a large mill building in Dover is the candy/ice cream/chocolate shop of every milkshake-lover’s dreams. Lickees and Chewy’s is renowned for their wild and creative milkshakes that reimagine what a milkshake can be. Named the “King Shakes,” these themed jumbo shakes are loaded to the brim with ice cream and then covered with all types of candy. It’s not just frivolously thrown on, though. These shakes are created based off a theme and planned out, tested and retested to ensure the flavor (the body of the milkshake and the toppings), candies, and toppings all complement each other down to the last sip.
Owner Chris Guerrette is the mastermind behind these creations. He started making these shakes at the previous location in Durham, where they used to be secret menu items, but when Lickees and Chewy’s opened in Dover in 2018, they were added to the permanent menu and ended up being what people came in for the most.
“I put them on the menu thinking that they would be a side note for the families who come in,” Guerrette said. “But now, we have folks driving for hours to come in for a shake. I call them art — they’re artwork. Since we’re a candy, ice cream and chocolate shop, we have a lot more ability to be creative since we have so much at our disposal. We call them King Shakes because we want to treat people like royalty when they come in, and also because they’re huge.”
In their busiest year, they made about 35,000 shakes. Since their opening, they have created more than 60 styles of shakes, with nine staple shakes that are always available on their menu. They make special shakes with themes for each holiday and season, or if something in pop culture is relevant.
“We get our inspiration sometimes from the silliest things,” Guerrette said. “I was walking through the grocery store the other day and saw a box of Cracker Jack, and now we’re going to do a baseball-themed shake.”
Lickees and Chewy’s is open year-round, seven days a week.
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UNLIKELY PAIRINGS
Liquid Therapy Brewery, Nashua
There’s nothing better than a perfect pairing. Peanut butter and jelly, maple syrup and pancakes… ice cream and beer?
Liquid Therapy Brewery & Grill has mastered the art of taking an unlikely pair and turning them into a harmonious treat. The brewery/ice cream shop pairs ice cream and sorbets with their beers to create a delicious dessert. Their NotCho Gose is a spicy, tart and salty wheat beer served with a scoop of mango sorbet, that is made with their Juice Monster TIPA, which results in a flavor reminiscent of spicy chips and salsa. Brewing beer is already a fun and experimental process, and Liquid Therapy Brewery takes it up a notch with their ice cream floats and pairings. Located within Nashua’s original Firehouse Central Station, the brewery is full of bright colors and memorabilia that pay tribute to the building’s history. They have also become a staple within the Nashua community and frequently raise money for local nonprofits.
