One Scoop or Two? It's All Homemade

Dinner is over, the dishes are washed, and the kids are begging for a refreshing summer dessert. Here’s an idea — take them to one of several area businesses that offer mouth-watering homemade ice cream.

It wouldn’t be summer without a visit to Tulmeadow Farm in West Simsbury. On a recent summer evening, there was a steady stream of customers at the ice cream place on Farms Village Road. Young and old alike waited in a quick-moving line for Tulmeadow’s delicious farm-made ice cream, milkshakes and sundaes.

“It’s our favorite ice cream,” said Anne Batterson of Canton, who enjoyed watching her and husband David Owen’s two grandchildren devour their ice cream. Their grandchildren were visiting from Peak’s Island, Maine, and come often to Tulmeadow on summer nights. Maisy Davis, 10, selected vanilla with hot fudge, and Calder Davis, 8, had cookies and cream with M&Ms.

Maureen Bridgman of West Hartford, who stopped by with relatives from Philadelphia, said she is at Tulmeadow “at least a few times each summer.” Her gang mostly chose Tulmeadow’s popular red raspberry ice cream with chocolate chips, although Bridgman elected for the flavor in a frozen yogurt instead of the creamy version.

There aren’t many places to sit down and eat at Tulmeadow except atop a large wooden wagon or on a few bales of hay, but on a hot day, the ice cream melts quickly so you have to lick it fast.

Still not satisfied? Take home a pint or quart available at the Tulmeadow Farm Store.

At A.C. Petersen Farm Restaurant, 240 Park Road, West Hartford, there is an outdoor patio area in addition to the indoor restaurant, complete with counter-service. Petersen’s also does a brisk take-out business and sells pints and quarts as well.

Vanilla is the most popular favor, said owner Catherine Denton.

“People like the distinctive taste,” she explained, noting A.C. Petersen sells just as many sundaes as they do cones. Customers in the know order sundaes with the homemade hand-whipped heavy cream, a  trademark of the company, which opened their first ice cream parlor in West Hartford in 1939. Another signature product is their hot fudge, made with their own special fudge formula, added Denton.

There are more than 40 flavors of homemade ice cream, made with A.C. Petersen’s original and secret recipes, made with the “purest and finest ingredients,” Denton said.

Vanilla is also the most popular flavor at the Farmington Miniature Golf and Ice Cream Parlor on Route 4 in Farmington, according to Phil Guglielmo, who owns both businesses with his brother Pat.

Customers play a round of mini-golf and then enjoy the old-fashioned ambiance of the ice cream parlor, with its bar stools and outdoor covered porch with spindle railings.

The parlor offers 50 flavors of homemade ice cream which comes from Bliss Brothers Dairy Farm in Attleboro, MA. At times, the Guglielmos order toasted almond ice cream and root beer floats from Tulmeadow Farm. Specialty items such as ice cream sodas and banana splits with three scoops are part of the allure, along with the 1950s décor, said Phil Guglielmo.

In addition to hard ice cream, soft serve ice cream and frozen yogurt, they offer sugar-free and low-carb options.

Unique flavors

Those craving something a little different need to pay a visit to J. Foster Ice Cream, 4 Bailey Road in Avon and 894 Hopmeadow Road in Simsbury. J. Foster offers innovative flavors of homemade ice cream, sorbetto, sherbet, gelato and frozen yogurt made from local dairy products. A family-run business, J. Foster also offers custom cakes and pies and ice cream novelties.

According to their website, they “begin with the finest dairy products available, pure bourbon and Tahitian vanillas, imported cocoas, fresh roasted nuts and premium in-season fruit to create ice creams unequaled in quality and taste.”

J. Foster Ice Cream was just awarded a first place and second place award by the Connecticut Specialty Food Association for their dessert cookie and ice cream gelato. Watch their video, which introduces delicious treats such as homemade chocolate chip cookie sandwiches filled with ice cream and mini, bite-sized Oreo sliders. One of their top five sellers is cashew caramel ice cream. For the adventurous eater, try their Kahlua Heath crunch ice cream.

Tucked away in the pet and garden shop Petals and Paws in Canton is the Canton Creamery. Open year round since 2004, the creamery is known for its homemade microbatches of unique ice cream flavors, said store manager Sandy McCollough. The most popular flavor is their Tahitian coconut with dark chocolate chips, she said. Another popular flavor is pumpkin ice cream, made with fresh pumpkins from local farms. McCollough,who works for the family business owned by the Mathes family in Harwinton, also makes a pina colada ice cream with dark Jamaican rum and peanut butter ice cream with chocolate covered peanuts.

McCollough has just whipped up a new specialty flavor — dark chocolate ice cream with white chocolate-covered Oreos — and she’s holding a contest to help name this new concoction.

Is there a secret to making all this yummy ice cream? Simply put, it’s all about the amount of butter fat content. The higher the butter fat content, the creamier the product. The ice cream with the higher butter fat content is a better quality product and therefore, more expensive. In addition, the amount of air whipped into the ice cream is important. The less the amount of air, the “denser, richer in taste, creamier and full of flavor the ice cream,” according to the J. Foster website.

Here’s a tip when ordering ice cream in blistering temps: Order it in a cup, not a cone. Ice cream in a cone melts rapidly.

Places to go for homemade ice cream:

A.C. Petersen Farms Restaurant: 240 Park Road, West Hartford, 860-233-8483

Farmington Miniature Golf and Ice Cream Parlor: 1084 Farmington Ave. (Route 4), Farmington, 860-677-0118.

J. Foster Ice Cream: 4 Bailey Road, Avon, 860-676-2663; 894 Hopmeadow Road, Simsbury, 860-652-1499.

Tulmeadow Dairy Farm: 255 Farms Village Road, West Simsbury, 860-658-1430.

Canton Creamery: 465 Albany Turnpike (Route 44), Canton. 860-693-1557

Bloom Hill Farm: 696 Cottage Grove Road, Bloomfield. (860) 243-0511

Owners Kathy and Miro Palascak make the soft-serve ice cream, but the hard ice cream comes from Praline’s in Woodbridge.

UConn Dairy Bar: 3636 Horsebarn Hill Road Ext., Storrs, 860-486-2634.

It’s a drive, but it’s worth a visit to the UConn Dairy Bar in Storrs, where they offer a variety of fresh ice cream products made with milk produced by the cows at the university.