We're in the midst of a frozen treat wave.
As Portland'sSalt & Straw continues its campaign of unusual flavors across the United States, elaborate candy-studded milkshakes,Thai-rolled ice cream tubesand black-charcoal soft-servewash over Instagram feeds.
We want ice cream: We want a melange of flavors, full of interesting ingredientsand maybe a dash of edible glitter.
As more home chefs fall for the atrocious Cool Whip + condensed milk "DIY" ice creams,the value of a truly exceptional scoop stands out.And when it comes to good ice cream, Oregon's best always reigns in the summer. In January, any old pint of chocolate will do, but on July 1, our internal ice cream connoisseurs wakefrom hibernation demandingrich, indelible,melty, silky ice cream, best found from those making it from scratch.
Ice cream in Oregon and Salem
Oregon's love of ice cream is well-documented: We produceover one million gallons of ice cream every month, according to United States Department of Agriculture data. Several Oregon ice creams are available nationwide, including Tillamook,Alden's (Eugene), Julie's (Eugene)and So Delicious Dairy-Free (Eugene).Marion County has more dairy farms than most Oregon counties, second only to Tillamook.That puts Salem in the heart of Dairyland.
New culinary blood continues to redefineour restaurant scene.This year alone, Salem welcomed several new ice cream shops: its first liquid nitrogen ice cream shop, custom ice cream sandwich truck On Any Sundae, a gelato stand at the Salem Saturday Market and a small-batch creamery. That creamery,Dolce Mama's,is currently tucked in the Reed Opera House's tiny first-floor storefront and will soon move to a larger space on State Street.also opened this year blending beer and bacon-laden milkshakes. Napoleon's,the shuttered Reed Opera House French-Italian cafe,reopens Friday, July 21, serving handmade gelato in the French Unicorn. All the while, ACME Cafe continues to sell housemade flavors through itsice cream club, as they have since the restaurant opened.
Here in Salem, we're churning out our ice cream identity, discovering what makes Salem-made ice cream its own. And as ice cream shops continue to grow in Salem, we're starting to see what makes Salem's ice cream unique.
Dolce Mama's small-batch ice cream opens in the Reed Opera House
It's about family and choices
Salem has always been a family-centric town. Its ice cream shops are designed for the kids, from On Any Sundae to the oohs-and-aahs of Tysonberry's Chilliscious Ice Cream on South Commercial.Tysonberry's owner Tyson Mayberry pours liquid nitrogen over ice cream you design yourself, with whatever toppings or flavors you may like. He'll stir while kids squeal, pointing to syrups they want to add or the candy bars they want mixed in.
"Kids love it," Mayberry said in a previous story. "They love to pick their own flavors; they go nuts when we pour over the liquid nitrogen."
Choice alsois key to Salem families, from flavors of ice cream to dietary considerations. Tysonberry's low-calorie base pleases the health conscious, while Dolce Mama's consistent dairy-free options remain on the menu.
Shop uses liquid nitrogen to make made-to-order ice cream in seconds
It's seriously fresh
Jenna LoSciuto-Olivas,owner of Dolce Mama's in the Reed Opera House, makes her ice cream week to week. With a small, two-gallon machine, she mixes ice cream fresh to replace her rapidly diminishing supply. But she's not interested in going large-scale. If her production stays small, she can stay fresh.
"That fresh, local mindfulness is key,"LoSciuto-Olivassaid. She uses a local producer for her base, which she mixes with local fruit and ingredients.
Dolce Mama's defines "small-batch" as twogallons at a time, which is the same batch size as ACME Cafe's ice cream flavors. ACMEmakes ice cream fresh each week that can be preordered or purchased at the store, with permanent flavors and a variety of rotating flavors.
Dolce Mama's aims to put handmade ice cream on the map
Napoleon's batches are even smaller. Napoleon's gelato maker Linda Aiello-Shaw makes gelato daily in-house, mixing milk and sugar in five-litrebatches.
"I'll make more gelato fresh as we need it," Aiello-Shaw said.
Even then, it's hard to beat the freshness of ice cream that's seconds old. Mayberryat Tysonberry’s Chilliscious Ice Creammakes liquid nitrogen ice cream on South Commercial, pouring the billowing gaseous substance onto his mix after you order. The liquid nitrogen almost instantly freezes the mixture, which makes the ice cream smoother and creamier than longer-freezing ice creams.
“The good thing about liquid nitrogen ice cream is that you know it’s fresh,” said Sea Star Gelato's Tracy Nye.“It’s always going to taste good because it was made a few seconds ago.”
It's inspired by farmers
During summer, Salem fields are open to the hordes of bucket-toting agritourists. Kids with strawberry-stained mouths clamor over play structures while parents weigh buckets and leisurely shop for produce and jams. At almost all of these local stands, teenage cashiers and farm-family members serve hundreds of the must-order summer dessert: the farmstand shake.
Farmstand shakes require two main ingredients: vanilla ice cream and local berries, usually picked on-site and frozen to last all summer. Some farms mix things up: Aspinwall's Producealways serves one flavor of housemade soft-serve often usinglocal berries, Fordyce Farmwhips uphomemade ice cream flavors like coffee and mint chocolate candy, Minto Island Growers freezes Oregon strawberry paletas (a Mexican Popsicle). But that good frozen berry shake is the must-have treat of Marion county.
The secret is the local fruit: Berries picked at the peak of the season, sweet but still spicy and tart in true Oregon fashion.
That secret ingredient is a favorite for Salem ice cream shops, as well.
LoSciuto-Olivaspicks up berries from the farmers market or Minto Island Growers for granita-style sorbets and ice creams, including her oh-so-dreamy Minto blueberry cheesecake (a summer favorite among her regulars).
"In the summer, the fruit really sings," LoSciuto-Olivas said. "You don't have to do much to it."
LoSciuto-Olivasis known for her dairy-free flavors, which consist of little more than fruit and ice. Her watermelon sorbet, for instance, tastes closer to agua fresca than any typical artificial-watermelon sorbet, and after last summer's rave reviews, she knew she had to bring the flavor back.
"I want my ice cream to support my community farmers," LoSciuto-Olivassaid.
Aiello-Shawuses some imported Italian mix-ins, but shesources key ingredients from Oregon farms. Aiello-Shawdrives out to West Salem to Sundance Lavender Farmsfor fresh lavender, which she pairs with Wooden Shoe honey for her lavender-honey gelato. But in the summers, Napoleon's knows to seek out the season's bounty.
"Well, we use local berries, that's a given," said Ann Johnson,owner of Napoleon's.
Aiello-Shaw agrees. "It's the season for it!"
More:Napoleon's reopens after years of hiccups
It's made with love
Jeff James,the chef behind ACME Cafe and the since-closed j.james,loves ice cream, but maybe not as much as his wife, Cecilia Ritter James.The two run ACME together, an Americana diner known for its hefty breakfasts and housemade pastries.
ACME offers a variety of rotating and permanent ice cream flavorsavailable for walk-in guests or preorder.
ACME Cafe'slongstanding ice cream flavors —a horchata-esque cinnamon, a hauntingly dark and luxurious coffee, and theclassic vanilla bean — are remnants from a period early in the James' courtship, when Ritter James and her not-yet husband were friendly restaurant rivals.
ACME special: Home-cooked American classics
After a few years of working at their respective restaurants (j.jamesand Wild Pear), Ritter tried j.james' ice creamduring a family meal. She proceeded to order every ice cream on the menu, quickly falling in love with her not-yet-husband's ice cream. Years later, on a Friday night, Ritter decided to take the evening off for ice cream and a movie at home.
"I was driving to Blockbuster in West Salem ... but I realized, I wantthe bestice cream to eat while I watch a movie," she recalled. "So I drove to j.james."
Ritter arrived just as James was closing, but he agreed to deliver some ice cream to her house. Within a few weeks, the two were dating.
Now, at ACME,Ritter James always can get her favorite ice cream: a scoop of cinnamon (or a new favorite and permanent flavor, grapefruit champagne sorbetto) in a tall glass. Some flavors rotate, but her flavors will always remain on the menu.
Email Brooke Jackson-Glidden brookejg@statesmanjournal.com or call503-428-3528. Follow her on Twitter@jacksonglidden, or like her Facebook pagewww.facebook.com/BrookeJackson-Glidden.
Build custom ice cream sandwich at this food truck
Salem's best ice cream
Best new ice cream: Dolce Mama's: Dolce Mama'shas blown up into a Salem phenomenon, growing from a cart to a brick and mortar. It's rare to find itwithout a small line, serving scoops of dairy-free sorbets and chocolate "bambino cups." Must-try scoop:Minto Blueberry Cheesecake
Best ice cream, overall: ACME Cafe:We love the velvet-soft custard base of ACME'sice cream, which coats the mouth with lingering flavors that go beyond traditional Oregon ice cream. A single scoop can evoke New England frozen custards, chilled baked goods in New York delis and scoops of sorbet on the French coast. Must-try scoop:Grapefruit Champagne Sorbetto.
Best gelato: Sea Star Gelato (Salem Saturday Market):What a welcome addition to the Salem Saturday Market.Nye's breadth of gelato knowledge, from the benefits of using cocoa powder in chocolate ice cream to the impact of mix-ins on overall texture, is enough to wow even the most serious cone-isseur (too much?). The best part: Flavors range from the high-end to the just plain tasty, fromSaltworks Caramel to Confetti Cake.Must-try scoop:Chocolate Peanut Butter
New gelato vendor at Saturday Market shares his secrets
If you go
ACME Cafe: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sundays. 110 Hansen Ave. S,503-798-4736
Dolce Mama's: Noon to 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, noon to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. In the basem*nt of the Reed Opera House,189 Liberty St. NE,971-599-3398
Napoleon's: Tuesdays-Sundays (hours vary). In The French Unicorn,170 Liberty St. NE, 503-581-3774
On Any Sundae: Check onanysundae.com for location and hours or call 503-588-6605
Tysonberry's Chilliscious Ice Cream:Noon to 9 p.m. Sundays-Wednesdays, noon to 10 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays.3820 Commercial St. SE,503-990-8316
Sea Star Gelato:At the Salem Saturday Market,865 Marion St. NE.Seaside shop hours: Noon to 9 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, noon to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.8 N Columbia St., Seaside.
