Because spring is here, which means summer will come soon, which means ICE CREAM. 
Back when G and I were visiting Traverse City with our friends D and S with their two little lovelies M and L, I was frantically trying to find interesting, not boring yet kid friendly activities to do. One of them was blueberry picking, which was amazing, the other one was taking a boat ride which was canceled due to the weather and the last one was an ice cream tour. I have to say the last one was also for myself, since I’m a huge fan of anything ice cream; ice cream sandwiches, just plain ice cream, gelato etc.
독일에서는 차로 여행할 일이 별로 없어서 잘 못 느꼈지만 미국은 기본이 5시간이니 아무렇지도 않게 여행을 자주 가곤 했다. 그 중 하나 미시간 북쪽의 Traverse City라는 도시. 전에 체리농장에도 다녀오고 체리축제도 열렸던 곳인데 두번째 방문때는 동료이자 친구인 D와 그의 가족들과 함께여서 그래도 나름 여행기자라는 나는 5살 이하 어린이 둘을 만족시키기 위한 활동들을 찾느라… 하나는 블루베리 농장 체험, 또 하나는 (날씨 때문에 취소되었지만) 요트 체험, 그리고 마지막으로 아이스크림 농장 투어. 마지막은 아이들이 없었어도 내가 발벗고 나서서 갔을듯.
The MOOmers homemade ice cream was first developed by elementary school teacher Nancy Plummer, who was living on a dairy farm with her family. The business started in April 1998 and they have been making their famous ice cream ever since. They make over 160 flavors but over 20 are available daily. And even 20 is more than enough because it takes a while to choose which one you want to have. It’s been recognized, well, everywhere, including Food & Wine, Men’s Journal (?) and numerous blogs and online magazines.
MOOmers homemade ice cream은 낸시 플러머라는 초등학교 교사가 시작한 아이스크림 가게로 우유도 직접 만들고 모든 아이스크림도 여기서 직접 만들어진다. 1998년에 시작해서 지금까지도 사랑받고 있는데 160여가지의 맛을 만들고는 있지만 매일 이 본점에서는 20여가지를 선보이고 있다. 원하는 맛이 있는 경우에 전화를 하면 만들어놓고 기다려주기도 한다고. 160개중에 20가지만 팔기는 하지만 이 20가지 중에서 한두가지를 고르는 것도 고역.
And they have a tour! They offer two types of tours on different days: an ice cream store tour on Thursdays and Saturdays at 1 p.m., which includes a building tour and making and tasting ice cream and a dairy farm tour on Wednesdays (7 p.m.) and Sundays (2 p.m.) which includes a wagon ride to the farm, creamery tour and a short class about farming and milk education. You also get to taste a bit of milk. For schedule reasons, we took the creamery tour and it was fantastic.
투어는 총 두가지인데 하나는 아이스크림 가게 투어 또하나는 우유 농장 투어. 열리는 시간과 요일이 달라서 우리는 우유 농장 투어를 했는데 대만족. 트랙터에 연결한 웨건을 타고 뒷산과 연결된 농장으로 고고, 우유를 제공하는 젓소들을 만나고 농장과 우유에 대해 짧은 교육을 받은 후 다시 아이스크림 가게로. 5살 이하였던 두 어린이들에게는 좀 어려운 내용이었지만 나름 흥미로웠던 투어.
So the tour starts with the farmer and owner Mr. Plummer driving the tractor/wagon to the front of the shop where the travelers are waiting. A short introduction about himself and the business, and off we go to the farm and creamery. It’s a short ride, maybe 10 minutes and he explains the history of the farm, which was fascinating. A small idea, hard work, passionate owner and workers brought what we enjoy today, and it was obvious he was very proud of his work.
Where the cows are milked and below, where the milk is stored and pasteurized.
We were lucky because one of the cows gave birth to a calf, and he was waiting right in front of the farm for us, curious and hungry. The kids got to feed the little one and it was quite a struggle. The calf was so strong and hungry, he almost knocked the kids down. A lot of laughs and photos from parents.
며칠전에 아기 젓소가 태어났는데 마침 우릴 반기고 있었다. 어린이들이 하나둘씩 모여서 우유를 줬는데 역시나 부모들은 너나할것 없이 카메라를 꺼내서 사진을 찍기 시작. 애가 소에 밀쳐서 넘어졌는데도 좋다고 사진을 찍음. 나도 저렇게 되겠…지.
And back to the ice cream shop. Now that we knew how the milk was produced, it was time to taste the final product. My recommendation would be go for the basic, a cone or a cup, but careful with the sizes, because they’re pretty generous and when I say generous, I mean huge. I almost couldn’t finish the regular and even the kid’s size seemed right for me. Good luck choosing what you want to have, not only the flavor but the type. A float? A flurry? A shake? Sundae? I don’t think I talked about the taste of the ice cream, but it’s really one of the best I’ve tried. I’m personally not a fan of Ben & Jerry’s, I think theirs are too sweet, chunky, some flavors even grainy and not that smooth as I would like. I tend to stick to Haagen Dazs. But the MOOmers ice creams were perfect, every time, every flavor.
(After a bit of nosing around on the internet, I found an article/survey on thekitchn.com about the best brands of vanilla ice cream in the U.S. and it was intriguing. It was only six brands and mostly sold in grocery stores on the U.S., but Haagen Dazs made number three and the best was… Ben & Jerry’s. I’m still sticking to Haagen Dazs, though. What’s your favorite brand?)
다시 아이스크림 가게로 돌아와서 드디어 시식 타임. 전에 몇번 먹어본적이 있어서 어떤 맛인줄은 알고 있었지만 그래도 20여가지의 맛 중 하나 고르기란 여간 힘든 일이 아님. 맛도 맛이지만 사이즈도 다 다르고 (역시나 미국답게 중간 사이즈도 엄청 커서 다 못먹었다는…난 개인적으로 어린이 사이즈정도면 되겠…) 아이스크림 종류도 많아서 최종 선택을 하는데 시간이 좀 걸린다는 점. 일단 정하고 나면 천국. 신선하고 매끈하고 뭔가 더 깊은 (?) 맛.
미국뿐 아니라 여기 독일에서도 Ben & Jerry가 꽤 인기가 많은데 난 개인적으로 하겐다즈가 제일 안전하고 맛있다는 생각. B&J는 미국 브랜드라 그런지 단 맛은 너무 달고 매끈한 느낌보다는 약간 거친 느낌. 가장 기본은 역시 하겐다즈. (참고로 하겐다즈는 이름과는 다르게 미국 브랜드)
I took blueberry since we were in the area of blueberry farms and it was amazing. G went with a classic, salted caramel on a waffle cone.
And M got the one with the sprinkles and a little umbrella. If you’re in the area, like ice cream, with kids and just need a kid-friendly activity without having to do too much, I would really recommend the tour. And even if you don’t have kids, I would totally do it just for the ice cream.
어린 아이들이 없어도 그냥 경험삼아 투어를 해보는 것도 좋은 아이디어. 너무 길지도 않고 지루하지도 않고 트랙터를 타고 산속을 들어갔다 나오는 느낌. 아이스크림만 먹고 오는 것보다는 훨씬 재밌는 경험.
- MOOmers Homemade Ice Cream
- Check here to see where you can find them.
What’s your favorite ice cream brand? Any famous ones from where you live? In Korea, I like taking the green tea ice creams from O’sullok, sometimes Baskin Robbins, and then there was a craze for soft ice creams with special toppings like an entire honeycomb, cotton candy etc.
All photos by rachelsanghee. August, 2015.