On my way to writing a completely different article, I got a chance to meet with Peter Arendsen, the owner of
Ice Cream Alchemy in Boulder.
My introduction to Ice Cream Alchemy came before that, when I tasted his
balsamic vinegar ice cream at a farm dinner at
Ollin Farms.
I fell in love with the ice cream, and when I was asked to write an article about local ice cream shops, I emailed him and asked if his ice cream was sold anywhere by the scoop. "I'll meet you," he said. "I'll bring some samples."
Well, okay, then.
Peter is an interesting guy. He had a lot of different ventures before he finally settled down in the ice cream business. Yes, settled down. He and his wife had a two-year-old child and she suggested that maybe it was time for him to find something he loved to do, and that he would stick with. "I wanted to make ice cream," he said, so he bought a local franchise that makes ice cream in its shops.
Pretty soon he started fiddling around with his own flavors, which he sold to local chefs. It didn't take long before he realized that creating special flavors was so much more fun than making company flavors based on the company recipes. So he left the franchise behind and launched his own business.
Flash forward to today, and he sells his ice cream through a distributor to restaurants in Colorado and New Mexico. He also sells directly to chefs who come to him with their ideas, or just give him the descriptions of the dishes they want an ice cream to pair with. Then he makes the magic.
Many local restaurants (including Jax, Salt, Colterra, Oskar Blues, The Med, Brasserie 1010, Empire, Pizzeria da Lupo, Dushanbe Teahouse, Zucca, The Pinyon, and the Laughing Goat) serve his ice cream for dessert, but when I first started looking, the only place I could find that sold scoops was The Old Chubway in Lyons. It's next to (and owned by) Oskar Blues, and when I went there, two of the ice creams contained Oskar Blues beer.
Beer ice cream was interesting, but the flavor that really surprised me was popcorn.
Yes, popcorn. On first taste, it was vanilla. Then butter crept in. Then the popcorn went "pow" and there it was. I was amazed, but that was before I met the man.
Peter told me, "People need to let down their inhibitions about how food should be ... how it could be."
He's not afraid to put anything in his ice cream. Anything.
Except that he prefers quality ingredients. "I'd rather make something that my kids can eat," he said. So there are no chemicals or preservatives added to the product. He explained that legally he could date his ice cream with a sell-by date two years in advance. Instead, he makes his ice cream over the weekend for customer pickup on Monday. "I want someone to eat an ice cream that was made two days ago."
All the ice creams are churned in a gelato machine which churns in less air for a thicker, denser product, and he makes sure the ice cream isn't over-sweetened, "so you can taste the flavors." The machines are capable of churning out 10 gallons in seven minutes, but in reality he's not making that much that fast. "It's not that efficient," Peter said. "There could be 30 flavors."
Although he creates a lot of custom ice creams and he works with a lot of different chefs with different ideas, he's pretty confident that he can produce what the chef wants - often on the first try. "Savory flavors are usually harder to make," he said. But that doesn't stop him. Yes, savory flavors. His site lists flavors like wasabi beef and sea urchin among some that are a little more ... normal.
With all of his ice creams, he strives to have the flavors come at you like that popcorn ice cream that started with vanilla and ended with popcorn. Like waves of flavor that start at the front of your mouth and finish at the back. It certainly makes the ice cream interesting. And a little surprising.
Did I mention that he gave me samples? Well, I sat down with the ice cream, spoons, and a notepad and jotted down my random thoughts as I tasted them.
Here we go:
Vanilla Bean: Pretty much what you'd expect. Light creamy flavor with lovely vanilla notes. Really good ice cream, but nothing that you'd call up your friends about and say, "Guess what I ate!?!"
Bourbon Butterscotch: A slight flavor of bourbon, but I could have used a little more. The butterscotch finish had that caramelized-almost-burned sugar flavor that you only get from real caramel. A nice ice cream, and nothing too scary.
Dark Chocolate Hazelnut: Okay, here's a familiar flavor, but the chocolate is darker and more pronounced, and it finishes with the hazelnuts. The deep chocolate and the hazelnuts have that hint of yummy bitterness that's probably best for the adult palate. I loved it.
Kool-Aid Sorbet: It tastes just like I remember Kool-Aid, but not as watered down as the version my mother used to serve. Peter said that this sorbet was mostly used in bars, to make mixed drinks. Interesting palate cleanser, though. It bought out the little kid in me. But I could also see the value in enhancing it with a bit of vodka.
Corn Flake: Okay, this one is weird, but in a really good way. It starts with the milky-creamy flavor, then the corn sneaks in. Just about the time your taste buds are thinking "Corn chips? masa?" the ice cream has melted away and you've got corn flakes which are miraculously not soggy and icky. In a perfect world, this would be breakfast. I'm fine with it being dessert, though.
Fig Newton: You know those cookies? Well, that's what the ice cream tastes like. Fig up front and then it finishes with the flavor of the cookie part. How does he do that? It's weird that you taste the flavors separately.
Alchemy, I tell you! Alchemy!
Sea Salt Caramel: Definitely salty, right from the beginning. Maybe a hint too much salt for me. The caramel flavor was nice, though. I think I'd prefer to serve this with something else. A scoop of it on its own might be a tad much. A dark chocolate drizzle would be nice, though.
Honey Lavender: The sweet flowery lavender came first, then the honey lingered after. I could see this being served with delicate white cakes.
Fava Bean Mint: Very "green" flavor from the fresh mint, followed by actual mint flavor. The fava beans didn't impart much flavor that I noticed, but they did affect the texture of the ice cream, and not in a way that I was very excited about. There was a slight grittiness and afterwards which is fine when you're eating refried beans, but a little odd in an ice cream. I picked a couple bits of fava bean skin from my teeth afterward. Not awful, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it.
Lemon Cream: Lemon, check. Cream, check. It reminded me of Dreamsicles, but with lemon instead of orange and with a much more gentle taste. The lemon wasn't super-tart or acidic, nor was the ice cream overly sweet. It was just a nice essence of lemon with a creamy base. This would pair nicely with the lavender honey ice cream right next to those delicate white cakes. It would also be great with sweet berries. Or, really, just by itself. Maybe with a side of limoncello.
Wild Berry Mint Sorbet: I'm not sure what berries there were in there, but they were jumping around, offering different flavors, and being chased by the mint. It was a complex sorbet, if there is such a thing. Like the Kool-Aid sorbet, I could see this one working in a drink. Some kind of berry mojito, maybe.
Lobster Caramel: Uh oh. Here we go. This is the one that was staring at me from the freezer every time I looked. "Eat me," it said, rattling its frosty lobster claws. Fearlessly, I dug in. The first flavor was salt and then in the middle there was caramel. I waited for the lobster to arrive, and erg ... not my favorite. I tasted it several times on different days, knowing what was coming. And still, it just ... ugh. For some reason, I had expected the sweet flavor of lobster meat, but instead this was more like the flavor of a lobster stock. Small distinction, maybe, but of all the flavors, this was the only one I truly disliked. My husband, on the other hand, said, "It's not as bad as I expected." He didn't, however, ask for more.
