August 06, 2009 Food & Drink » Food & Drink Feature

Where to find the best ice cream

Cold war: Gelato? Ice Cream? Sorbet? You can get brain freeze trying to find the best iced dessert. Let us do the hard work for you.

by Lizzy Hill

As days get colder and shorter, what better way to savour the last weeks of summer than by slamming copious amounts of ice cream down your throat? But even the simplest pleasures can lead to confusion in today's consumer culture---we have a slew of frozen treats to choose from and all are not created equal. Here are the cold facts:

Gelato

Many prefer gelato over ice cream---it's better-tasting and better for you. Unlike ice cream, gelato is made with milk, not cream. It also has a lower air content, yielding a denser, creamier-tasting treat.

As for gelato producers, Fox Hill Farm in the Annapolis Valley takes the cake (available at the Halifax Farmers' Market, $7.50 for 500 ml.). It's the freshest gelato you're going to get. The grass-to-gelato transformation occurs in less than 24 hours, as a pipe funnels fresh milk from the barn to the small factory. Renowned for its cheese, the Rand family started making gelato two years ago, with guidance from an Italian gelato master. Their intense liquorice gelato inspires speechlessness.

Those with adventurous palettes can find unusual tastes at Dio Mio. The subtly flavoured lavender gelato stands out, as does the chunky candied ginger ($2.75). Many of Dio Mio's ingredients are local---the lavender comes from Maitland's Riverview Herbs. (And they may be joining up with Propeller Brewery to make root beer gelato.)

If it is swanky presentation and atmosphere you're after, try Maurizio Bertossi's Gelato A Mano (available at Il Mercato on Spring Garden Road and Ristorante a Mano at Bishop's Landing). Bertossi improves upon many conventional ice cream flavours. His velvety rum raisin tastes decadently buttery and melts in your mouth ($3).

Ice Cream

Ice cream bashing aside, gorging on the stuff is a sinful pleasure not worth giving up. It's also a sensible choice when you need something firmer than gelato to eat between two cookies. Dee Dee's, whose products are all free of preservatives and artificial flavours, makes the best ice cream in Halifax, hands down, and takes ice cream sandwiches to the next level of heaven. The mint-brownie sandwich consists of a perfectly gooey brownie flanking a refreshing mint ice cream centre ($3.50). You can find Dee Dee's products in Peggys Cove and at locations across Halifax, including Local Source, Home Grown Organic and the Farmers' Market. [Editor's note: see correction below.]

Sushi restaurants are a great place to find exotic flavours, such as green tea, mango and black sesame (available "fried" for $6 at Hamachi Kita in the Hydrostone). On a budget? Head to Ko Doraku in Spring Garden Place for black sesame or green tea ice cream at half that price.

Forced to choose between the big guys, it's safe to say Scotsburn's ice cream tastes the least processed. It has resisted the national trend of moving toward an oil base and use recognizable ingredients like cream and butter. The company has also expanded its research team: A group of certified specialists develops new flavours in a Truro laboratory, including this summer's Dark Chocolate Shiver, which will wind up in our mouths after lots of rigamarole and presentations to various committees.

Sorbet

Sorbet is the only salvation for the growing numbers of poor souls allergic to milk (or those morally upstanding individuals who oppose it for ethical reasons).

While Pete's Frootique has some yummy gelato flavours, their sorbets wins the gold. With a glut of fruits to choose from in-store, staff often experiment with new flavours. The tangy raspberry sorbet ($3) provides instant gratification, giving taste-buds a swift kick. The downside is that the berries aren't local.

Dio Mio fills that niche, with mouth-watering flavours made from seasonal Scotian berries.

Correction, August 21: At present, Dee-dee's ice cream can be purchased at Local Source, the Farmer's Market, Mariposa (in Tantallon), Local Jo's Cafe, The Grainery and in Peggy's Cove. Homegrown Organic does not stock Dee-dee's.

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New Gelato & Sorbet operation is open in Humani-T Cafe on the corner of Young and Agricola. New flavours are added regularly and so far the response has been very very positive.

Some flavours are Tiramisu, Pineapple, Green Tea, Rooibos Chai, Grapefruit, banana ... and of course Strawberry, wildberry, Chocolate and Espresso. The Pistachio was particularly amazing being made with pure pistachio butter and the fruit sorbets are made with lots of fresh fruit.

The pomegranate Sorbet was made with unsweetened not-from-concentrate pomegranate juice and was a big favourite this past week.

Prices are 1.95 sm, 2.95 med and 4.95 for a 500ml take out container. You can mix flavours if you like.

Posted by SuperNat on December 26, 2009 at 12:35 PM | Report this comment

We sell DeeDees too, at The Kiwi Cafe in the lovely seaside village of Chester.

Posted by lyndakiwi on September 27, 2009 at 7:36 PM | Report this comment

We sell DeeDees ice cream too, try it at The Kiwi Cafe in the lovely village of Chester!!

Posted by lyndakiwi on September 27, 2009 at 7:36 PM | Report this comment

"Melt in your mouth" isn't that strong of a compliment in the frozen dairy world.

Posted by Devin on September 23, 2009 at 8:38 AM | Report this comment

I'm sorry, but this is a poorly written article. On top of that, several things "bugged" me:
- The article is called "Where to find the best ice cream" yet one choice is given, and it's implied that ice cream lovers are unethical with second rate taste buds.
- Gelato tastes better? Better than what? And says who - the author? And she implies milk is healthier for you than cream, yet somehow tastes, um, creamier. It's only creamier than less-expensive ice-creams that do have air whipped in them. BTW - I'm lactose-intolerant, love dairy so cheat all the time, and choose ice cream over gelato - the lactose is mainly in the water, not fat, part of the milk.
- Grass to gelato transformaton takes 24 hours? Do you mean the cow eats the grass and boom there's gelato a day later?
-DeeDee's has the best ice cream in Halifax? Again, says who, the author?
- "Forced to choose between the big guys?" What does this mean? You poor unethical slob, you don't make enough money for the pricer stuff?(...later she impliees the morally upstanding probably don't consume diary - again, why is this exactly?) But if you have no choice and must buy from a "big guy" Scotsburn is the best (they're a big guy?) but what does the crack about "going through committess" mean? Committees are usually made up of people, and I assume the small guys test their flavours on, you know, people as well, whether organized into "committees" or not, I can't say.
- The author mentioned that sorbet is good for those who are allergic to milk - this is true, except i think she is confusing being allergic to milk as being lactose intolerant - it's not the same thing. Lactose intolerance is not an allergy (the person lacks the lactase enzyme), and is much more prevalent than dairy allergies.

Maybe I woke up the wrong side of the bed today, but because normally a simple article about ice cream, sorbet, and gelato wouldn't annoy me so much.

Posted by yodastud on August 21, 2009 at 5:56 PM | Report this comment