subject: Super-Premium Ice Cream: A Boon In Recessionary Times [print this page] Super-Premium Ice Cream: A Boon In Recessionary Times
Would you travel a distance to source delicious ice cream? How far? Quite a long way, it appears. In the current dreary and wearisome recession, demand for national and international brands has wavered whilst those at small, family-run, independent manufacturers is booming.Although the general industry in the UK, excluding the mega-manufacturers, has grown by a meagre 12.4% over the previous 10 years, the top fifty grew at greater than 15% last year alone. A small number grew by over 100% so what can we conclude from these figures? If you have got what it takes, even a recession will not blow you off course. It would appear very logical if hardship amongst its customers drove them to purchase cheaper ice cream or sorbets but curiously, this does not appear to be the case. Driven to despair, many consumers seek solace in the tastiest, delicious and downright wonderful handmade and homemade ice creams and sorbets produced by a number of artisan manufacturers. The more indulgent and homemade the ice cream appears, the greater the determination is to sample the latest recipes for this novel ice cream. The word 'luxury' on a tub of a nationally or internationally branded ice cream no longer has the draw of yesteryear, since these famous names have succumbed to the demands of supermarkets for BOGOF (buy one, get one free) deals, adding water and bulking agents to fill the gap left in their owners' bottom line. Real Cows, Real Milk. Real Fruit Too. Those with discerning palettes have noticed the lurch in quality and have gone in search of fresher pastures where cows' milk and cream are still used to make the real thing. Newly made sorbets utilising fresh fruits from the countryside nearby and offered in season, rather than all year round, are giving the consumer something to look forward to as the months go by. Scenting and devouring the supply from local farmers, these connoisseurs have spread the word and a thriving cottage industry is growing under the noses of the erstwhile brand leaders.From 'Darkly, Delicious Chocolate' to 'Scrummy Vanilla', new names for flavours hark back to the days when ice cream was made by granny in her kitchen - it was also wholesome and tasty. Curiously, it never made granny or mummy fat since it contained no processed foods. The ingredients were natural and the taste pure and fresh.Recipes such as 'Strawberry & Mascarpone' and 'Honeycomb' reek of sheer indulgence to make even those with the strongest willpower bend at the knees whilst mouth-watering images spring to mind. Older brand names that once offered a tub-full of 'hokey-cokey' or other doughy, dunked delights have lost their allure when the ingredient list screams artificial additives, wheat, water, powdered milk, fatty acids and bulking agents. Those with gluten intolerance never got to know the taste but they have been joined by so many others. Driven by despair over their current situation, the rising mortgage costs, the redundancy notice or the depressing weather, these appreciative souls tuck into a tub of liquid gold and are removed to heaven in the blink of an eye. How could anyone not drool at the thought of Blackberry and Apple ice cream made with real fruit, de-pipped and de-cored, the blackberries sourced from the fruits off a hedgerow?Local, Not Organic, CountsIt wasn't long ago that the buzz word was 'organic' but the recession has put paid to that. Many farmers who, rather painfully in financial terms, converted to organic, have returned to their roots as consumers refused to pay a premium for the food, just because it was organic. The desire for affordable traceability has eroded the inherent, perceived value of organic and the farmer down the road producing delicious, homemade ice cream by the churnful has driven a coach and horse through the field of organics. Even the supermarkets are hurriedly and clumsily scambling for local!One can be sure that there will be a number of losers, as many farmers are not cut out to be businessmen, but a fair few will survive and prosper and more likely, give up dairy farming to concentrate on producing ever more tubs of homemade ice cream, utilising the best of locally sourced fruits to enrich their scrumptious ice cream flavours. The price of milk and cream is crawling slowly higher but for many a hard-working dairy family, the writing is on the wall and the need to diversify completely will force difficult decisions all round. Cheer up! At least we are not cattle in an abattoir wondering what fate awaits us. Few of us possess the abilities of hindsight. So one deliciously, dreamy tub of Jack Daniels ice cream and the world has suddenly become a decidedly, more mellow place in which the manufacturer down the road, or farm track, makes the sort of quality, healthy ice creams and sorbets that most of us actively seek out in times of need; made without all those nasty chemicals or fluffed up with air and bloated with water.Pass the spoon, I'm diving in...
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