Acres of Ice Cream

This weekend was filled with low-key food and fun, from family meals to the banana bread oatmeal cake I concocted for a Mother’s Day treat. But that wasn’t all I enjoyed! On Saturday evening, my family took a (very short) road trip up to Newton, Conn. to pay a visit to Ferris Acres, a dairy and creamery owned and operated by the Ferris family. I’ve shared my ice cream obsession before, in my weekly WIAW posts, from the first trip to Emack and Bolio’s of the season to the sundaes I dish up at home, and in the way I eat ice cream even when it’s colder outside than it is inside the freezer! When I’m in Connecticut, my family are frequent patrons of a few local ice cream shops in our own town, including Deborah Ann’s and Ridgefield Ice Cream. My love of ice cream is definitely inherited, although we all prefer different flavors. So what better after-dinner drive for a family affair than to check out Ferris Acres Ice Cream?

 

 

The first sign that we were in for a treat was the line of cars we spotted about a quarter-mile down the road from Ferris Acres. There was a police car directing traffic in and out of the parking lot, which was larger than the ice cream shop itself. We couldn’t believe it when we saw the line that had already formed around 7:30pm. It was a good 15-20 minute wait to order, and another 5-10 minutes to pick up our ice cream! It was surprising because it was a relatively cool, foggy evening in early May. I can’t imagine the crowds on hot summer nights. We heard a few other people in line talking about waits that weren’t measured in minutes.

 

 

The wait does give you plenty of time to peruse the extensive flavor list. All the flavors are made with milk and cream fresh from the Holstein cows on the premises, and though a few rotate daily, there are more than two dozen staples always available. I’m allergic to tree nuts and wheat, of course, so that ruled out some of the crazy choices for me that had pretzels or cookies or almonds (I’m looking at you, Campfire and Parent Trap!) but there were still plenty to choose from.

 

The first half of the list…

…that just kept on going!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I typically enjoy vanilla, berry, or peanut butter bases with dark chocolate or peanut butter cups mixed in, so I settled on the Raspberry Swirl Chunk. It’s sweet cream ice cream with a raspberry swirl and chunks of extra-dark chocolate. With rainbow sprinkles on top, of course. It was a mouthwatering combination, the dark chocolate and raspberry flavors complementing one another on a base that taste like heavy whipped sweet cream – but in rich ice cream form. I polished off my hearty scoop in no time! You can definitely taste the freshness and rich creaminess in this ice cream. I think a daily sorbet choice was handwritten on a little board, but this is not the place to come if you have a dairy allergy or you’re looking for a low-fat option. Every bite smacked of scrumptiously smooth butterfat, in the best way possible. It’s definitely an occasional indulgence but those are what make life sweet! Next time I want to try Elvis’ Dream or Peach.

 

 

 

 

This was the perfect sweet treat to end my Saturday. What’s your favorite family-owned or other local creamery?

 

 

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