Jeni’s Ice Cream

I was going to do this tip on artisanal ice cream a month or so ago but it was during Lent and my husband had given up dessert. It seemed a bit cruel to order 4 pints of what looked like the most delicious ice cream during his Lenten “fast.” Oh and it was. Taste test winner was a tie — Askinosie Dark Milk Chocolate & The Buckeye State. You can find it at specialty food stores or you can order it online before Wednesday to have it by the weekend. But it’s worth the wait. Your summer party guests will be googling her on their iPhones the moment they take a bite.

Jeni uses fresh local ingredients combined with her experience working in a French patisserie to make her out of this world ice cream. The names of Jeni’s ice creams alone make me want to try each one. There’s Gravel Road, Queen City Cayenne, and even Bangkok Peanut. For all of our Cleveland readers, Jeni has a shop in Chagrin Falls so if you haven’t been — what’s wrong with you???  For everyone else, this is the link to her website. Below, I offer a review of each of the 4 flavors that I tried. I think this was one of my favorite Pixie Tips to write ever. Ice cream transcends personality.

First up was Askinosie Chocolate. When I ordered it, I was wondering what Askinosie meant. Was it some Midwestern misspelling of Ashkenazi and if so what on earth do Ashkenazi Jews have to do with delicious chocolate? After tasting it — heavenly creamy chocolate with bursts of darker bitter chocolate poking through — I was even more perplexed by the name Askinosie Chocolate. Turns out it’s a brand of chocolate: a small batch bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer located in Springfield, Missouri, who source 100% of their beans directly from farmers. This still didn’t solve the riddle of the name, but it turns out it’s the founder’s last name. The spelling was changed by his grandfather from Ashkenazi. So in fact it IS a Midwestern misspelling of Ashkenazi!

Next up was The Buckeye State. I ordered it purely out of fidelity to my home state. I’d no idea of the ingredient. It knocked my socks off — an ice cream version of a homemade Buckeye Ball. I make the homemade distinction because the storebought ones are extremely poor imitations of the real thing — the perfect balance of chocolate and creamy peanut butter that even a Reese’s can’t touch. But, this wasn’t some Ben & Jerry’s type deal, vanilla ice cream with buckeye ball chunks. No, sir. The ice cream was blended to such a blissful point where each bite WAS a Buckeye ball just with a different texture. I think I’m still high from it.

I then moved on to Salty Caramel, which was exactly what it was. I don’t mean to demean it in any way, shape or form because it was divine. I was expecting a caramel swirl but instead each bite was like eating salty caramel only lighter and fluffier and somehow better than the real deal.

My finale was a let down because I ordered one “funky” ice cream and saved it until last. It was the Goat Cheese with Cognac Fig ice cream. I picked it because I thought if it was edible then this woman is a genius. She is. I had at least two bites. I don’t even think this is available anymore. Perhaps because figs are no longer in season or perhaps because it was just so so.

But all in all, this is an amazing and perfect way to jump start your summer and yet another reason why Cleveland rocks!