Is Ice Cream Gaining Ground with Southern Sweet Tooths?

by Hanna Raskin, Posted Jul 2nd 2009 @ 3:00PM

A simplistic approach to ice cream. Photo: Sir Mildred Pierce

It's National Ice Cream month, and who -- the lactose-intolerant aside -- doesn't like ice cream?

Well, Southerners. America's favorite dessert is still a third-tier treat below the Mason-Dixon line, where cakes and puddings have a firm hold on the region's collective sweet tooth. Even in the most sweltering of Southern summers, New Englanders out-gorge their Southern neighbors. (Heck, New Englanders hang onto their ice cream eating edge straight through the winter, when their freezers are sometimes warmer than the air outside.)

Nobody's quite sure why Southerners never took to ice cream, although North Carolina food writer Sheri Castle confirms the phenomenon: "It's just not a big thing," she says. She suspects the relative paucity of milk cows might have contributed to ice cream's historical absence from the local food scene.

But a few serious ice cream makers are bent on tweaking the Southern tradition. Shops such as Ultimate Ice Cream in Asheville, N.C., and Morelli's in Atlanta are now providing a gentle -- and delicious -- introduction to the genre.

Ice cream eaters in the South have long subsisted on cartons of Blue Bell and Mayfield ice creams (although chains such as Cold Stone, which offer customers the chance to blend other sweet things into airy ice creams, have lately been making inroads.)

The region's transition to a boutique ice cream culture was exemplified by the opening of Morelli's last year. "There was a Bruster's here that went out of business, so I was like, 'you know, I always wanted to open up an ice cream shop,'" owner Donald Sargent recalls.

Sargent and his wife Clarissa Morelli endeared themselves to Atlantans by Dixifying their ice creams, rolling out flavors like jalapeño cornbread and sweet potato pie. But with plenty of Southern chefs already spiking their hand-churned ice creams with Cheerwine and bacon, ingredients alone weren't enough to redefine Southern ice cream. Morelli's had to up the ante.

"Basically, we make super premium ice cream here," Sargent says. "It's no holds barred, fat as possible."

Morelli's has already been recognized by -- surprise, surprise -- a bunch of folks elsewhere, including Bon Appetit, which named the shop as one of the nation's 10 best.

"It's funny, I don't know anyone in the South that's really famous for ice cream," Sargent says.

Sargent could change that. If other Southerners start to follow his lead, it could make for a very cool summer.

Filed Under: Ingredients
Tags: dairy, dessert, hanna raskin, HannaRaskin, ice cream, IceCream, morellis, southern states, summer

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-02-2009 @3:24PM Esther said... Unless Texas doesn't count as the South any more, I'm very surprised that Amy's Ice Cream didn't even get a mention. It's a local chain that's been churning out delicious, high-quality ice cream across the state for 25 years now. I moved to New England three years ago, and I'd still trade any of the famous stores here for a visit to Amy's. (Not to mention The Chocolate Bar in Houston, whose superb chocolate-themed ice creams were deservedly featured in Gourmet magazine.)
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7-02-2009 @3:24PM Mary said... What about Blue Bell ice cream in Texas? My grandmother (from MA) requests a half-gallon of Homemade Vanilla every time she visits.
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7-02-2009 @3:27PM Sarah-Jane said... As a Southerner and Texan I can tell you that we LOVE ice cream. We often make batches of homemade peach and blackberry ice creams around the fruit's harvesting time or simply enjoy a scoop of vanilla on cobbler or pie (some of Texas' top desserts).

Also, as the home state of Bluebell I can tell you that we are not merely subsisting. Bluebell has some great ice cream! I've visited their plant and sampled far too many of their ice creams... And I would stack them up against our northern neighbor's products. It's also great for the milk industry in Texas since all the milk that makes Bluebell is Texas milk contracted through small co-ops within 200 miles of the Brenham factory.

Now it's not hand-mixed boutique ice cream, but it is good for everyday enjoyment and special occasions alike. The flavor of Bluebell Homemade Vanilla brings back fond memories of birthdays and barbeques for me. It is a part of our Southern heritage I am proud of!
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7-02-2009 @3:30PM Matt_M said... I was going to chide the article writer for neglecting Amy's... then Blue Bell... then the DIY crowd. But I was beaten to the punch on all counts. Thank you, fellow Texans!

And to the rest of the South: get with the program!
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7-02-2009 @3:51PM christopher said... its true you don't see much ice cream around the triangle. Locopops is all the rage tho. They even make beef flavored pet pops. There are quite a few gelaterias in Durham too. Not that classic american ice cream shop but I think they still count.
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7-17-2009 @9:37PM BigD said... Lots of people grew up making homemade ice cream in Texas, most of us with fond childhood memories sitting on the ice cream maker as someone cranked the handle for what seemed like hours. But let's be fair. I too grew up with Blue Bell ice cream, and honestly, it's overrated (I can't say I'm surprised, modesty is not much of a Texas virtue). Calling Blue Bell a superior product is akin to calling Texas wine superior - somewhat of a joke to anyone who's tasted the good stuff.
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