By Admin, BuyLocalBG.com, BuyLocalBg@gmail.com/
Friday, January 25th, 2013 10:00 AM CST
We’ve been able to get to know many of the vendor businesses at the Winter Market. Meltdown {simply delectable iced cream} is one of those and Susan Warrell story on how she started her business is one we love. She’s been part of the Community Farmers Market since the beginning. Here is her wonderfully told story. “I became a vendor at the Community Farmers’ Market when it was first organized ~ I did photography at the Market, quick little mini portrait sessions, and custom photo jewelry. Last spring I came back to the Market with my photography, but there were some big changes by the summer” she said.
“At some point I made some homemade ice cream for my family, had some extra, so I brought it and shared it with my vendor friends at the Market. They loved it, so I decided to make another flavor for the next week. I started shopping the Market and buying local produce and products to use in my iced cream. The vendors continued to love it. One week, one of my vendor tasters suggested that I should sell my iced cream at the Market. So I brought a flavor the next week, along with my photography stuff. And people liked it! And bought it! So the next week I brought a couple of flavors. And again, a good response. Pretty soon I was selling out of iced cream, and not selling any photography stuff, so I went out on a limb and left my photography stuff at home. And it paid off.”
“The iced cream seemed to be a hit! I started bringing three flavors a week, and then sometimes four. I loved shopping the Market each week to see what goodies were in season that I could use to flavor my iced cream. I knew the products that I found at the Community Farmers’ Market were flavorful, and had been grown/raised/made with hard work and purpose. I loved supporting my fellow vendors and my community, by using their products in my creations. And by using products that I found locally, and in season, I was able to try out numerous flavors that would only last through that particular season. Blueberries, peaches, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, ground cherries, concord grapes, zucchini, pumpkins, bacon ~ they’ve all made their way into my iced cream and sorbets, maybe not at the same time, but they’ve all had their turn. And once the season is over for a particular fruit or veggie, that’s it until next season. Why would I purchase blueberries at the grocery store, grown from who knows where, that don’t have half the flavor of the ones from the Market? No thanks, I’ll just wait for the delicious ones to come back to the Market.”
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? I also found local milk and cream to use to make my iced cream. The local milk and cream create such a wonderfully rich and creamy base that really showcases whatever flavor I’m making. I truly believe that it’s the combination of all the local ingredients that make my artisan iced creams stand out from the store brands.”
Some questions Susan receives, A couple of questions that I am frequently asked:
What do you use to make your iced cream? and How did you come up with the name, Meltdown?
“I make my iced cream in very small batches, at the most, a gallon at a time. When I started out last summer, I was using an electric ice and rock salt ice cream maker. When I started picking up business, I purchased a second one to keep up. When I decided to jump in feet first, I purchased a commercial grade self coolant ice cream maker, and it’s so nice! When the iced cream is ready to be frozen, you simply pour it into the machine and flip the switch ~ an arm spins around inside, the machine gets cold, and you can fairly quickly see the iced cream start to freeze. I do dream of the day when I have a little larger machine to make a little more at a time, though.
When I realized that I was going to throw caution to the wind and pursue this iced cream {ad}venture, I decided my little {ad}venture needed a name. I didn’t want to put my name in the name. And I wanted to keep it simple. I thought about all kinds of technical ice cream terms, and it hit me ~Meltdown. The word meltdown is technical jargon for how the ice cream melts down. Seems pretty simple. But it does involve how fast/slow it melts, the consistency while melting, and how it looks after melting. The meltdown can give good insight to the science behind the ice cream. If the proteins, stabilizers, fats, air, water, freezing times are balanced just right, you have the perfect meltdown, not to mention a pretty good product. So I felt that Meltdown was a fitting name. Plus, when I have a meltdown, I usually want ice cream.”
GOOD NEWS THIS WEEK IF YOU COME TO MARKET SATURDAY:
“I’m starting my flavors for this week’s Market tonight. I plan on bringing a couple of recent crowd favorites: Fro Ho Co {frozen hot cocoa iced cream, with homemade marshmallows}, and Banana Fanna Faux Foster {bananas foster iced cream, I call it “faux” foster because I don’t light it on fire like a real bananas foster}. I’m also trying out a new flavor that uses blood oranges, and if it turns our well, I’ll have that at the Market, as well.”
Her last statement, well, it’s how we feel about Bowling Green and why we do this website:
“I’ve really been blessed by being a part of the Community Farmers’ Market. I look forward to every Market, and miss it terribly on the few weeks when I might have to miss. I’ve enjoyed getting to know my community through the Market ~ it really is more than just food, it’s the people, too ~ the vendors and the loyal shoppers, the interactions and support of all involved. I’m not from Bowling Green. I’m from a larger city. The larger city didn’t feel like home because it was so, well, big. But Bowling Green didn’t feel like home, either because I felt like a “transplant”. But through the Market, through meeting my community, becoming friends, and forming a community bond, I now feel like I’m home.”
Check out Community Farmers Market facebook page. We look forward to working with ‘Community Farmers’ Market’ A great place to make your food that much better. Plus check out Meltdown {simply delectable iced cream} facebook page.
