HerKentucky's Search for the Perfect Scoop: Crank & Boom (Guest Post from Jennifer of A Girl Eats World}

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Hey everyone!

I'm Jennifer, the mad-woman behind a girl eats world, who is bringing the world to your kitchen table one recipe at a time.  I love and adore this beautiful state of Kentucky and all she has to offer.  I use local ingredients especially in the summer when the farmer's markets are open!  Using those KY ingredients for international cuisines is pretty perfect in my world!

For National Ice Cream Month, I decided to check out a local ice creamery that popped up at the Farmer's Market over the last year or so.  Its name is Crank and Boom.  The owner, Toa Green, is the daughter of another famous Lexington restaurant couple (Taste of Thai which I have been eyeballing for a while to try out), and she grew up here in the beautiful Bluegrass state!

I try to be VERY picky about what I eat.  I rarely buy anything pre-made or pre-packaged from the store to avoid preservatives and other unnatural chemicals added to food.  That is a HUGE reason I was so drawn to this ice cream.  Crank and Boom makes their ice cream with simple ingredients--milk, cream, sugar, and other natural flavorings.  No preservatives!  You do pay for it in the price ($8 at farmer's market or $9.27 at Hamburg Liquor Barn), but I am a firm believer in quality over quantity (and supporting locals!).  I selected five flavors to test: chocolate fudge brownie, dark chocolate truffle, vanilla, coffee stout, and blackberry and buttermilk.  I also tried the bourbon honey and at the farmer's market (they didn't have pints for sale when I went to the store!).

Now on to what you are here for--the review!

{The hubby and I had a blast trying these out!}

Coffee Stout

--A spoonful of this is like taking a shot of espresso!  WOW!!!  I've had coffee flavored ice cream before, and this ice cream blew them out of the water.  If you love coffee, this is definitely one for you.  My mom also loved this the best, and she loves herself a great cup of coffee!

Dark Chocolate Truffle-

-Being a chocolate lover, I found this chocolate ice cream delicious!  It has a ribbon of chocolate throughout that is crunchy when you bite into it making it an extra little chocolate surprise. 

KY Blackberry and Buttermilk

--Although this sounds completely strange, it was fantastic!  This ice cream has sweetness from the blackberries but tang from the buttermilk.  It's light and refreshing which I prefer in my desserts! 

Bourbon and Honey

-- WOW!  This has a definite bourbon kick with none of the alcohol effects.  Crank and Boom use Buffalo Trace bourbon in this delicious ice cream!  It's got the hint of bourbon with the sweetness of honey, and I can't lie when I say I bought peaches just to grill them and have them with this ice cream (it was FABULOUS if you are wondering!)!!!

Vanilla Bean

--My philosophy is that if you can't get the basics right, then there is little hope for the rest of the line.  This vanilla was the perfect vanilla--light and refreshing with just a slight sweetness.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie-

-Its flavor is only slightly chocolatey compared with the dark chocolate truffle.  In its defense, it's made with milk chocolate not dark chocolate.  After further digging (more than the picture above) the brownie bits did make up for the lack in chocolate flavor.  The hubby said that maybe we got the last of a batch or something. 

The hubby and I ranked them according to our preferences, and the results are below:

Hubby

  1. Coffee Stout 
  2. Dark Chocolate Truffle 
  3. Bourbon and Honey 
  4.  KY Blackberry and Buttermilk 
  5. Vanilla Bean 
  6. Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Mine

  1. KY Blackberry and Buttermilk/Bourbon and Honey 
  2. The rest--what can I say?  I LOVE ICE CREAM!!!!!  Sometimes I'm in a dark chocolate mood and others a vanilla mood--as long as it's good ice cream, I don't care! 

Overall, I would highly recommend this ice cream company to my fellow Lexington dwellers!  For me, a few bites satisfied because the flavor is so intense and delicious.  I can't wait to try some of their other flavors like coconut and strawberry!  It'll be my ice cream of choice from now on!

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HerKentucky's Search for the Perfect Scoop: Graeter's

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July is National Ice Cream Month. Here at HerKentucky, we're taking the opportunity to share (and sample!) our favorite ice creams with y'all!



Of course, we couldn't go searching for the perfect scoop without a stop at Graeter's.

Graeter's on Breckinridge Lane in Louisville's St. Matthews Neighborhood


Graeter's is, of course, a Cincinnati-based company which dates back to 1870. Their first franchised store opened in Kentucky in 1984, and Kentuckians have been obsessed with the creamy, French Pot-style ice cream ever since. (Ashley Judd and George Clooney are well-known fans!)



It just isn't summer for me until Graeter's releases their limited-edition peach ice cream. It's just the most amazingly soft and creamy scoop you'll ever enjoy, and the peaches are always so fresh.  I also get pretty excited when Thanksgiving rolls around, and they release their incredible cinnamon pints. In fact, I've never had any Graeter's ice cream that was less than spectacular. I even once tried a pumpkin scoop, expecting it to be weird, and found that I  even loved it!

This import from across the Ohio River, with its creamy finish and ultra-fresh flavors, definitely lands a spot on my list of the perfect scoops.

What's your favorite summer scoop?
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