People are crazy about pumpkin. From lattes and candies to cookies and even breakfast cereals, the list of “pumpkin spice” offerings grows longer and longer every year.
But not every pumpkin product is created equal. In fact, some aren’t created using real pumpkins at all, which leads us to a very simple question:
Which would you rather enjoy: real pumpkin or pumpkin flavoring?
If you’re like us, you want to serve your family real pumpkin and not a chemical concoction. That’s why we take such great care in making our Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream, a limited-time flavor, available at your favorite grocery store through December.
We use real pumpkin in this ice cream as part of our larger to commitment to producing only the freshest, most delicious treats made from the highest quality ingredients — a promise we make to you.
As the adage goes, the proof is in the pudding, er, ice cream. Here’s a quick look at how we make our special Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream.
First: Down on the Farm
Picture it: A Midwestern farm, just after dawn. The sun stretches its rays across the landscape, while farmers begin a long-anticipated walk through an acre-sized patch of green on the hunt for vine-ripened pumpkins to harvest.
Sound picturesque? It is. But it’s far from fiction. The farmers we work with let their pumpkins ripen on the vine until they reach USDA grade A status. In other words: the pumpkins we use in our ice cream are “it” pumpkins. After all, at Pierre’s, only the finest will do.
Second: Spicing Things Up
Farm-fresh pumpkins? Check. But how do they become ice cream?
The goal is to harvest the pumpkins when they are at the peak of freshness and sweetness, and then clean, cut and cook the fruit into a luscious puree. It’s during this process that a special blend of baking spices is added to create a rich flavor similar to a scratch-made pumpkin pie filling.
The prepared puree is later mixed with fresh Midwestern cream to form the ice cream base. This happens in our state-of-the-art factory using technology that duplicates a home-churning process on a much larger scale. The finished ice cream travels nearly half of a mile through our flash freeze tunnel at -30 degrees F (-34.4 C). Temperature plays an important role in sealing in freshness and contributing to a creamy taste. So the faster we freeze ice cream, the smoother the texture.
Next: Pie on the Highway
Ice cream is best when it maintains a constant, ideal temperature of -20 degrees F. But how does it go from Pierre’s HQ to the grocery store and keep its quality?
We’ve thought of everything. To protect the delicious taste and creamy texture of the ice cream, our distribution trucks maintain a sub-zero environment to ensure products are kept at the coldest possible temperatures from the day we make them until the day they are delivered.
Finally: In Your Freezer
Okay, okay. If you want to get technical, your freezer isn’t the final destination for Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream. But rather, it’s when you scoop it into your favorite serving dishes or when you serve it on the sundae bar at a family gathering. And, for many, it’s the spoonful you sneak from the carton as a quick fix for your pumpkin spice craving.
Of course, Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream is delicious on its own, but it’s also a key ingredient in some delicious, easy to make desserts. Check out these quick and tasty recipes:
The story of Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream does indeed begin on the farm and end in your home. It’s really just “all in a day’s work” for us. For you and your family, however, this ice cream is a great way to enjoy the flavors of fall — naturally.
