For the past ten years we’ve lived 1 1/2 hours driving distance from the Ice Cream Capital of the World and we had never visited!
So last week we took a day and made a field trip out to LeMars, Iowa where the headquarters of Blue Bunny Ice Cream is located.
There is a small museum on Main Street in LeMars that explains how Blue Bunny got its start and name. It includes some great movies. One tells about the history of ice cream. Did you know that George Washington ran up a $200 ice cream bill one summer? Another one of the movies explains how ice cream goes from “Cow to Wow”. The science of it is so interesting.
A “show room” on a smaller scale gives an idea of what their actual production facilities use, and where your yummy treats find themselves prior to your grocer’s freezer.
Of course one of our favorite parts was the stop in the ice cream parlor when our tour was over!
Now I realize that most of you don’t live close enough to take a field trip to the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Museum, but if you ever find yourself in western Iowa, make sure to stop by. There are many things you can do at home before the summer ends though to celebrate this yummy treat.
* research its origins
* learn about the science used in making ice cream
* find out about different types and flavors served in other countries
or you can make some yourselves:
Recipe for Homemade Ice Cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups ice
4 tablespoons rock salt salt
2 quart size sealable bags
1 gallon size sealable freezer bag
Mix the milk, vanilla and sugar together in one of the smaller bags and seal. Place this bag inside the other quart size bag and seal. This will minimize the mess hopefully! Put the two bags inside the largest bag and fill the bag with ice then sprinkle salt on top and seal. Now you shake, shake shake! You should get some ice cream within 5 to 8 minutes. Each recipe should yield about a scoop of ice cream. Add cocoa powder for chocolate flavor, or try adding some other favorite mix ins and enjoy!
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
It looks like you guys had a really great time! I bet some people in my family would really love that.
Here in Texas we don't have as much Blue Bunny, we have Blue Bell, "the best ice cream in the country." Their museum and stuff is about 1.5 hours from here, I'm planning on taking my kids when they get a little older.
We have been to LeMars before, but I never realized you can see how the ice cream is made! We will have to visit again soon :) LeMars is 1 1/2 hours from where we live also haha!