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Published in The Nibble, 30 August 2005

The Nibble - Spotted Dog Creamery Superpremium Ice Cream

Hits the Spot!

There's nothing better on a summer day - or any day - than receiving a gift shipment of the best ice cream. Discovering wonderful new flavors one can't get locally makes it even better!

The custom of having premium ice cream delivered from boutique creameries nationwide is a growing one, thanks to dry ice, overnight shipping, and the clamoring of fine food enthusiasts who want to taste the best artisanal products in the country. There's no need to hop a plane to Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, or points south: "the best" ice cream will come to you.

It was thus that Spotted Dog Creamery trotted into our life from Salt Lake City, bringing a welcome treat of fresh, creative flavors - flavors everyone will enjoy, we hasten to add, in these days of the the cutting edge and the newsworthy.

Spotted Dog makes small-batch, super-premium (15% butterfat or higher*, 40% overrun†) ice creams and sorbets, using seasonal and local ingredients whenever possible. The products are all natural, except for flavors that have commercial mix-ins like Nilla® Wafers. A list of about 130 flavors is on the website; if the flavor of your desire is not currently in rotation, they will custom make it for you!

* A typical supermarket ice cream will have 10%-12% butterfat. The U.S. Dairy Export Council defines superpremium ice cream as 16%-18% butterfat and 20%-50% overrun. Butterfat and milkfat are synonymous.
† Overrun is the amount of air whipped into the ice cream during manufacture. Economy ice creams can have 100% overrun, which makes them airy or "fluffy" and means you get less actual ice cream product (but less calories too). The lower the percentage of overrun, the less air in the ice cream, the denser and creamier the product.

We tasted a dozen flavors. All were excellent, and three have thrown us into a tizzy because we don't know if we can live without them:

• Almond Joy: Vanilla ice cream with flakes of addictive semisweet Guittard chocolate, almond halves, and shreds of coconut. It's much more exciting than the candy of the same name, which was our childhood favorite.
• Blackberry Chip: A very berry ice cream with those fabulous chocolate flakes. A great marriage: why doesn't everyone make this flavor?
• Coffee Toffee: Coffee ice cream with big pieces of Heath® Bar. The candy is very crunchy, a nice counterpoint to the pliant ice cream.

Hopper, the "spotted dog" himself, with a scoop of Blackberry Chip. Hopper is a rescue dog (a Jack Russell mix), his "brother" is a rescue dog, and a portion of company profits go to animal rescue.

Another flavor that particularly delighted us was Cherry Chocolate Chip, a chocolate chip ice cream with tasty, red Montmorency cherry halves and more of those powerful chocolate flakes. The more we ate it, the more we felt it belonged in the top 3. Nilla® Pudding is the ice cream version of the classic comfort food - banana ice cream with large pieces of Nabisco® Nilla® Wafers. We wish this batch had more intense banana flavor, but it pleased other tasters immensely. Tiramisu lovers should try Spotted Dog's frozen version, espresso-flavored ice cream with a chocolate ripple and pieces of ladyfingers.

Chocolate chip lovers should add Bailey's Chip to the order - an interesting flavor lightly accented with Bailey's extract (pour a jigger of Bailey's Irish Cream over it before serving). For lovers of chocolate chip mint ice cream (and we are one), the Mint Oreo® Cookie was an elegant rendition - we would have consumed the pint on the spot were we not surrounded by so many other treasures. There's also Mint Chocolate Chip with more (yes) wonderful chocolate flakes. Although it did not stand out among the fancy flavors, tasted alone at a later time, Vanilla showed itself to be a champ: a beautifully crafted, smooth and elegant flavor that nobody should call "plain vanilla."

Coming your way: a shipment of delicious ice cream in creative flavors from Spotted Dog Creamery.

Spotted Dog Creamery was created by a high-end catering duo from the ski resort of Park City, Utah, seeking to develop a revenue stream during the slower summer season. You can taste the years of experience in the balance of the recipes: just rich enough without being too rich, an intensity of flavors that derives from the quality and amount of the key ingredients, and a beautifully smooth consistency and mouthfeel - even after being half-melted and refrozen during our tastings. With a scoop shop at the factory, retail and restaurant distribution throughout the area, and ad hoc scooping at farmers' markets and other outdoor locales, the people of Salt Lake City need journey no further for great ice cream.

You don't have to schedule a trip to Salt Lake City: Spotted Dog Creamery will come directly to your home. It's a fun and special gift idea that requires no more effort than logging on to the creamery's website and choosing your flavors. Send a 6-pack to thank someone for a great dinner party, to cheer a friend, to celebrate birthdays and other occasions. Let everyone else send flowers: your gift is the one that will be remembered.

If you like Spotted Dog ice cream as much as we do, tell your local specialty store to bring it in. Hopper (see photo above) might even make a personal appearance to thank you.

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