Michigan State University’s AgBioResearch Quarterly just published an informative and pretty exciting article about Pawpaws in Michigan. We’re thrilled to be mentioned alongside farmer Mark Boone, who supplies us with delicious Pawpaws this time of year, which we in turn pulp and turn into our signature Pawpaw gelato.

Judging from the research in the article, it looks like there could be some really big things happening really soon for our favorite Michigan tropical fruit!

The flavors of these happy accidents are usually super unique and tasty, but they’re not something we traditionally make. In this case, our Goat’s Milk Black Pepper Royales have a subtle mushroomy note, and their texture is slightly firm but very creamy—slightly creamier than a Bridgewater, to those familiar. To see if these new combination of techniques and flavors are something we want to pursue, we offer them at a discount to our customers. Visit the shop and get some of these Felix Culpae while they last!

We all get a little excited as August wanes and Josh starts to create his mixes for Pumpkin, Paw Paw, Cinnamon, and his personal fave, Burnt Sugar. These gelati have an extraordinary depth of flavor and a wonderfully dense texture. We’ll be featuring these four flavors until December, when we’ll roll out our Winter Flavors.

Inspired by the full-flavored, elegantly simple taste of Askinosie’s bars we’ve incorporated them into a special mixture of our signature Roadhouse Vanilla Gelato. Exhibiting some of the characteristics of a traditional cookies’n'cream, the El Rustico Gelato is perhaps the best combination of vanilla and chocolate we’ve ever attempted, and we’re happy to say that we have limited quantities available at both the Creamery Shop and the Deli in Ann Arbor. Visit either location for a taste of this exciting new gelato!

One of America’s oldest sheep’s milk cheeses, the Vermont Shepherd is made and cave-aged by the Ielpi Major family on their 250-acre farm in Westminster West, VT. This farmstead, hand-crafted cheese is only made with the milk of sheep while they graze the healthy, wild pastures of Southeastern Vermont, which leads to a very rich and complex flavor owing to the variety of wild grasses and flowers the sheep ingest. Refusing to compromise on quality, the family only makes 10 to 30 wheel batches 3 days a week during the grazing season, so this cheese is sold in necessarily limited quantities.

The texture of the Vermont Shepherd is smooth and creamy, and the flavor is sweet, rich and earthy with hints of clover, mint and thyme. We are fortunate to have nearly two wheels of it left, so come in soon to taste this New England delight before we sell through it!

Named after the headwaters of the Kokosing River Northeast of historic Mount Gillead, Ohio, this delicious hand-made cheese comes to us from the Kokoborrego Cheese Company. Made from raw cow’s milk and aged 3 to 4 months, it features a “river” of ash that runs through its center, adding a distinctive look to the cheese and intensifying its sharp flavor. The Headwaters Tomme has a very well-rounded, buttery flavor with slight acidic notes. For those interested in putting together a decadent raclette, this cheese is a great addition owing to its perfect melting characteristics.

Unable to care for his herd, the farmer let the sheep go in the wilds of Wisconsin hoping that one day he might be able to round them up when he had the means to properly care for them. A few years go by, and Mark wants to get into sheep dairy and hears a rumor about this rogue herd. He gets a hold of the unlucky farmer and the guy tells him if he can get them to come in from the woods he can have ‘em. Pretty soon Mark heads to Wisconsin in the winter with a trailer of hay and waits for the sheep to come in… And eventually they do! So Mark has now spent several years getting this feral heard of sheep reined in whilst learning the art of cheese making. We think he’s been doing a bang-up job of it—recently he took 1st place at the American Cheese Society for his Dulcinea. Stop by the shop for a taste of something wild!

Rocky Ride: Our take on an old standard, we start with a dark chocolate base then add both vanilla and chocolate marshmallows from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, and some in-house butter-roasted peanuts. (Pictured)

Chocolate Heat: An extraordinarily rich and smooth blend of our dark chocolate with cinnamon, ancho and cayenne. This slightly spicy gelato recalls classic Mexican chocolate, and for a unique treat we recommend using this as the à la to your strawberry shortcake’s mode.

Pistachio: We use 100% pure pistachio paste from the Piedmont in Italy to make this remarkably velvety traditional gelato. Because we want to showcase the amazing taste of the pistachios themselves, we use nothing but Calder dairy milk, Guernsey dairy cream, a little Demerara sugar to highlight the pistachio paste’s natural flavor.

Paul’s Peppermint: We use the very best peppermint oil we can find—Boyajian—and mix that in with some chopped-up Hammond’s peppermint candies for a very clean, bright mint flavor that is just ridiculous on freshly baked brownies.

We’ll be featuring these flavors through the end of February, and in March we’ll start to carry our Spring flavors. Stop by the Creamery to try these awesome wintertime sweets.

This aged sheep’s milk gouda is delightful. Developed through a partnership between CheeseLand importers in Seattle and a small Dutch farm, Ewephoria is sweet and slightly nutty with a very balanced and smooth finish. Featuring a very pronounced buttery mouthfeel, it’s the perfect entry-level sheep’s milk cheese. Sure to be a hit at any holiday party, this gouda pairs exceptionally well with amontillado or oloroso sherry, and complements any number of stouts and porters. Stop by the Creamery to get your hands on a piece of this Dutch original.