The best ice cream shops in America, period! Ice Cream University is very proud to accept nominations for its Eighth Annual ICE CREAM STORE OF THE YEAR AWARD— THE PASSION AWARD— to be presented in January, 2011 to the very best ice cream shop in the United States.  Past winners of the Ice Cream University Passion Award were: 2004- Izzy’s, St. Paul, MN 2005- LaLoo’s, Napa,CA 2006- Mulberry Street Creamery, Pittsburgh, PA 2007- Whitey’s, Moline, IL 2008- Bravo Gelato, Nashville, TN 2009- La Sorbetteria, Bologna, Italy 2010- Sloan’s, West Palm Beach, FL   The purpose of this award is ..read more

In this business you can sense fairly early on who is going to make it and who isn’t. And when asked who are the shining stars in the retail ice cream business, one of the first names that come to mind is the Mulberry Street Creamery, owned and operated by Linda and Rick Mercurio of Kittanning, PA. To say they are perfectionists in creating the best possible gelato, ice cream, and sorbet products is not even close to the truth. Linda and Rick are “out of the box people,” and that’s why I like them so much. Following is an article Linda wrote in a NICRA newsletter which truly reflects how they ..read more

One thing is for sure, this coming year is going to be terrific for anyone in the frozen dessert industry. With the economy coming back, ice cream will be in vogue big time. All we need is good summer weather. The following are a number of trends and predictions for ice cream and frozen desserts in the year to come. Ice Pops- In Mexico, they call them Paletas. Easy to make, reasonably priced, and a novel way to increase business. Small size ice cream cakes- People are really tired of  baked cakes for occasions. This year-around business is ripe for expanding your business. Ice Cream Pri ..read more

FOR COCKTAILS OR DESSERTWith the holidays just around the corner, we thought what better time to bring out two of our favorite margarita-themed sorbet recipes. Both of these recipes are for a 10 quart batch, but you can scale up or down as needed. Enjoy! Margarita Sorbet Recipe: INGREDIENTS 10qt Batch 16 oz Fresh lime juice (B) 3 lb Sugar (B) 1 lb 36 DE corn (B) 1½ oz Stabilizer (B) 3 qt Water (hot and cold) (B) 16 oz Tequila (M) 10 oz Triple Sec liqueur (M) PREPARATION Batch time: 13-15 minutes Squeeze enough limes for needed amount of juice, strain juice and retain ½ of the pulp. Sift ..read more

This is an ongoing series that explores what's new and hot in the gelato and ice cream wholesale business, including new products and ice cream ingredients. CATTABRIGA, BOLOGNA, ITALY cattabriga.net The most innovative batch freezer company in Italy has come to America with their EFFE 5 Vertical batch freezer. Take a look at this video to see how the best gelato is made. NELSON cnelson.com Nelson just introduced their new curved glass gelato/ice cream display cabinet. This new cabinet is a very inexpensive way to present your frozen dessert products. GELATO SUPPLY gelatosupply.com GelatoSupply ..read more

Starting an Ice Cream Business is a series of articles that answers popular questions asked by our clients and students in regards to starting an ice cream business. Question: In today's rough economy, is it difficult to get an SBA loan? In short, no. Under the current federal stimulus package, SBA has changed some important criterion that in the past made it harder to get an SBA loan. SBA now guarantees 90% of all loans versus 80% two years ago Collateral requirements are now more flexible Banks are now paid a fee to process a loan versus them paying a fee two years ago PERSONAL QUALIFICATION ..read more

The winter is the perfect time for developing a serious hot drink program wrapped around Cappucino, Affogato’s, and mocha drinks. Why? Because it is very important to create an atmosphere where the business is not so dependent on a frozen dessert to carry the business year round. But you can't do this midstream unless you do a lot of planning and marketing prior to its introduction. The best time to create a cafe atmosphere is in the beginning of a concept where you open your doors to the public with no preconceived notions of who you are. Part of a cafe atmosphere is the serving of coffee and ..read more

Are you an ice cream retailer or thinking about opening an ice cream store? Then these seven survival tips for the ice cream retailer are for you! DEALING WITH REALITY Perseverance is what it took to survive this ice cream selling season. How much more heat can we take? But now it’s August, we have survived, and we will be better for it next year. From heat, comes success. I know, you are saying “big deal,” I don’t need advice, I need business and cash. But while this may seem like the heat is too much for the ice cream retail business, a continued heat every day is sometimes the best of times ..read more

Is Ice Cream The Ultimate Cure For The Blues? If you’ve already booked your summer gelato tour of Italy or you're passionate about whipping up delectable scoops of ice cream with quality ingredients like pure Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract, rich chocolate, or smooth coconut cream, you probably instinctively know that this frozen delight has an ability to lift you to cloud nine with just one bite. If you're curious about the science of it all, however, take note. A handful of studies have shown that ice cream instantly makes us feel happier, helps us weather that ‘down i ..read more

Looking for a perfect sorbet to ring in the New Year? Well, look no further. This strawberry champagne sorbet is absolutely delicious and a perfect sorbet recipe to serve up for New Years Eve! Ingredients: 14 ounces - Water 2 ½ pounds - Frozen Strawberries, thawed 8 ounces - Good quality champagne 10 ounces - Sugar Preparation: Defrost the strawberries. Mix thoroughly the dry sugar hot water and blend thoroughly. Puree strawberries, retaining all the juice from this mixture. Pour all the ingredients into the batch freezer, except the champagne. Turn on the dasher for 2 minutes to stir the mix ..read more