By Maggie Kapustin 

South Mountain Creamery Review

Middletown, Maryland

Are you living in DC but frequently looking for weekend day trips that enrich your soul and tickle your tastebuds? If so, South Mountain Creamery is just the destination you’ve been craving. About an hour northwest of Washington DC, in Middletown, Maryland, you’ll find this family-owned and operated dairy farm and creamery where fresh milk, cheese, yogurt, meats, and ice cream abound. As if that’s not enough, you can even feed a baby calf if you arrive at 4pm sharp. That’s right; you’ll be given a large bottle and the most adorable Holstein you’ve ever met will drink from it until every drop is gone.

Visiting South Mountain Creamery is one of those wholesome experiences that makes us feel good to be a part of the farm to table process. On weekends in the summertime, the barn is packed with visitors, and there is always a line for ice cream throughout the day.

Each of the ice cream batches is made from a traditional egg custard base, so the richness and creaminess of all the flavors really shines. On a recent trip with my husband and some young friends of ours, we had the chance to enjoy several flavors. Among them, we tried sea salt caramel. Every spoonful was a taste explosion; one bite offered a cold and salty caramel texture while another offered a mild vanilla saltiness that truly was intoxicating.

Once home, we wanted to recreate the textures, flavors, and general appeal of what we had at South Mountain Creamery. Because it’s clearly impossible to mess with perfection, so to speak, we didn’t even try to make an exact copycat version of the sea salt caramel. Instead, my husband and I thought it might be more versatile to make a really good vanilla bean, custard-based ice cream with a sea salt caramel sauce. That way, we accomplish two things: we don’t compete (and fail miserably) against an ice cream tradition that clearly needs to be experienced by each and every person in the DC/MD area, and we allow for ice cream lovers to have a traditional vanilla base that can be topped with a wide variety of favorite sauces.

Taking the time to drive a bit north of DC will be worth if for young couples and families alike. After your visit, you might be inspired, as we were, to wipe the dust from your ice cream maker or to go out and buy an inexpensive one for special occasions. The difference between store-bought and fresh custard-based ice cream is tremendous, so I feel confident that you’ll be glad you made the investment, and so will your family and guests.

Pictured, you will see various South Mountain Creamery flavors, including the sea salt caramel. The most distinct difference between their version and ours is obvious: we used a caramel sauce while their cream has it swirled within. Is our version as tasty as theirs? Heck no—South Mountain Creamery is simply the best around; we can’t compete with that. That being said, what we are able to offer with our version is an admittedly delicious, creamy, second best. And the sauce is something you’ll need to keep under lock and key or it will be gone before the ice cream is finished.

Here’s hoping you’ve been inspired enough here to take a day trip (also check out Maryland’s Ice Cream Trail for your kids!) to the charming and quaint Middletown, Maryland and South Mountain Creamery. You’ll be really glad you did. And that, my friends, is a promise I can stand by.

For more recipes like this one, check out my blog at Year of Inspirations! 

Vanilla Bean Custard-Style Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar, divided

pinch salt

1 whole scraped vanilla bean

5 large egg yolks

1½ tsp. vanilla

Directions:

In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together milk, cream, half of the sugar, salt, and the scraped vanilla bean (with pod). Bring mixture JUST to a boil.

While this is heating, combine yolks and remaining ½ cup sugar in bowl. Using a whisk, beat until pale and thick (you could use a hand mixer on low as well, if you prefer).

Once the cream mixture has just come to a slight boil, whisk 1/3 of it into the yolk/sugar mixture, off the heat. Then, add another 1/3, whisking constantly. Return that to the cream mixture in saucepan. Stir constantly with wooden spoon over low heat until thickened and until mixture coats back of spoon. DO NOT BOIL this mixture. This entire part of the process should not take more than a few minutes.

Pour mixture through fine mesh strainer, discarding vanilla bean pod. Bring to room temperature. Stir in the vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours or overnight.

Preparing according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Place in freezable containers and store in freezer at least 5 hours for solid ice cream.

Sea Salt Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar

½ tsp. sea salt

¼ cup water (use just enough that consistency when mixed with sugar is like wet sand)

1 tbs. light corn syrup

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 tbs. unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch cubes

Directions:

In heavy saucepan, stir together sugar, salt, water, and corn syrup. Scrape down sides to incorporate any stray sugar. On medium-low heat, cook until the sugar mixture turns a very light amber color (10-15 minutes). Keep an eye on the caramel sauce to make sure there is no burning.

Once the sugar mixture has a light amber color, take off of stove and carefully stir in the cream. After incorporating cream, slowly whisk in butter, one piece at a time, continually whisking to emulsify all of the butter. Use immediately.

When pouring over ice cream, sprinkle more sea salt as desired.

Click Here for a Foodgasmic Coconut Cake Recipe!

Additional Reading Here!