Icecream Journal

In our last post we talked about the old Newark, New Jersey law that states that it is illegal to sell ice cream in Newark after 6 pm on Sundays unless the customer has permission from his or her doctor. It sounds pretty strange, so we did some poking around to find out if this outdated rule is still enforced.

None of the restuarants we talked to had even heard of the law. A few of them ended our conversation as soon as we mentioned the law and asked if they sold ice cream on Sunday evenings. Perhaps they were afraid we were a police informant of some sort. The New Jersey Restaurant Association was also unaware of the 19th century rule.

Before we ended our brief investigation, we went right to the source of the law’s enforcement: The Newark Police Department. There, we spoke with a clerk from the Laws Department who was unable to find any immediate record of the law, but agreed to fax us a form to initiate a more in-depth search.  

So there you have it. The Newark ice cream law is probably on the books somewhere, but known by very few (and enforced by no one). We know that ignorance of the law is no defense, but in this case, we’re guessing what you don’t know, won’t hurt you.

According to DumbLaws.com (and several other websites), in Newark, New Jersey it is illegal to sell ice cream after 6pm unless the customer has a note from his or her doctor.

We can’t imagine a medical condition for which the prescription is a double scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough, but whatever it is, it doesn’t sound too bad. Do you think Newark has ice cream addicts who forge prescriptions in order to satisfy their Sunday evening ice cream habit? We really hope it doesn’t come to that.

And what happens if a police officer catches a shop owner breaking the ice cream law? Do they take away your scoop? It’s funny to imagine the Newark Police Department setting up sting operations outside of suspected illegal ice cream vendors and barging in with badges and guns drawn, ordering everyone to “put your spoons on the floor and step away from the ice cream cone!”

A few weeks ago, long time Ice Cream Journal readers Greg and Jen C. from Palmyra, NY paid a visit to the Buffalo Bills football training camp and were greeted with a welcome site — our Giant Cow. Quick thinking Greg snapped the photo below and sent it to us. From left to right is Julia, Greg, Alex, Kirsten and Ian.

We were poking around online and found the image below on a website featuring all sorts of decorated paper butterflies created by students from across the nation. This particular artist is a student at Turkey Hill School in Orange, CT. That’s right, there’s a school called Turkey Hill! According to the website, the school has 317 students in grades one through six. We’re not sure where the students go after the sixth grade, but we’re positive it’s not as delicious as the Turkey Hill School.

A few years ago (2006 to be exact) we commissioned local publisher Schiffer Publishing to help us create a book about Turkey Hill Dairy’s storied history (76 years and counting). The result was “Turkey Hill: A Family Vision.” It’s a 64-page illustrated account of our humble beginnings, our modern day successes, and everything in between.

Among the many topics covered in the book are:

• The history of the land on which the Dairy is currently located
• The story behind the Turkey Hill name
• How Armor Frey start Turkey Hill Dairy (and how his sons and grandson eventually took the Dairy to new levels)
• A photographic history of Turkey Hill advertising and the evolution of our packaging
• Descriptions of our milk, iced tea and ice cream production and home delivery (then and now)
• The story behind the Turkey Hill Minit Markets
• How Turkey Hill products are marketed
• The history of our herd of Giant Cows
• Some background about our ties to the Lancaster County community

The book is available for purchase over on the Schiffer Publishing website for $16.99, but we’ve decided to give away a few copies of it as this month’s prize (six comments will be chosen at random). Good luck!

Here’s a blast from the past. This entry first appeared on the Ice Cream Journal back in April, but it seemed due for a comeback considering how the presidential race has been heating up lately.  By the way, congrats to any Penn State fans out there on the team’s big win this weekend. We’re sure the PSU Creamery was busy after that game.

A while ago we wrote about Penn State University’s “Ice Cream University” course. Not coincidentally, Penn State University Park (main campus) is also home to the world’s largest university creamery. The Creamery makes ice cream, milk and cheese, which it sells to the public and also produces for the campus’s dining halls.

The Creamery uses 4.5 million gallons of milk annually, half of which comes from a herd of 225 cows at the University’s Dairy Production Research Center. They also sell 750,000 hand-dipped ice cream cones each year to students, alumni and other campus visitors.

Over the years, the Creamery has attracted several famous customers, including President Clinton, Tom Ridge, Lynn Swann, Bob Costas, Martha Stewart and, of course, Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno (on several occasions, we’d imagine). Normally, the Creamery doesn’t allow customers to mix two flavors on the same cone, but in 1996 they made an exception for President Clinton when he requested Cherry Quist and Peachy Paterno. That’s him on the left enjoying his combo. There’s something about a world leader eating an ice cream cone that looks kind of funny, isn’t there? Penn State President Graham Spanier (left in photo) must agree.

A big part of the ice cream’s appeal lies in its super premium butterfat content of 14.1 percent, which makes for a very rich dessert. Here’s a listing of available Creamery flavors. Over 100 ice cream, sherbet and frozen yogurt varieties in all. That’s a different flavor every two weeks for an entire four year undergraduate stay!

Thanks to Janette for letting us use this photo. We stumbled onto it while perusing the photo sharing website, Flickr. Janette is a self-proclaimed Duetto lover and snapped this pic of our Giant Swirly Cow at the Centerville Giant store right here in Lancaster County.

Not long ago, regular Ice Cream Journal reader Lee C. commented that her husband “refuses to eat anything that says “low fat” or “fat free” or “sugar free”.”

We suggested she try to fool him by offering up a bowlful of one of our Light Recipe flavors and see if he notices the difference. Although you can’t blame him for sticking to what he likes. It’s the same way with our iced teas—some people don’t mind the diet flavors and others drink nothing but the “regular stuff.”

Which leads us to this month’s ice cream poll about light ice cream eating habits (see the poll in the sidebar on the right). By the way, last month you proved the national averages wrong by admitting that 70 percent of you share your ice cream with your pet. Way to look out for the little guy!