Ernie Pinckney knows a thing or two about ice cream. That’s why he’s Turkey Hill’s “Einstein of Ice Cream.” It’s also why we asked Robin A. of Coram, NY to interview him for today’s reader-written entry!
Turkey Hill wasn’t always the well-known producer of ice cream, frozen yogurt and other yummy dairy confections. The company, like many other American success stories, had very humble beginnings. It all started back in the 1930s when Armor Frey, a farmer in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, began selling bottles of milk to his neighbors. This was no high-tech operation; he sold the milk out of the back of his car.
As his route grew, this side venture turned into Frey’s main source of income. Years later, in 1947, Frey’s three sons, Glenn, Emerson and Charles, bought their father’s business. The customers were all still in the area, so the boys were able to milk the cows and deliver a farm-fresh product to people’s homes quite easily. Turned out that this was actually a pretty lucrative business; the boys earned enough to provide for their growing families.
The dairy thrived and in 1980, the Frey brothers decided to try their luck making ice cream. It wasn’t long before Turkey Hill ice cream became a local favorite in Lancaster County stores. The following year saw Turkey Hill popping up in Philadelphia shops and quickly became a favorite in the City of Brotherly Love.
And the rest, as they say, is ice cream history.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Turkey Hill’s resident Einstein of Ice Cream, Ernie Pinckney.
Q. IS IT TRUE THAT YOU GREW UP ON A DAIRY FARM? YOU’RE NOT LACTOSE-INTOLERANT, ARE YOU?
Thankfully, I’m not. That would not be good for a professional ice cream maker and tester!
Q. WHAT ARE YOUR DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES AT TURKEY HILL?
My daily duties vary, but overall I’m in charge of overseeing the ice cream and iced tea operations on the floor. That includes making sure the ice cream meets the high quality standards of Turkey Hill. I check that by tasting various batches and also by cutting containers of ice cream open with my big ice cream chopping knife and looking inside to make sure all the goodies are spaced out the way they should be.
Overall it’s a really fun job and I’m very thankful that I get to do it on a daily basis!
Q. IF YOU DIDN’T WORK AT TURKEY HILL, WHAT CAN YOU ENVISION YOURSELF DOING INSTEAD?
I’d probably be farming. Like you mentioned, I grew up on a dairy farm and I enjoyed the experience. In many ways, working with Turkey Hill, which uses dairy products from farms in the Lancaster County area, allows me to keep in touch with my farming roots.
Q. DO YOU ENJOY PRODUCTS FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS, OR ARE YOU STRICTLY A TURKEY HILL KIND OF GUY?
I’m definitely a Turkey Hill kind of guy. My freezer at home is always stocked with at least three or four flavors. I do keep tabs on what the competition is doing, though, just as I’m sure they keep tabs on what we’re doing!
Q. I’M SURE YOU’VE BEEN ASKED A MILLION TIMES TO NAME YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR. SO THIS WILL BE A MILLION AND ONE! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR? ALSO, HAVE YOU TRIED ANY OF THOSE “OUT THERE” ICE CREAM FLAVORS SUCH AS SMOKED SALMON OR SQUID INK?
I do get that question a lot, but that’s because it’s a good question! If I had to choose one, I’d have to choose vanilla ice cream. It might sound unusual considering all the wonderful flavors at my disposal, but I like vanilla because it’s the essence of so many ice cream flavors and it allows me to taste all the dairy ingredients that go into it.
If you’re looking for a more adventurous flavor, I also enjoy butter pecan and our Light Recipe Extreme Cookies n’ Cream. Oh, and also our newest Limited Edition flavor, Double Dunker. I’ve been eating a lot of that one lately!
As for the “out there” flavors, I do like to try some unusual flavors when I can. I mainly find those at small, out-of-the-way ice cream stands, but it’s never anything like that smoked salmon or squid ink. Usually it’s flavors like bubble gum or buttered popcorn. Although I like to think of myself as an adventurous guy, especially when it comes to food, so I’d probably try a smoked salmon ice cream if I had the chance.
Q. WHAT STEPS DOES TURKEY HILL TAKE BEFORE A NEW FLAVOR HITS THE MARKET? DO YOU HAVE FOCUS GROUPS COME IN FOR TASTINGS OR DO SURVEYS OF SOME SORT?
We are always keeping track of what’s hot and trendy, but Turkey Hill has been around for over 75 years, so we also keep in mind the things that have made us so successful. The first step is to create flavor ideas, which can range from a twist on an old standard, like Chunky Peanut Butter, or something brand new, like Movie Night. Then our R&D team whips up some special batches of these test flavors for our taste testing team to try. The taste-testing team (say that three times fast!) includes people from all of Turkey Hill’s different departments. If one of those test flavors gets a good reception, it will become one of our flavors for the following year.
Q. DO YOU PERSONALLY ASSIGN NAMES TO THE NEW FLAVORS, OR IS IT A GROUP EFFORT?
I can’t take credit for all the names, I’m not that creative! The creation of names for our ice cream is definitely a group effort. When we are sampling a brand new flavor we have a fun session where we are all encouraged to be as creative as possible and suggest as many names as possible. During that meeting we narrow the name suggestions down to a few good selections and then we vote, and the most popular name wins. It’s a very democratic process here at Turkey Hill, and sometimes the name you want wins and sometimes it doesn’t. With the exception of actually eating ice cream, creating the names is my favorite thing to do! And, just so you know, my favorite ice cream name is Double Dunker, that name is almost as good as the ice cream tastes.
Q. HAVE YOU HAD ANY KOOKY REQUESTS FROM CUSTOMERS SUCH AS, “CAN YOU SHIP A FEW PINTS OF PARTY CAKE OUT TO MY VACATION HOME IN BORA BORA?”
All the time! But the good news is, we can ship a few pints of Party Cake to anyone in the United States! We have a shipping option on our website, which comes in handy for people who grew up with Turkey Hill ice cream or iced tea but moved away to an area that doesn’t sell our products. It costs a little to ship it in dry ice and everything, but I like to think that it’s well worth the cost!
Q. DOES TURKEY HILL OFFER A FACTORY TOUR?
Unfortunately, we don’t. The Dairy isn’t set up for public tours, which is a shame, because giving tours to special guests (which we do every now and then) is one of my favorite things to do. It’s always a lot of fun to hear their comments when they taste the ice cream fresh off the line or step into the freezing cold deep freezer for the first time.
Q. THERE IS A LOT OF NEW TECHNOLOGY OUT IN THE MARKETPLACE. THE FIELD OF MOLECULAR GASTRONOMY IS GROWING; USING LIQUID NITROGEN IS NO LONGER LOOKED AT AS A CRAZY TRICK BEING DONE IN A LAB. THERE ARE NEWFANGLED VENDING MACHINES OUT THERE UTILIZING THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY. WHERE DO YOU SEE ICE CREAM GOING? IS TURKEY HILL GOING TO RIDE THIS TECHNOLOGICAL WAVE OR STAY TRUE TO ITS ORIGINS AND REMAIN THE QUIET LITTLE FAMILY COMPANY IT HAS BEEN FOR SO MANY YEARS?
I keep an eye on the technology of the ice cream industry, but for the most part, you’re right. Turkey Hill is very proud of its humble Lancaster County roots and we’re going to do what we can to stay very close to the laid-back, old-fashioned ideals that got us this far. That’s not to say that we won’t get a little crazy now and then and invent some new flavors that turn the ice cream world upside down!
Q. SO HOW DO I GET A JOB AT TURKEY HILL?
That’s the best question of them all! We’re always looking for some new faces around here. There’s a “current openings” section on our website which you’re free to check out. Hopefully there’s something on there that you like. And no, my job isn’t going to be up for grabs for a long, long time!!
Tags: ernie, ice cream, turkey hill
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If you’ve got a technical question about the ice cream making process or some other inquiry about the nuances of America’s favorite treat, chances are Ernie has the answer. He might not be able to answer all questions, but he’ll try his best and some may be featured on the Ice Cream Journal.
Yay! I am the first one to leave a reply! Ernie Einstein is too cool for school!
I remember being a sealtest/breyers ice cream person. that was all we bought but then one day my neighbor said “try turkey hill” and ever since I am hooked. thanks for being so great turkey hill
Definately a superb interview..what about green tea sherbert with a touch of raspberry..cooling effect in this hot weather.
Turkey Hill is all I buy and all I will eat. Hands down it’s the best!
Ernie, you sound like a great guy and just right for your important position!!
Great interview I learned a lot of interesting facts! Thanks
Robin A came up with some good questions for Ernie. i always wondered how fruit, cookies, or nuts get uniformly placed in a carton of Turkey Hill? Other brands seem to skimp on some of these items. Turkey Hill always has plenty of them in each carton. It must be the way they package the ice cream. If they had a tour that would be worth seeing.
I would love Ernie’s job!
Turkey Hill Icecream is the greatest!!!!!!!!!!! It’s on sale this week and I am going to get some. I was glad to hear that Turkey Hill is not going to get lost in the mass of technology. It is great to hear that it will keep it’s reputation of family owned Lancaster area going. Here in the South Jersey area so many people swear by Breyers NOT ME I am a Turkey Hill gal and have voiced that while shopping in the grocery store. Wish I could get a job at Turkey Hill also!!!
Thanks for letting me know the real Ernie, my friend at Turkey Hill.
Interesting interview!
Ernie, you do a wonderful job with everything at TH! Way to go, Ernie!!!!
great story
I was one of the few fortunate persons to be able to tour Turkey Hill with Ernie being one of the two “guides” for the tour. It was a fantastic day and wonder tour. Although it was some time back, I would like to again thank Ernie and Turkey Hill for the privelege of being one of the few who were able to tour Turkey Hill….it was a great tour and wonderful memory.
I love your peanut butter yogurt flavors! Most of your flavors are great–except your usual vanilla needs some beans in it.
Although Turkey Hill does not do tours, I did see Ernie on a cable station that features various Pennsylvania businesses. He walked us through the ice cream making process while we sat at home with a bowl of Turkey Hill Ice Cream! Ernie, you did a fantastic job!
Thank you, Mr Ernie—you are great !!!! and this was one of the most interesting articles yet !!!! thanks—
Great interview Robin. I think everyone would love Ernie’s job. Testing T. H. ice cream all day. MMMMMMM sounds good to me.
Ernie you certainly have a lot of people’s dream job. Glad you found a job that you love and look forward to going to every day.
Interesting interview!
Ernie, I am glad to read that you won’t be retiring anytime soon. Turkey Hill Ice Cream plant just wouldn’t be the same without you….
Great interview and lucky Ernie to be able to go to a job everyday that he loves.
Thank you, Ernie!!!! I love TH, too!
Nice interview! Ernie you’re the best. Who wouldn’t want Ernie’s job, fortunately he won’t be going anywhere for a very long time. He can continue to provide us with these great flavors of Turkey Hill Ice Cream. August is coming soon, how long before the York Peppermint Pattie Ice Cream hits the stores? My birthday is Aug. 5, and I would love to have it then
You are brillent, Ernie!!!!!
It’s good to know that TH ships ice cream anywhere in the US, although I guess my vacation home in Bora Bora will have to make do.
Great Interview — Ernie, what a wonderful job you have! Thanks for ensuring the great quality of Turkey Hill Ice Cream for all of us in the Ho-Hum World LOL.
I really think tours for the public would be a great idea. I’d love to taste-test ice cream fresh off the line!
Robin…do you work as a jounalist because you have such an eloquent way of writing! (And I didn’t see any spelling or grammar errors, but that has always been my weekest subject in school anyways). The interview was very thorough, and I had actually shared many of these same questions so you asked exactly what I wanted to know. After reading this interviews, I realize more than ever how amazing Ernie’s job is and how much I would love to take over his job. But I also realized how much he has accomplished and how hard his job actually is. He has really worked hard to create his business and success and I have a lot of respect for that.
Sounds like Ernie created his position at Turkey Hill, not the other way around.
Great interview – and what a visual, of Ernie hacking open some cartons of ice cream…not the usual 9-to-5 grind.
Nice going Ernie, you are just the right man to ask these questions as you have all the answers.
Very interesting interview…always interesting to learn more about Turkey Hill.
Wonderful questions. I worked in an ice cream store back before Turkey Hill made ice cream and never tired of it so I sure do understand how much fun Ernie must have…at least for part of the day! My husband and I still battle over which is best (he still likes the other brand) but I think he is slowly being converted. It is a good thing we don’t live too close to TH because I would definitely like a job there and it would be a diet disaster…a good one though.
A job of tasting ice cream to make sure it meets the high standards … yummy!
Hi turkey Hill Fans, Turkey Hill icec ream is Number “1″ in my house.
Ernie, I love your job. How do you stay so healthy….eating all that ice cream?
Wow! Great information. We are starting to see Turkey Hill ads on TV here in Indiana. They are cute adds. They make me hungry for Turkey Hill!
Ernie you and all of the rest of Turkey Hill ice cream employees must do a great job to produce the best ice cream. We only eat your sugar free fat free flavors for medical reasons. Unfortunately there are only three flavors available Would you consider adding another good flavor?
The interview was well done. Ernie seems to have the perfect job and obviously loves his work.