Izzy's - Church Elderberry

Church Elderberry - Raspberry, Blackberry, Blueberry and Strawberry Ice Cream With Elderberry Extract

I am back in Minnesota for a family event, so that means that it is time to check out the local brands.  Izzy's is one of the more famous shops close to where I am staying so as soon as I got off the plane, I dropped in for a visit.  A flavor called Church Elderberry caught my eye.  Looking at the ingredient list, it appears to be a blend of all the major berries: blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, plus a bit of elderberry which is a new berry for me.  The elderberry is not as common as the other berries on the list.  Many people know it more for its non-culinary qualities (medicinal, ornamental, attraction for birds and butterflies) but a quick google search shows that many elderberry recipes exist for jams, pies and syrup.  I am looking forward to seeing if it has an impact mixed in with so many other berries.  The flavor name is of course a pun on 'church elder' but it is also a play on the Hamline Church Dining Hall at the Minnesota State Fair.  Dating from 1897, Hamline Church is the oldest dining hall at the fair and Izzy's Ice Cream has been featured there in recent years.

On to the ice cream!  Removing the lid shows the bright pink flavor of the berry base. It is quite a sight.  It is much deeper and glowing of a pink flavor than I expected.  The first spoonful is quite flavorful.  There is lots of berry naturally, but there was something familiar about the mix.  I think it reminded me of a flavored yogurt that I'd had before -- and I mean that in a good way.  The strong berry flavor persisted as I ate my way through the pint but it never got to be too much.  It was well balanced that way.  Could I taste all of the different berries?  I'm not sure.  I'm certain I tasted strawberry and raspberry, though I do not doubt that the others were in there as well.  The berries were well blended so there were no chunks of berry immersed in the pint, though there were some small seed pieces that provided some textural variety from time to time.

This was an excellent pint of ice cream.  You certainly have to be a fan of berry but if you do then this delivers quite a lot of it without it being too strong, too tart or too sweet.  It was in the Goldilocks Zone of berry combinations.  Because of the blend, it does not serve as an ideal representation of each individual berry -- I'm still not really sure what elderberry tastes like by itself.  That said, berry fans can't go wrong with this flavor.  Check it out the next time you are at the Minnesota State Fair.