We’re flyin’ the country music flag at half mast. Rest in peace, George Jones. We know you’re already lighting up a stage somewhere on the other side.
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We’ve experienced a lot of notable firsts in the 10-year history of our company. The latest is a first-ever collaboration with a customer/fan/Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home devotee.
Last summer, Food52 asked their readers to build a new flavor using Jeni’s basic ice cream recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. Of the scads of entries, Jeni and Food52 declared Columbus’ Stefani McGuiness the winner thanks to her Olive Oil, Saffron, Orange + Caramel. The limited-edition flavor—available in our scoop shops and at jenis.com—is definitely a must-try ice cream.
Here now is Ms. McGuiness, sharing what led her to this “heroic concerto” of a flavor, as Jeni calls it.
What is your cooking background?
“I am by no means a trained cook. I love food and pretty much everything about it. I watch a lot of cooking shows and read a lot of food and cooking blogs. I also read cookbooks and books written by chefs. I actually read cookbooks more than I cook from them. My dad cooked pretty much every night when we were kids, and my sister and I helped him in the kitchen when we were old enough.
“Most of my knowledge of cooking really comes from just from being in the kitchen and taking what I’ve seen others do and trying to either replicate what they’ve done or use techniques they use to create my own dish. I really like just simple, homey, rustic, classic food. I think simple food is the most fun to experiment with and to make it your own.”
How did you hear about the Jeni’s/Food52 contest? Were you already a reader of Food52?
“I saw the contest on the Jeni’s Facebook page. I was not a member of Food52, but now it’s one of my go-to places when I want a new recipe.”
Had you made a lot of recipes using Jeni’s recipe before the contest was launched?
“Jeni’s book is always where I look when I want to make ice cream. I will always use her base when I want to create a new flavor.”
How did you arrive at a flavor that called for olive oil, orange, saffron, and caramel?
“I had wanted to try an olive oil ice cream since getting Jeni’s book, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to experiment. When I landed on olive oil and saffron, it seemed like there needed to be something sweeter as a foil to the more savory flavors. The orange zest just seemed to brighten the caramel a little more. Another flavor I tried was balsamic vinegar roasted strawberries infused with basil. I thought this was also really good. It’s a pretty classic combination. The olive oil, saffron, and orange caramel just seemed a little more unique.”
What about that combo worked for you?
“I don’t like really super sweet desserts, and the caramel added just enough sweetness for me. I really like the clean flavor. The saffron adds just enough of something different and there is not too much olive oil where it would become over-powering.”
What other ice cream flavor have you created that you love? What flavors failed?
“I have made black raspberry and dark chocolate, and the balsamic roasted strawberries and basil that were both really good. I made a torrone ice cream a few Christmases ago that I really liked. I tried to make a s’mores flavor that didn’t turn out very well. I’ll stick to regular s’mores from now on.”
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We’re accepting pre-orders for the 2013 Mother’s Day Collection, starring Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet, Lemon Frozen Yogurt, Savannah Buttermint, and the brand-new Chamomile ice cream.
Chamomile ice cream is exactly what the name suggests: wonderfully aromatic chamomile flowers steeped in grass-grazed Snowville cream. It’s our ode to moms everywhere, and it’s rich and buttery, with the comforting aroma and flavor of apple crisp and Chardonnay.
Available now only in the Mother’s Day Collection.
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On April Fool’s Day we kidded about adding a replica of the Santa Maria to our fleet of delivery vehicles. Well, the latest addition to our stable ain’t no joke. Not at all.
Check it out: earlier this week, the good people at Canton’s Motor Car Portfolio delivered us this beautiful 1962 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside pickup. Expect to see it outside our scoop shops and at special events throughout central Ohio.
We’ll keep you posted. And when you come out for a closer look, we’ll be sure to drop the ramp down for you as we did for little Nina, who likes to hang out with her mom at the bay window table in our Grandview scoop shop. Look at her. Nina can’t even stand how sweet this burnt-orange Rampside classic is:
The Rampside, on display earlier this week in front of our good friends at Stauf’s:
Holly Schomberg, assistant manager of the Grandview shop, with the Rampside’s primary driver Art Kadlec. Catch Art and the Rampside at various special events this summer:
My what a great profile you have, Rampside:
Interior details for days:
Heavy Chevy:
Lovely monogram:
A mini Corvair rally in front of Stauf’s earlier this week. The Corvair behind the Rampside is a regular there:
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The great worldwide event known as Record Store Day is Saturday April 20. Ambassador Jack White’s getting in the mood and so are we.
On Saturday, when you buy two pints in any of our scoop shops (except German Village) you’ll also walk away with a free, real-deal vinyl copy of Flavors From Earth, the limited-edition album recorded by Jeni’s Company Band.
In addition, Lost Weekend Records in Columbus and Grimey’s in Nashville will have a bit of Jeni’s on hand for you to enjoy while you peruse all of the special Record Store Day releases.
Lost Weekend owner Kyle Siegrist says that Record Store Day—an official happening since 2007—remains crucial “to create awareness of real brick-and-mortar stores.
“Every day really should be Record Store Day, but we always get new customers in the store (on the official Record Store Day),” Siegrist says. “Last year the first person was in line at 2:30 a.m. By the time the doors opened we had 50 people in line.”
It’s gonna be a great day. For a list of participating stores in America and throughout the world, go here.
As for our friends at Lost Weekend Records, here’s what’s on tap:
Record Store Day goods and prizes at Lost Weekend Records:
- Free Jeni ice cream to the first 50 people in line
- Free goodies from the folks at recordstoreday.com
- Prize drawings: a weekend pass for two for the Nelsonville Music Fest; a “Lost Weekend at the LC” with Peter Framptom and Robert Cray (June 20) and Everclear, Filter, Live, and Sponge (June 21)
- More than 350 Record Store Day releases made available to stores throughout the world. Here’s what’s available
- The new 7-inch e.p. Tough City, from the Columbus band Connections (Lost Weekend will be the only store in the world to sell it)
- Drawing to win records autographed by: Steve Earle (I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive) and Hot Tuna (Steady as She Goes—signed by Jorma Kaukonen)
- Four-day sale—Friday April 19th through Monday April 22:
- 33% off all used LPs
- 45% off all used 45s
- 78-rpm records for 78 cents
- 10% off all new LPs, CDs, and DVDs
- 20% off everything else in the store (except Record Store Day releases)
We’ll see you among the racks. In the meantime, check out this great feature on Lost Weekend Records.
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Last summer, we and our friends at the James Beard Award-winning Food52 asked readers to create a new flavor using Jeni’s basic ice cream recipe from the James Beard Award-winning Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home.
Hundreds of entries from around the United States poured in, and in the end Jeni and Food52 declared Columbus resident and avid home cook Stefani McGuiness the winner, thanks to the delicious creation she submitted Olive Oil, Saffron, Orange + Caramel, which is available now in our scoop shops and at jenis.com.
For the record, we swear the Columbus ties are a coincidence. Neither Jeni nor the folks at Food52 knew the names or addresses of the contestants when they began to sift through the recipes. But, hey, what we can say? We’re really proud to be making a fellow Columbusite’s ice cream that Jeni calls “a heroic concerto of flavor.”
To make the limited-edition Olive Oil, Saffron, Orange + Caramel ice cream, our kitchen team steeps crushed Spanish saffron in grass-grazed Snowville cream, blends in the Olive Orchard‘s bold, grassy, organic Italian olive oil, and for the final touch, our from-scratch orange caramel sauce is swirled throughout.
Stefani, a liaison between Ohio teachers and a Washington D.C. non-profit that creates standardized tests, says she’s always made ice cream from scratch with varying results. But when she began using Jeni’s basic recipe from Splendid Ice Creams at Home, a recipe that omits eggs, she says her creations yielded ice cream with creamier texture and more consistent flavor.
“You can taste every ingredient you add when you use her recipe,” Stefani says. “When you use eggs you can’t. The eggs mask the flavors of what you add. It’s just a cleaner tasting ice cream.”
And what flavor will Stefani pull out of the book of flavors ideas she’s constantly updating?
“I’m trying to make a ginger, cardamom, and rhubarb ice cream and I really want to try one with baklava,” she says.
Whatever Stefani comes up with we can’t wait to try it. Bravo, Stefani and keep up the delicious work.
And now, here’s how we make Stefani’s Olive Oil, Saffron, Orange + Caramel ice cream:
First we make the orange caramel sauce. Sugar is burnt/caramelized in a kettle, before cream is added:
Once the orange caramel sauce achieves the proper consistency, it’s poured into a bucket and set aside to cool before it’s blended into the olive oil and saffron ice cream:
Intensely aromatic Spanish saffron (dried, the thread-like stigmas of crocus flowers) is added to cream:
Saffron-laced cream is brought to a boil and poured into buckets:
The Olive Orchard’s organic olive oil is blended with saffron-laced cream:
After the ice cream is extracted from the ice cream machine (not shown), the from-scratch orange caramel sauce is blended by hand into pints and buckets, and the result is the must-try Food52 flavor Olive Oil, Saffron, Orange + Caramel ice cream, created by Food52/Jeni’s contest winner Stefani McGuiness:
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In the wake of yesterday’s “news” that the new Ice Cream Sandwicherita would soon be gliding through the waters of the Scioto River to sell Hard Tack Macaroon sandwiches to Message in a Bottle app users, we’d like to thank a few good sports.
First: The dedicated people who maintain the Santa Maria, Capital City’s beloved historic replica of Christopher Columbus’ 1492 sailing ship. When you’re in Columbus, make sure to pay the ol’ gal a visit. Tours will start up once again Wednesday April 3. (For all information, go here.)
Second: You, dear readers, who rallied behind the not-so-absurd thought of motorizing the Sandwich Cannon-equipped delivery vessel up and down the southern leg of the Scioto.
Third: NBC Channel 4, which so kindly made the trek to the Sandwicherita/Santa Maria’s dock yesterday to film a sweet little segment with Jeni.
Happy spring, everyone, and happy Day After April Fool’s Day.
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Some great news you can use, direct from our official Bureau of Information:
(COLUMBUS, OHIO) — Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is thrilled to announce the opening of a new seasonal scoop shop at 11 a.m. Saturday April 27 at the Columbus Commons, the site of outdoor concerts and family-friendly events throughout the year in Downtown Columbus.
The Columbus Commons Jeni’s shop at 160 S. High St.—a boutique Jeni’s, or “mini Jeni’s”—will be open for business during all official Columbus Commons events and concerts. (Keep up with all the happenings on the Jeni’s/Columbus Commons Facebook page.)
The opening will coincide with the day-long April 27 “Earth Day 2013: Stand Together” celebration of volunteers, environmental groups, food trucks, green businesses, and live music from Central Ohio.
“Earth Day is a reminder of what we can accomplish when we work together as a community,” says Jeni Britton Bauer. “We are pleased as punch to participate in this event, and look forward to all of the great happenings at the Columbus Commons!”
During Earth Day Week 2013, hundreds of Earth Day volunteers will have planted trees, pulled invasives, cleaned up neighborhoods, and prepared gardens at various work sites throughout Central Ohio (GO HERE TO VOLUNTEER). All volunteers who work at designated sites April 20 and 21 will receive a voucher for a free scoop of Jeni’s (redeemable only April 27 and only at the Jeni’s shop at Columbus Commons).
“We love Columbus’ ongoing urban renewal, and the Commons is just one of the great examples of the amazing things happening in our Columbus,” says Jeni’s CEO John Lowe. “We are proud to be a part of the rebirth of downtown, and we look forward to opening on the Earth Day celebration.”
MORE INFORMATION:
SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER: EARTHDAYCOLUMBUS.ORG
MUSIC SCHEDULE: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday April 27: Heard the Current; Erika Hughes & the Well Mannered; Wonder Twin Powers; The Francis Bacon Band; Cowboy Hillbilly Hippy Folk; the Subterranean House Band; the Salty Caramels; Teen Fiction; and the Rustbelt Rumble Family Band
SPONSORS: Organized by Green Columbus and the Green Funds of the Columbus Foundation, “Earth Day 2013: Stand Together” sponsors include: The Nature Conservancy; the Sierra Club; Great Lakes Brewing Company; Woodland’s Tavern; Limited Brands Foundation; Whole Foods Market; Keep Columbus Beautiful; CD 102.5-FM; WCBE 90.5-FM; The Ohio State University; Clif Bar; the City of Columbus; Weisenbach Recycled Products; Chipotle; Gateway Film Center; COTA; The CYP Club; Pattycake Bakery; The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company; EarthShare Ohio; Kristy Smeltzer; Merrill Lynch Wealth Management; Stonyfield Farms; Eartha Limited; Franklin County Soil & Water; and Small Business Beanstalk (SBB).
www.jenis.com; Aaron Beck: aaron@jenis.com; 614-488-3224.
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Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams Set To Sail
The Ice Cream Sandwicherita
First-ever food boat in the nation to efficiently deliver Jeni’s extended line of award-winning ice cream sandwiches to residents along the southern Ohio leg of the Scioto River.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO) — Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is thrilled to announce a new public/private collaborative venture concept/partnership in downtown Columbus. As of noon today, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Mayor Coleman and the City of Columbus will begin their tenure as co-owners and operators of Columbus’ historic floating landmark, the Santa Maria.
The beloved replica of Christopher Columbus’ historic vessel, dubbed the Sandwicherita, sits gleaming at its dock in downtown Columbus after a $1.5 million overhaul that has included the installation of 1,492 tiny milk bottle-shaped lights, three commercial-grade freezers, masts made of repurposed barn wood from the farms of all 88 Ohio counties, and most important, 25 Mercury Outboard Motors that allow the girl to glide through the waters at upwards of 20 knots (23 m.p.h.).
Jeni’s Ice Cream Sandwicherita, the first-ever ice cream boat in America, will begin wending its way toward Portsmouth, Ohio, following a christening at noon today at its dock at Battelle Riverfront Park (25 Marconi Boulevard between Long and West Broad streets). On hand for the historic event will be Jeni Britton Bauer, Mayor Coleman, Experience Columbus President and CEO Brian Ross, and longtime Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams super-fan Lyle Lovett, who will play a special version of If I Had a Boat.
“As a kid, I lived near Port au Prince, Rotterdam, Singapore, Acapulco, Reykjavik, Brisbane, Dakar, Montevideo, Cape Town, Karachi, Murmansk, Perth, and Osaka,” says Jeni Britton Bauer.
“Everyone knows I love ice cream, but the world of ships and life on the open waters runs 1,000 fathoms deeper in my blood.”
Everyone at Team Jeni’s, she says, is beyond excited to share the maiden voyage of America’s first-ever mobile ice cream boat with the people of Ohio.
“If it weren’t for our loyal customers these past 10-plus years and the deeply progressive nature of every single person in central Ohio, the Sandwicherita would have remained an idea that existed only on paper,” Jeni says.
“And I’m terrible at predicting trends, but fifty years from now, I’m certain that the Sandwicherita will be known in the mobile food world as the mother of all food boats.”
Along the route, the Ice Cream Sandwicherita will dock at the ports of Circleville, Chillicothe, Waverly, and Piketon. Customers can order the ice cream Time called “America’s best” via:
- Shouting: Those not inclined to use modern-day, non-artisanal modes of communication can order the truly artisanal way—by arriving in port and shouting their order at the ship’s swashbuckling young crew of friendly and knowledgeable ambassadors.
- Text, email, snail mail, telephone: Just let Jeni’s know what port is most convenient.
- The Message in a Bottle smart phone app (99 cents) & Sandwich Cannon: Beginning October 14, 2013 (Columbus Day), using the groundbreaking new Message in a Bottle Google Earth app (99 cents), customers can input their information and order from any spot along the banks of the Scioto. Once the information is received (barring certain jurisdictions with constringent noise ordinances), Jeni’s crew will launch the order from the Sandwich Cannon to within 7.5 ft of the intended target (your phone). Ordering the 100-sandwich Party Pack? Just park your full-size pick-up along the river.
“No other city has anything like this,” says Mayor Coleman. “From the original idea to the innovative funding, this is going to put Columbus on the map. The swagger of our city will finally be noticed by the rest of the world!”
Jeni’s CEO John Lowe says that, “as with most things that come from Jeni,” the idea of converting a replica of the Santa Maria into a motorized food boat didn’t initially register with him.
“It took me awhile to understand the genius of her idea,” he says. “We know we’ll have a negative margin on the sales from our sails, but we plan to make it up with volume.”
What’s more, Lowe adds, the Ice Cream Sandwicherita is merely the tip of the iceberg of the 10-year-old company’s mobile food plans in 2013.
“For now we’re merely testing the waters with the Ice Cream Sandwicherita. By year’s end we hope to begin the phase out our Street Treats Trucks and institute the launch a flotilla of amphibious ice cream boats.
“The new, more powerful flotilla of food boats not only will have the capacity to sail down or power upstream America’s major rivers; they will also be able to traverse the banks of any waterway or water area whatsoever. There’s no reason why the spot on the map you call home should mean it’s difficult for you to enjoy Jeni’s ice creams. We’re going to sail the good stuff right into your freezer.”
James Beard Award-winning former Momofuku sous chef Teller Christensen, editor at Mobile Food News, says the Ice Cream Sandwicherita is shaping up to be the pioneer in the word of mobile food.
“I see enormous opportunity and potential for food boats,” says Christensen. “And if anyone is going to trailblaze the move to use a once-outdated but extremely regal food transportation and delivery system it’s Jeni Britton Bauer. I’ve known her for years and I’ve never seen a person captain a company with so little fear.”
Christensen adds that the Ice Cream Sandwicherita “is positioned to mark a sea change in the way foodies order ice cream, enjoy the experience of eating ice cream, and share their love of telling other foodies about the ice cream they’ve experienced and enjoyed.
“Moving forward the next five, six, seven years, I’m seeing the food truck craze going the way of the dinosaur. It’s the food boat that really taps into all things foodie/artisan. Nothing is more linked to artisan modes of food delivery than a sailing vessel. Period.”
JENI’S ICE CREAM SANDWICHERITA MENU
ORCHID VANILLA
Ugandan Vanilla Bean ice cream and black currant jam between almond macaroons. A drop-dead, delicious beauty.
SALTY CARAMEL WITH SMOKED ALMONDS
Salty Caramel ice cream (Jeni’s flagship flavor) bedazzled with chopped smoked almonds between golden almond macaroons.
CLOVERTON MANGO
Soft, light, and creamy small-batch Cloverton cheese from Southern Ohio’s Laurel Valley Farm. Luscious, grass-grazed Ohio milk and cream. Sweet and intensely flavorful, made-from-scratch mango jam. Sunny almond macaroon cookies. Like a tropical cheesecake.
* Special Columbus Day Menu Addition (Available Columbus Day — Oct. 14, 2013):
CROQUE MONSIEUR HARD TACK MACAROON
Inspired by a recipe used by those aboard the actual Santa Maria in 1492, the Croque Monsieur Hard Tack Macaroon features a scoop of Salty Caramel ice cream, studded with single-origin Ohio rum-soaked grass-grazed beef jerky nibs set between from-scratch, every-so-slightly chewy hard tack cracker-bread.
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This is not a dream. #jenis #cmh vine.co/v/bjwmi5OO1rD
— Jeni’s Ice Creams (@jenisicecreams) March 28, 2013
Concourses B and C (and later A, once the construction is finished).
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