Does ice cream serve a greater purpose than just being a delicious dessert? At Sweet Rose Creamery, several flavors are made with fresh produce from local California farms. Ice cream made with fresh and organic ingredients supports local farmers with sustainable missions, gives back to the community and is better for overall health.
Part of Sweet Rose chef-operator Ana Saenz’s role is deciding the monthly flavors. Saenz said that Sweet Rose “maintains a relationship with the farmers” and frequently goes to farmers markets to learn about what is in season and what is coming. This information is used to plan the new flavors for each month. Sometimes, Saenz said, they will request fruits for flavors that did especially well in past years, so they can use them again when they are back in season.
“The farmers will reach out to us or we see them at the farmers market and then they’ll let us know what’s new and we go from there,” Saenz said. Her team will then get a small amount of the produce and make a test batch of the ice cream flavor.
One of the most popular and unique flavors at Sweet Rose is its mint chip. Saenz said that Sweet Rose employees encourage new customers to try their mint chip.
“It’s totally different from any mint-flavored ice cream you could get at the store,” Saenz said.
She likes seeing people change their opinions about mint chip ice cream when trying the one at Sweet Rose. The flavor is very fresh due to the locally grown and recently picked mint that is steeped into the ice cream base. Saenz said that a conversation about sustainable and locally grown food “always starts with people tasting the mint chip.”
Saenz believes it’s important to ensure that the farmers and their work are acknowledged. One of the ways Sweet Rose recognizes the farmers is by naming their flavors after them, examples listed below. Many of these farms are at the Santa Monica farmers market or other local farmers markets.
Tutti Frutti Farms (featured in the Dairy-free Spiced Pumpkin flavor) is located in the Santa Rita Hills in Central California. All of their crops are certified organic and are grown using regenerative soil practices. They also come to the Santa Monica farmers market on Wednesdays.
Tamai Family Farms (featured in the Strawberry flavor) is located in Oxnard, California. It has been in the same family for the past four generations and has passed down their sustainable farming methods and high-quality produce for over 50 years.
Kenter Canyon Farms (featured in the Mint Chip flavor) is a family-owned farm located in Fillmore, California. They have used regenerative and certified organic farming methods since their founding in the early 1980s. After starting with a small plot in Berkeley, California, they now have 160 acres in Ventura County and provide produce for companies like Sweet Rose. They come to the Santa Monica farmers market every Wednesday and Saturday.
Maybe ice cream really isn’t a guilty pleasure at all. It might even be a pleasure that supports our community at large.
