Once again I Was traveling causing havoc in south eastern Idaho when I had this little adventure.
We were driving through a small town and we found this cute little shop. It had " CREAMERY " written on it and I saw the sign on the front door said " OPEN" in bright neon lettering. This was all it took to lure me in. It had been years since I last had been to a creamery , and almost a year since I had ice cream from a good creamery ( Brenham, Texas).
We walk in and the first thing I notice is a hand written note out by the front entrance that said " If I Don't come out, I am in the back making cheese. Yell and I will be out" or something along those lines. I came in looking for good Icecream and got cheese as well!! IT had been a long time since I had some good fresh made cheese with FLAVOR!!! Last time I had cheese where I could see the face of the person who slaved over it for hours was in Villahumada,Chihuahua, Mexico!!!
Anyways, the attendant came out and we started conversing. She told us stories awe bout the cheese, how its made, where the milk comes from, how the place got started and a little bit about herself.. all over some gooood ol' cheese. Turns out she has a REAL PASSION for cheese and she really did know what she was talking about.
Anywho... we tried the Yellowstone, haystack, saphireblue, and the coking cheese. I walked out with my icecream and a treat.. TWO kinds of cheese!!
The Icecream
You may be wondering how I can write about some icecream.. well its AMAZING!
First off, you need three things to have good Ice cream. 1. Good Ingredients 2. Teqniche 3. the perfect setting
Ingredients -( http://tetonvalleycreamery.com/index.php?page=milk) The milk comes from a place less than four miles away. The cows aren't given hormones or antibiotics and the milk is delivered fresh every morning.
The fruits in the icecream isn't muted with artificial colors or flavors. When you see the strawbery Icecream you may get a little concearned because the color is different from the bright pink you are acustomed to seeing. It is a subtle creamy rich pink. The huckleberries are hand picked in the surrounding area during huckleberry season... etc.
2. Technique.. I don't actually know what the teqnique is.. but you can definately taste a big difference in the icecream from the store bought/ icecream parlor stuff. It is a rich flavor that you can feel.
3. The perfect setting. The temperature needs to be just right and the setting needs to be amazing.
Well, the temperature was at the point where Winter had been around for long enough for a tiny bit of sun and temps around the 40's to make it feel like summer. The snow was melting. The sun was out. The bright colors and short sleeved shirts were out. It didn't help that the gorgeous rustic Driggs, Idaho was adorned by an amazing sunset, visible from the windows of the shop.
It was an incredible life changing experience. I never imagined that somehting like that existed anymore. I lost my faith at some point roaming the streets of Downtown Houston years ago.
I LOVE IT! I am forever enamoured with a taste, a scene, an idea, a tradition carried by a family for years.
When I think about Driggs' history, I imagine this may have started in Western Europe or pick up along the way by the original settlers sent out by the Mormon pioneers. Maybe the idea came from a gypsy or a settler that came on their own.
What ever it was, I LOVE IT.
It was a simple experience that I will NEVER forget.
This part of America is being lost. I am ecstatic to have been one of the people to experience it, even for only a few minutes.
Teton Valley Creamery
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