For Newton native Chloe Jankowitz, ice cream is serious business. She and her business partner, Sarah Hayes, are the creators of Scoopsies, a new homemade ice cream brand. In February, the two women set out to create 100 flavors in a year. As part of their challenge, they are hosting an ice cream social every 20 flavors. The next one, which will feature eight new flavors, will be June 30 at Great Scott in Allston.

created at: 2013-06-24You’re making 100 flavors in the course of a year. How many have you made, and what have been the best and worst?

We just made our 35th flavor! We have made some flavors that I could eat an entire pint of in one sitting. We’ve also made some flavors that I don’t love, but made for good experiments. Banana Chai is, hands down, our best flavor, followed by Coffee Oreo and our Pistachio Cardamom Kulfi. If a flavor turns out to be a disaster, we won’t blog about it, which has happened a few times. I made a Champagne Raspberry with really cheap champagne in the first month of our project. I chose not to even churn it, but it taught me a lesson in ingredient quality.

Boston really seems to love ice cream, more so, I think, than other places, and despite the fact that we have a real winter. Why do you think that is?

That’s a great question! I think about this a lot. Boston really is one of the best cities for ice cream, in my opinion. First of all, Boston is home to a few ice cream pioneers, like Steve’s Ice Cream, which was the first parlor to use “mix-ins.” There are so many Boston ice cream store owners that really just “get it” and completely nailed the entire ice cream experience, from the flavors to the equally delightful atmosphere of their stores. Also, Boston is such a quaint, charming city with so much character—very inviting to ice cream! We also make the best frappes.

A lot of other cities are big on the whole frozen yogurt trend (I’ll spare you my diatribe!), which Boston hasn’t fallen too deep into. A few frozen yogurt shops have been opening up around the city, but the ice cream shops are really staying true to themselves—as they should! I think this is a testament to how much our city loves real ice cream. I can’t wait until Scoopsies opens a shop so we can be a part of this city’s ice cream culture. I’m so proud to be from a city that respects and knows good ice cream.

created at: 2013-06-24I, like many of our readers, am lactose intolerant. Are any of your flavors lactose-intolerant friendly?

I’m actually lactose intolerant too! Lactose intolerance and ice cream don’t really go well together, but it’s worth it and I make it work somehow. Something Sarah and I decided from the beginning is that in this project—and eventually in our store—we want to have something for everybody. I used to work at an ice cream store in Boston and there was only one lactose-free flavor offered at a time, if at all. It was always a really sad flavor that would melt the second you scooped it. I felt so bad for whomever I was serving it to! Isn’t it enough to be lactose intolerant? Sometimes I would laugh with the customer and mumble “I’m so sorry” when I handed them the cup. I just wanted them to have the same options as everyone else. Scoopsies has and will continue to make flavors for all diets and preferences. We just made a vegan flavor—Coconut Almond Carob Chip—and it came out beautifully. There is absolutely more where that came from!

Finally, jimmies or sprinkles?

I really don’t mean to turn on Boston, but I call them sprinkles!

*Photo of strawberry-rhubarb ice cream courtesy of 100scoopsies.blogspot.com/2013/05/19-strawberry-rhubarb-classic-with-twist.html

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