Tag: maple

Granite State Candy Shoppe, Concord, NH

August 15, 2020Destination Ice Cream, Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Way, way back, when I was just starting this blog, I tried to visit Granite State Candy Shoppe. (I’d visited once or twice to browse the candy, but I’d never gotten ice cream there.) The first time, I was looking for a sweet treat while in downtown Concord. So I headed over…only to see that they were closed already for the evening. (Guess I should have looked up their hours first!)

The next time was several weeks later (definitely into the fall at this point), and when I went inside, they informed me that they only scooped ice cream during the summer – but I could buy a pint! Since I was there as a part of an outing with my husband, and since we’d never tried their ice cream, I wasn’t interested in just grabbing a pint to go, alas.

So it had been years – very probably three or four years – since I’d tried to go back. I’d thought about it a couple of times when I was in New Hampshire, and whether it was the parking or the knowledge that they might not be scooping yet, I skipped it.

But thankfully, in early September of last year, I was finally free to visit!

Here’s what I tried: 

Ultra Chocolate – This is their version of chocolate. It’s pleasant, but I found it to be an icier and lighter ice cream rather than a creamy texture.

Peppermint Stick – This is super smooth, melt in your mouth creamy, without any chunks. It would be perfect with hot fudge. It tastes like Christmas! It’s also a bit flaky on the spoon, but NOT when it hits your mouth, so never fear!

NH Maple Pecan – This is a robust maple flavor, with crunchy pecans. It’s base is about midway between icy and creamy. I really like the pecan texture here.

Black Raspberry Chip – The texture is a bit flaky, but this is a super delicious real raspberry flavor, with excellent darker chocolate chips.

I ordered a small for $4.50, which honestly looked like a medium, and they let me get two flavors. These were big portions that felt fair given the prices. I got my ice cream in a white chocolate bowl!

I loved the variety of flavors that they had, though all three flavors of cheesecake have crust so none for me. They’ve got tons of sundaes, make your own sundaes, maple syrup and other add-ons, and the prices include tax.

During my visit, they had one scooper and one cashier. That meant that the line grew quickly as I was trying flavors. Perhaps that’s why it’s seasonal? It must be hard for the employees to regulate. They were nice, it just gets congested quickly.

They are offering curbside pickup right now from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. (call for their Sunday hours, it’s unclear on the website), and they’ve got an extensive collection of homemade candies (quite cheap/reasonable depending on the type) and fudge in addition to their ice cream. You can also order their fudge and candies online.

I’m so glad I finally made the visit. These are excellent flavors with quality ingredients, even if some of the textures are a bit more flaky than I’d prefer. It’s definitely worth a try, and I’d add on maple syrup or try a chocolate bowl if I were you.

Which of these flavors would be first on your list to try?

Photo credit: Granite State Candy Shoppe website

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Return to Hatchland, N. Haverhill, NH

July 25, 2020Destination Ice Cream, travel, , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I last blogged about the magic of Hatchland Farm’s ice cream in the fall 2018. At the time, all I had tried was their maple soft serve and maple hard ice cream. Spoiler alert: I loved it.

Last fall, I wasn’t teaching locally, so I had to work harder to find reasons to visit Hatchland, which is in the middle of nowhere aka North Haverhill, New Hampshire. But trust me, if I was within an hour or two of Hatchland, I did everything possible to make a visit!

As of my last visit, they were still offering both sugar and regular gluten-free cones in addition to the regular offerings and waffle cones. With COVID-19, they’ve had to adjust their inventory somewhat, so call ahead if that’s a deal-breaker for you.

They use their own cream and milk in the ice cream, and they’ve got a cute general store carrying pints and quarts to go, milk, eggs and lots of other local products and even some baked goods and produce.

Their hard ice cream is excellent, I’ve had several flavors and I recommend it enthusiastically. It’s definitely on the harder side, but none of that super hard texture. It’s still creamy.

Their soft serve is 100% the best reason to visit. Since my last writing, I learned that they use their soft serve as a way to use up their extra cream, which means this stuff is richer than the soft serve you’ll find anywhere else in NH (and almost anywhere, in my own experience).

The maple soft serve is still my absolute favorite.

The sweet cream soft serve is not too sweat, super creamy and almost like butter. Rich and lovely!!

And of course their vanilla and chocolate soft serves are equally delightful.

If you ever see the option to get maple and sweet cream as a twist, DO IT! But also, get them separately. Just eat them, trust me.

They only carry two flavors of soft serve at any given time, and they rotate out the non-vanilla flavor, so don’t get your hopes married on any particular one. You can follow them on Facebook for fairly regular flavor updates.

They offer ice cream flights and their ice cream is pretty darn cheap, and laughably so if you’re used to city prices. And portions are large!

They sometimes have coffee soft serve…they sometimes have strawberry shortcake…and you need to try this.

Last fall, I drove to Hatchland when I was in Plymouth or when I was in Littleton. It’s not particularly close to either. But it’s worth the trip, and the scenery there and back is gorgeous. They scoop seasonally though their store will keep selling pints and such while they have it.

Have you made a trip to Hatchland yet? If not, what’s stopping you?

Supporting My Blog

I am truly grateful for your support of my blog! You can help keep the content coming regularly by doing any or all of the following:

  • Become a patron of my work!
  • Make purchases via my Amazon website links. There is no additional cost to you, and a portion of the proceeds can support our travels. Begin your Amazon search here.
  • Make other purchases using my affiliate links. Signing up with Dosh or Capital One 360 is a great way for everyone with a smartphone to support me, and I also have options for aspiring virtual assistants as well as occasional and full-time RVers to save money. This link will take you to my other travel page with my husband – we’ll have one here soon!
  • Listen to, subscribe and review my theater comedy podcast, Finishing The Season!
  • Subscribe to this as well as my other travel blog, RossAndJamieAdventure, and recommend our work to your friends and family.
  • Take music or theater lessons (group or private) from me and my husband, either in person or via Skype at TinyVillageMusic.com.