The Mother Lode Of Ice Cream, Tasty Fun In The Sierra's

I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream Word count: 2368 By Sarah Lunsford “I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream,” resonates with people throughout the ages from the Roman Emperor Nero, to the youngest ice cream connoisseur sitting outside the Peppermint Stick in Murphys ice cream dripping down his hands as he enjoys a creamy cone. The history of ice cream is long and varied with references to icy refreshments dotting the historical timeline. Long before the Emperor Nero had ice brought down from the Apennine Mountains and flavored with fruit and juices for an icy cold treat, there are references to the ancient Egyptians enjoying a cold treat before the sun took its toll on their creations. It’s widely thought the first recipe for ice cream comes from Mrs. Mary Eales's Receipts published in London in 1718 that included the addition of cream to the ice along with the fruit and other add-ins, making the treat even more irresistible and also causing it to resemble what is enjoyed today throughout the world. The Motherlode has a wealth of ice cream choices from handmade locally influenced flavors in Amador to 50’s inspired car choices in Calaveras to marble slab creations in Tuolumne. “We wanted to start something different and new,” said Stacey Munnerlyn co-owner with husband Stewart of Munnerlyn’s Ice Creamery in Pine Grove. The couple opened their creamery specializing in handcrafted ice creams last year and have been creating flavors and garnering widespread praise ever since. When they decided to open an ice cream shop, Stacey said they did research on where to go to learn how to make ice cream and attended ice cream making classes at Pennsylvania State University. The universities creamery includes famous alumni Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Benny and Jerry’s Ice Cream, and is also the birthplace of the I Scream, ice scream song. The Munnerlyn’s furthered their ice cream education at the Universities of Wisconsin and Florida. All that education paid off, the two make have created 95 different flavors in the last year and have at least 16 in their case at any given time. “Our strawberry is exceptional,” Stacey said. The ice cream is made with antibiotic free dairy and ingredients are purchased locally when possible. The fruits in their fresh fruit flavors, like strawberry, come as much as possible from local farmers. Top sellers include Kit Carson Crunch and combination of light coffer flavored ice cream and Health bars as well as Cake Batter. Munnerlyn’s also offers such unique flavors as Summertime cantaloupe, pomegranate / acia sorbet and Calaveras Blueberry made from blueberries picked in Calaveras County. Business has steadily picked up for the couple. “I had a lady drive from Lincoln for licorice (ice cream),” said Stacey.

It’s not only customers that are coming from a distance to taste ice cram this creamery, it’s also been featured on KCRA’s A-List. If a little ragtime with your frozen treat peaks your interest, a vivist to the Sutter Creek Ice Cream Emporium in Sutter Creek is must. The ice cream emporium, owned by Stevens and Jan Price, has been a mainstay on Main Street for 12 years. “We play ragtime all day long,” said Alicia Walters, all inclusive ice cream scooper at the Emporium. The theme is pervasive at the Emporium with Stevens singing and playing piano, including ragtime numbers, for customer’s enjoyment as well as the walls being decorated with old time memorabilia reflecting ragtime including rolls of piano music. Customers can choose from 22 flavors of Crystal and Dreyers ice cream, along with sandwiches, hot dogs, homemade cobblers and fudge made by Stevens. “We kind of have everything, it gets a little crazy in here,” said Alicia. We have the best hot dogs in Sutter Creek she laughed before pointing out that they are also the only place in Sutter Creek that sells hot dogs. The Emporium also offers dinners a couple of times a month as well as a newsletter to let customers know what’s gong on. Although the Emporium is a perfect fit for the Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival held the 3rd weekend of August, it’s a great place to go and relax all year round. The ice creamery is well known having been written about in the New York Times and Sunset magazine, as well as landing on KCRA’s A-list. A walk past the white and pink awnings of the Peppermint Stick Ice cream parlor in Murphys will give anyone a Norman Rockwell picture that could very well be titled, ‘relaxing with an ice cream’. The parlor has been serving up cold treats on Main Street for over 23 years. Current owners Tony and Rita Ferreirra bought the business 13 years ago. The couple decided to go into the ice cream business after owning pizza parlous in San Jose and still serve what could arguably be the best pizzas around during the winter. “My Aunt, years ago used to have a little ice cream shop,” Rita said. The shop was in Arizona and she along with her brothers and sisters used to go there for ice cream which left her with good memories. “(Ice cream is) something good, that makes you feel good,” Rita said. The parlor serves at least 30 flavors of Dreyers ice cream, sometimes more with the result that there are so many that they don’t always fit up on the menu board. “The most popular flavor, you know, anything chocolate,” said Rita. “(Or) anything that has chocolate in it.” Chocolate is a comfort food she went on to explain it just makes people feel good. Customers and her employees through the years have been great, she said. “I’ve met really neat families, just from being here at the Peppermint,” Rita said. Those families have come from as far away as Russia, Puerto Rica and Brazil as well as close by in the Mother Lode. Through the years there were many times she said she could always tell when foreigners were in town because al lot of them would park in front of the parlor, but in the opposite direction of traffic because where they were from they drove on the other side of the road.

When she saw this, she made sure to go out and tell them to turn their cars around so they wouldn't get a ticket. Nowadays there aren’t as many people from other countries who come to town, she said. “It’s not the same as what it used to be,” said Rita. Even so, they do see a lot of business on weekends, during special events along with those coming out to enjoy the Ironstone concert series. People who have been here as children, bring their own children back, said Rita, and former employees who worked at the Peppermint as teenagers always come back to say hi. “(I’ve seen them) from toddlers to teenagers,” Rita said. “Being here at the Peppermint Stick is really neat. This is my baby.” Historic Angels is home to the Angels Camp World Mercantile recognizable by the many flags flying out front along with an international frog sitting outside to greet customers. The Mercantile is a unique mixture of international and homegrown community effort. It is part of the charity Buttercup Farms that seeks to make life better for individuals around the world with programs in Africa and around the world. The Mercantile itself is a place where people can sit and enjoy themselves, have a coffee or sandwich, and, of course, some ice cream. “It’s a natural in the hot summer weather,” said Libby Amor, Angels Camp World Mercantile Manager. The Mercantile has been serving customers for over a year and offers 8 standard flavors of ice cream along with 4 rotating flavors that vary from green tea to caramel crackle crunch. Their ice cream comes from a specialty mom and pop ice cream maker in Sacramento that has been handmaking their ice cream for over 70 years. “If we could make it better we would,” said Libby. The ice cream has a higher butterfat content than many which adds to its creaminess and makes it rich. Other offerings include real fruit freezes that are non-dairy and non-fat. They’re the most popular on hot days, said Libby. The Mercantile is housed in a building dating back to the 1860’s that was typically used as some sort of mercantile or shop since that time. It has some unique features including the original stamped tin ceiling, display cases from the 1920’s and the original cash registers. “The building has a lot of character,” said Libby. Many times people will come in and tell the staff stories about how the building used to look and what it used to be. “We continue to collect stories of the different shapes the Mercantile has been,” Libby said. Another bonus of such an old space is that it is so large and accommodates all the aspects of the Mercantile, such as family karaoke night on Fridays. “There’s a lot of space to spread out,” she said. “It’s a nice place to hang out.” One of the best parts of the ice cream parlor is seeing the satisfaction and smiles it brings to peoples faces, especially when they’re trying the flavors out with taste tests.

“Watching people try our speckled frog ice cream (is fun)” said Libby who pointed out that its made up of mint ice cream with Oreo’s. “It’s a perfect thing to explore the town having an ice cream cone in your hand,” Libby said. So is cruising Highway 4 to Copper Towne Square where the appropriately named Cruisers waits. “It’s all 50’s themed inside,” said Steve Hutchings who owns Cruisers along with his wife Donna. “It’s just a fun place to be.” The two came up with the idea for the theme because of their love for cars. They belonged to a car club called the Altamont Cruisers before they moved to the area and still drive around in a teal and white colored 1956 Chevy Nomad which also happens to be incorporated in the ice cream parlors logo. A love of ice cream and good memories of times spent enjoying the treat were a couple of reasons the two decided to open the parlor in their retirement. They serve 16 ice cream flavors, 6 of which are sugar free. During the holidays they add to their offerings with flavors like pumpkin around Halloween and peppermint stick at Christmas. The two choose Cascade ice cream after tasting many other brands. “We did a lot of sampling before we chose,” said Steve. “It’s a very rich ice cream.” It’s not only the parlor’s theme which includes the front end of a 1957 Chevy that serves as the condiment bar but also the friendly and relaxed atmosphere of the parlor that encourages people to come in have a treat and stay awhile. “We get people come and talk about their cars,” said Steve. “(We really enjoy) sitting and talking to people who come in and listening to their stories.” Many of those customers talk about buying their first car for $50 when they were in high school. The parlor served its 25,000 customer just about on its one year anniversary in May. We made a big deal about that, said Steve. Cruisers has proved to be a good stopping point for people heading up the hill to Murphys or Arnold and they see a lot of repeat customers. “(It’s) nice to see them come back this summer,” he said. The parlor offers a birthday club that currently ahs over 400 members which gives an ice cream cone for free to members and all they have to do is sign up. “Happy people come in and happy people go out,” said Steve. The worst thing that could happen is that someone could drop their cone, he said, then we just give them a new one. Here’s the Scoop an old fashioned ice cream parlor in Jamestown offers the old time ambience of the Old West combined with the refreshing taste of ice cream. The bar behind the counter is a carved wooden creation, complete with mirrors giving those who come in for a scoop and sit awhile the chance to feel like they’ve gone back in time. On Main Street the parlor has a tucked away feel but is worth looking for to take a taste and a look. Frozen slab ice cream is one creamy concoction that those who visit Sonora won’t want to miss at the Sonora Creamery.

Ice cream blended with a variety of add-ins on a frozen marble slab is a sight to see at this creamery that features a red and white checkered décor along with local high school memorabilia on the walls. “We tried to bring back the old school,” said Virginia Aguiar who owns the creamery along with Jeff. The creamery gets big lunch and after school crowds, and Virginia said she tries to keep prices reasonable for those who live here as well as those who visit. “I get people from everywhere, they’re coming out not only for the ice cream, but for my sandwiches,” she said. Those sandwiches are so good that they were voted the best in Tuolumne County by the local Union Democrat for two years. With the frozen marble slab, the parlor offers customers the opportunity to express their creativity in their ice cream creations. “It’s a variety,” as far as creations go, said Virginia. “The kids really like the rainbow sherbet with gummy bears,” she said. The Creamery gets a lot of regulars, “It’s almost like being home,” said Virginia. “I enjoy seeing the different people who come in, getting to know them and knowing they’re first names and making them happy and number one,” she said. The Motherlode has more than a few ice cream offerings, but they all have one thing in common, the enjoyment of serving up something special in a cone. “It’s about good memories,” said Steve Hutchings, “You went and had a sundae and just relaxed.” Ice cream has a way of doing that, giving you the experience of that creamy cool treat with a cherry on top that gives you a warm memory lasting a lifetime.