Churn Your Own Ice Cream at Smitten!

Just when you thought it wasn’t possible to make a visit to the ice cream shop any sweeter, Bay Area favorite (and inventor of the Brrr machine, which mixes up and freezes each individual ice cream serving right before your eyes) is offering churn your own ice cream workshops. Ice cream lover s of all ages are invited to come in to the shop and create their very own custom flavor. Read on for all the details!

What Flavor Have You Been Dreaming Of? 
Reading the extensive menus at the dozens of artisinal ice cream shops in the Bay could make on think that all the wacky ice cream flavors have already been dreamed up and tried. But one visit to the Smitten ice cream churning workshop proves that’s definitely not true. Prior to our scheduled class, one of the ice cream experts reach rout and asked what ingredients we required for our custom creation.

While we let our ice cream-loving three-year-old do the picking (she went for orange, lemon and chocolate chip and strawberry-banana) some of the older students were a little more daring. When we arrived at the Chestnut Street shop for the 11 a.m. class, the counter was filled with ingredients including charcoal powder, matcha green tea, and sesame seeds. One student even requested gold flakes!

Churn It Yourself
The small class (no more than 10) allowed for an expert from Smitten (a Brrrista) to work with small groups of two of three. We mixed their own base of milk, sugar and cream with our ingredients, then got to churning, flipping on the Brrr machine and watching ice cream appear before our eyes. But the first batch was simply for tasting and refining the recipe. Did it need more orange juice? Zest? A richer color? All the students made their adjustments and then started on their second batch.

Name It, Pack It, Eat It!
Once your flavor is perfected, it’s time to name your creation. Our little ice cream chef went with Orna for her orange, lemon and chocolate chip flavor. Despite having already tasted PLENTY along the way, she and the Brrristas scooped up one final celebratory taste in a freshly made waffle cone before packing up the rest in a pint container (featuring the ice cream’s name and churned-on date) for us to take home. Currently, there are only a few classes scheduled, but after this first run, Smitten plans to keep hosting them, so check back on the site or follow them on Facebook to be the first to hear when new dates are announced. 

Marina Shop
268 Chestnut St. 
Saturday, January 28th at 11 a.m.

Pacific Heights Shop
2404 California St.
Wednesday, Feb 1 at 11 a.m.
Saturday, Feb 4 at 11 a.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 11 a.m.

Cost: $70
Each class runs 1.5 hrs.
Online: eventbrite.com/e/churn-your-own-ice-cream

What flavor would you mix up? Tell us in the comments below! 

–Erin Feher