INSIDE SCOOP

999 State Route 54, Penn Yan, NY 14527

Spottedduck.com • Seasonal Hours - check before visiting

This past summer we made a short trip up to the Finger Lakes region, specifically Watkins Glen. While the Finger Lakes may not offer the most technical of riding, it is always relaxing and pleasant to meander around the different lakes and explore the various vineyards and emerging breweries and distilleries. However, my sights were set on a different kind of tasting, that of the frozen custard at the Spotted Duck.

Frozen custard, you say? And what, pray tell, is the difference between ice cream and frozen custard? While all frozen custard is ice cream, not all ice cream is custard. The difference being custard has a higher content of milk fat (yum), includes egg yolk in the recipe which introduces protein, and has less incorporated air, also known as overrun in ice cream/frozen dessert lingo, making it a denser, creamier texture. In my years of making ice cream, I have found that different recipes work better with custard than ice cream and vice versa. But the custards I have made have always had a much creamier texture and superior mouth-feel.

Spotted Duck Creamery, now just Spotted Duck, began its life in 2016 with Elizabeth and Daniel Hoover. They had been making ice cream in their small grocery store in Penn Yan, then bought the farm on which live their Ancona ducks who produce the spotted duck eggs used in their frozen custard creations. Elizabeth found that duck eggs, specifically the yolks, bring something special to the mixture instead of chicken eggs. While some might be taken aback by the use of duck eggs, more are intrigued and find that Spotted Duck frozen custard might just be the best ‘ice cream’ they’ve ever tasted.

When the Hoovers were ready to sell Spotted Duck, Sam Solomon, who had a very good working relationship with them, took it over. Spotted Duck had an amazing following, with the parking lot always full as folks enjoyed their custard while sitting in the field and watching the ducks and resident peacock, Alejandro, strut his stuff. The initiation of the flight of custard made it even easier and more fulfilling for a tasting, as flights of four or eight flavors let you sample and then decide on the bigger scoop.

Everything was running just fine; the Super Scoopers were scooper busy, parking lot full, folks enjoying their custard in the sun and then – BOOM – in 2023 Spotted Duck was visited by Cohen Thompson, super TikTok influencer, and the lines grew to hours wait, exploding on social media sites and bringing Spotted Duck’s already delicious custard to the forefront, winning it the award for best ice cream in the nation (okay, I know it’s custard, but that’s what the award said). As Sam – Chief Duck Officer – said, “If Riesling is the representation of the Finger Lakes in a bottle of wine, then Spotted Duck custard is a representation of the Finger Lakes in a scoop.’

Each day, batches of custard are made from scratch using the freshest ingredients sourced from the greater Finger Lakes region – milk from local cows and fruits grown on-site or neighboring farms. If you visit first thing in the morning, you’ll smell the freshly baked cookies and hand-rolled cones. Eggs are collected from the resident Ancona and Khaki Campbell ducks; did you know that ducks do not lay their eggs every day like chickens, but only produce 3-5 eggs a week.

And the flavors that come out of the ice cream kitchen are truly phenomenal. There are the always present such as Wicked Chocolate, Vanilla Crème, Candied Coconut, Real Cookies ‘n’ Cream and Java Junction. Then there are the multitude of seasonal varieties that depend on what’s growing around them – Blueberry Streusel, Pumpkin Spiced Pecan, Lemon Basil, Sweet Corn and Peach Cobbler to name a VERY few.

Of course Brian and I both went for the flight, with four different flavors each to share; Brian going for the dark flavors and me for the lighter summer fare. It was such a beautiful July day and we were in absolutely no rush. All were delicious and more than enough to satisfy our sweet tooth cravings.

During the season there are pop-up visiting food trucks and other events which you can check on their Facebook page. If you would like an up close and personal visit, there is a three bedroom/one bath guest house on-site available through AirBnB. How wonderful! Ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Enjoy your visit to the Finger Lakes and give Alejandro the Peacock my regards.