The Creemee Is the Ultimate Taste of Vermont Summer

Ben & Jerry’s may claim to be “Vermont’s Finest,” but locals know nothing beats the state’s unique take on maple soft serve

Ice cream kingpins Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have brought international ice cream fame to Vermont, the second-least-populated state in the U.S. They’ve slapped “Vermont’s Finest” on pints of Ben & Jerry’s before sending them around the world. But, as popular as Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey may be from Spain to Malaysia, they aren’t the frozen treats that green-blooded Vermonters crave during the state’s brief summer season. Ben & Jerry’s only has four scoop shops in the state, counting the brand’s world headquarters — fewer than the New York City metro area.

The true sign of a Vermont summer is the creemee, the local take on soft serve that’s served in chocolate, vanilla, and twists like elsewhere — but just as often, a flavor closer to locals’ hearts: maple. Every year, when winter gives way to fool’s spring, then second winter, then mud season, and then finally spring, creemee purveyors put out their sandwich boards and flip their signs to “open.” Vermonters adjust their routines accordingly, penciling in frequent visits to ice cream shops and lining up in front of takeout windows.

“Vermont is such a rural place and everything is spread out and there’s not as many bustling centers of commerce,” says Matt Bonoma, owner of Vermont Cookie Love in North Ferrisburgh. “Everyone needs a reason to come together and socialize, and that can be harder to do when you’re physically spread apart.” The creemee is the perfect reason to gather.

What makes a Vermont creemee?

While some theorize the term creemee simply describes the texture of the ice cream, it’s more likely a portmanteau adopted from “crème glacée,” the term Vermont’s Québécois neighbors use for ice cream. The hyper-regional vernacular name doesn’t extend past Vermont’s borders, and it used to be even more limited than that; growing up in the southern part of the state, I knew it as soft serve, but “creemee” (allowing for some variation in spelling) has since become the state’s de facto word — and a point of pride.

A creemee looks a lot like soft serve ice cream, but Vermonters will assure you it’s distinct. Per the name, it’s creamier, thanks to a higher fat content in the base mix. Many shops source theirs from Kingdom Creamery, based in the state’s Northeast Kingdom region (others source from Hood, based in Lynnfield, Massachusetts). Kingdom uses milk produced by the 300-odd Holstein cows that live across the road, and the creamery offers mixes in 5 and 10 percent fat, making for richer soft serve.

“We have nothing artificial in our creemee mix,” says Leslie Michaud, one of the creamery’s owners, noting that some places do want corn syrup added to make the ice cream smoother.

Bonoma, who sources from Kingdom Creamery, explains that shops also calibrate their soft serve machines to add air to the mix, which gives the ice cream its characteristically light, almost-melted texture. Even if shops use the same base mix, how they tune their machines can lead to big differences in the final product.

“You want it soft and almost ready to melt. But too soft and it doesn’t stay on the cone, and you can’t get toppings on it,” Bonoma says.

Most creemees are typically delivered in a Styrofoam-like cake cone, which may not be the most flavorful option but does allow the airy ice cream to stand on its own. The cake cone also creates the perfect texture for a last bite, becoming saturated — not soggy — with semi-melted ice cream to create a cone-to-cream golden ratio.

Then there’s the maple flavor, which may have originated at the 1981 Rutland County Fair, though this idea has its detractors. Wherever it started, it represents Vermont’s idyllic agricultural identity distilled down to two of its core, defining elements: maple production and dairy farming. Sure, neighboring states produce both products, but Vermont produces more than half of the maple production in the U.S. and nearly twice as much milk as the rest of New England altogether.

While the maple creemee may be iconic Vermont, a handful of newer stands have been exploring flavors and methods from further afield. Canteen Creemee Co. in Waitsfield regularly rotates between flavors like strawberry, basil, Thai tea, and blueberry.

As opposed to Ben and Jerry’s, creemees tend to be far simpler, not bogged down in all those chunks and mix-ins, making them perfect for no-nonsense Vermonters. But that doesn’t mean shops don’t have some fun with toppings. Little Gordo in Burlington has concocted the Wizard: a take on the Dairy Queen Blizzard that combines your choice of creemee base with chocolate-coated graham cracker and toasted marshmallow fluff. Some of the best renditions are made with local ingredients: At Morse Farm in East Montpelier, you can get a maple creemee with maple dust as a topping, and at Vermont Cookie Love, creemees are coated in cookie crumbs from the on-site bakery. In the little town of Middlesex, Red Hen Baking Co. serves creemees in waffle cones baked in-house, and at Burlington Bay Market & Cafe you can even get a creemee for your dog topped with a biscuit.

Finding a decent creemee isn’t hard, even in the smallest towns that aren’t much more than a few houses and a post office. You can find creemees at general stores, gas stations, farm stands, berry patches, and maple farms. But if you want the best...

Where to get Vermont’s best creemees

Palmer Lane Maple

Locals have voted Palmer Lane’s creemees the best in the Burlington area for the past three years in a row. The secret is in the syrup; the family business focused on maple production for many years before it expanded into ice cream.
19 Old Pump Rd, Jericho, VT 05465

Canteen Creemee Co.

Canteen is one of the few places that serves creemees year-round, and the list of flavors is constantly changing. The menu also includes seasonal creemee sundaes, like a strawberry and vanilla twist topped with cake crumbs, fresh local strawberries, whipped cream, and mint. (The fried chicken is A+, too.)
5123 Main Street, Waitsfield, VT, 05673

Lu.lu

Everything at this scoop shop is made (and even pasteurized) in-house. Many come for the impressive menu of hard ice cream, but the creemees — made with fresh, local berries in the summer — aren’t to be missed.
185 Main Street, Vergennes, VT, 05491

Morse Farm

For the real maple creemee experience, go straight to the source. Morse Farm’s sugar house is open to the public, and you can take a stroll through the sugarbush before tucking into a creemee flavored with maple syrup made on-site.
1168 County Road, Montpelier, VT, 05602

Vermont Cookie Love

Cookie Love is primarily a cookie bakery, but from May to October its creemee window is a go-to for locals. Vanilla and chocolate are on tap, but the coffee-maple twist is far and away the best-seller. Whatever you get, try the cookie crumb topping.
6915 US-7, North Ferrisburgh, VT, 05473

Little Gordo Creemee Stand

You won’t always find standard creemee flavors — not even maple — at Taco Gordo’s ice cream outpost in downtown Burlington. Horchata, coconut, matcha, strawberry, and others are among the rotating list, along with toppings like Froot Loops and Oreos. Check Instagram daily to find out what’s on tap.
71 S. Union Street, Burlington, VT, 05401

Red Hen Baking Co.

Red Hen’s ovens crank out bread that can be found at general stores and co-ops throughout the region, but you have to go to the HQ to experience the brand’s seasonal creemee window. The always-rotating menu of flavors like chocolate tahini and malted vanilla is worth a stop if you happen to be driving through town, but the freshly baked waffle cones are worth going out of your way. Check social media for the latest flavor intel.
961 US-2, Middlesex, VT 05602