CALIFORNIA, USA — California's endured several triple-digit days so far this summer and more are on the way. One way people choose to stay cool? Eating ice cream.
ABC10 went behind the counter with some of the region’s most popular ice cream shops to see how the magic happens.
Gunther's Ice Cream has served the Sacramento area since 1940. Its smooth, creamy frozen treat keeps locals coming back and attracts new visitors to their Franklin Boulevard shop. The neon sign is the beacon of the historic landmark serving ice cream and novelty frozen treats.
"It is made right here, right in-house with recipes that have been perfected over the last 84 years," said scooper Marliss Neal.
Some of the original flavors are still around, like Butter Brickle, a toffee-flavored ice cream. The 16% butterfat cream is what makes the recipe so special. The mixture is flavored and churned, then mix-ins are added, like cookie dough.
Gunther's makes their ice cream daily. The staff knows how to pack a tub in seconds flat. The tubs are topped and then off to delivery trucks for wholesale or to the freezer to get ready for hungry customers to dig into at the shop.
Gunther's always has around 50 flavors on tap, plus their fruit freezes. You can find a full list their flavors on their website.
Over in Yolo County, Davis Creamery is well-known for its unique flavors. The local staple makes small batch, handcrafted ice cream.
"We make ice cream everyday, seven days a week," said co-owner Jennifer Schmidt.
Schmidt and her husband have run the small business on E Street for around nine years. She says the tea-flavored ice creams are some of the most popular, including Thai Tea.
"We actually soak the leaves overnight," she said "And you can see, they're just actual tea leaves."
Once the leaves are sifted out, the mix goes into the machine where it takes on a new life in a matter of minutes.
In addition to its dairy-based ice cream, Davis Creamery makes its own vegan ice cream and sorbets too.
They even let customers decide what flavors they will serve up next. Each year, they hold a flavor making competition and anyone can submit their ideas. This year's winner was Horchata Chai.
"It's a lot of fun," Schmidt said. "Some of our most popular flavors are from customers."
Previous winners include Strawberry Oreo, Kit Kat Nutella and Brigadeiro, which is a chocolate ice cream with condensed milk.
The shop has 20 flavors in stock each day and their flavors rotate. You can view a full list of their flavors on their website by clicking here.
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