FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do you make your own ice cream?

A: Absolutely! That’s what we do. We control every step of the process from sourcing the highest quality organic and local ingredients, often from local farms and food artisans, to custom blending each flavor, churning the ice cream, packing pint containers, and scooping it up. We even grow some of our own ingredients like mint, kaffir lime, and raspberries–all organic, of course. We are the only ice cream producer in our area to handcraft from scratch and it makes a huge difference in taste and quality! Other local ice cream shops advertising “homemade” or “housemade” ice cream actually buy their ice cream already made or use a pre-made commercial ice cream mix and simply add flavoring before calling it “homemade”.

Q: Where do you get your milk and cream?

A: Artik Creamery is proud to source all of its milk and cream from Organic Valley (aka CROPP Cooperative). Organic Valley is a farmer-owned co-op with a network of regional dairy producers who pool their resources together to supply the highest quality 100% organic milk and cream to consumers and food producers. A majority of Organic Valley’s co-op dairies in Oregon are located between Roseburg and the coast.  Artik Creamery uses a special old-fashioned, vat-pasteurized cream from Organic Valley that has the best taste of any cream we’ve tried.

Q: Is it gelato?

A: Strictly speaking, no. But Artik’s ice cream has a lot in common with gelato: it is slow-churned so less air is incorporated, making it more dense and flavorful than typical air-whipped American-style ice cream. We make our ice cream using a professional Italian gelato maker.

It’s important to note that gelato is not synonymous with quality, it is simply a style of ice cream made using less cream and more milk. A lot of what is labeled as “gelato” is not true gelato at all and the name is applied as a marketing gimmick–in fact, in the US this is most often the case. Artik Creamery has mastered making rich and creamy American-style ice cream but with the density and texture of true Italian-style gelato for truly unique and exceptional experience.

Q: Do you make any sugar-free flavors?

A: Whether honey, agave, maple syrup, or evaporated cane juice, all of our flavors have some form or another of sugar. We are committed to using all-natural organic and local ingredients and do not use any sugar-free artificial sweeteners. Artik Creamery’s ice cream contains quite a bit less sugar than most other ice creams out there (which we think are often overly sweet).

Q: How is Artik Creamery ice cream different than others?

A: We do something that is quite rare for an ice cream shop these days: we handcraft ice cream from scratch–meaning we start with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and other ingredients and custom blend them into finished ice cream. We formulate all of our own recipes and use organic and local ingredients, many of which we source directly from local farmers. We even grow some of our own ingredients. Combining the best of American-style and Italian-style (gelato) ice cream techniques, we craft an exceptional ice cream that is the most fresh, best tasting, and original of any ice cream available. We believe it outshines the commercially-produced ice creams that make up the vast majority of ice cream in this country and we think you’ll agree!

By our estimate, there are no more than 12 ice cream companies that handcraft organic ice cream in the US. We are one of them. Taste the difference!

Q: Where can I buy your products? Can I buy Artik ice cream when you’re not at the farmers market?

A: Short answer: our ice cream is primarily available only at our booth at the  local farmers markets we attend each week in season. See our Where to Buy page for details and updates. We’re in the business of crafting small batches of the best ice cream possible and we couldn’t supply grocery stores without compromising the special way we make our ice cream. Hopefully we’ll be able to serve our customers in the future at an Artik Creamery scoop shop that will make it much easier to find our frozen deliciousness anytime you want it.

Q: Is your ice cream dairy-free?

A: We offer a dairy-free flavor at all times, however, the majority of our ice cream is true, dairy-based ice cream made with the finest organic and local ingredients. We make our dairy-free flavors with the same high standards as the rest of our ice cream and we think it’s some of the best and it has been every bit as popular as our regular ice cream.

Q: What is in your dairy-free ice cream? Is it soy or hemp?

A: We make a variety of dairy-free flavors but the stuff we label “non-dairy ice cream” or “dairy-free ice cream” (not “sorbet”) is made with a base of organic coconut milk, organic creamed coconut and is sweetened with organic agave syrup. It has the richness and creaminess of ice cream without the dairy. We do not use soy, hemp, or nut milks in our non-dairy ice cream. We prefer the coconut base because it tastes great and has a creamy texture that is not possible with other dairy alternatives. Of course, not everyone likes coconuts. That’s why we also make a variety sorbets made from fresh local fruits, chocolate, and other great flavors–these are some of the best, most local frozen treats available.

Q: Is your ice cream gluten-free?

A: Yes, unless it is a flavor like Malt Cookie or Chocolate Fudge Brownie which have baked ingredients mixed in. Otherwise, we do not add any glutenous ingredients to our ice cream and it is gluten-free. We produce our ice cream in a facility that also produces glutenous foods, however, we are careful to ensure that no mixing of products occurs.

Q: Are your handmade cones gluten-free?

A: No, we make our cones from scratch each day and they contain organic unbleached wheat flour. We may add a gluten-free option in the future so let us know if you’d like to see that.

Q: Can you supply ice cream for parties, wedding receptions, etc.?

A: Absolutely, and it is a great and simple way to make your event extra special. With advance notice we can package our ice cream in the right size containers for you, make a custom flavor, and even work directly with your caterer or event planner to make it easy to have awesome ice cream at your event. Contact us for more information.

Q: When will you have my favorite flavor again?

A: That’s a great question and the answer is often “we don’t know.” Artik Creamery embraces seasonality and variability and we make an extraordinarily diverse range of flavors. Our commitment to using local and seasonal flavors means that we don’t, for example, make peach ice cream in May. Some flavors aren’t affected by season (chocolate, for example) and may come up more often in our mix of offerings. Let us know what you want–we make many flavors in response to customers’ requests. We also announce our flavors in our blog, The Scoop, and via Facebook and Twitter. In the meantime, we encourage you to try some of our other amazing flavors and perhaps discover a new favorite.

Q: Where is your scoop shop?

A: We currently serve our ice cream at our booth at three Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Markets each week in season. We do not have a fixed-location scoop shop…yet. We produce our ice cream in downtown Talent, Oregon but our production facility does not include a scoop shop or store.

Q: Do you have nutritional analysis data for your ice cream?

A: Not at this time. We produce small batches of so many different flavors that we cannot send each one off to a lab for nutritional analysis.

We do know that a 2 oz. (57g) single scoop of our Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream has about 9g of total fat, 11g of sugar, and 134 calories (view PDF of nutrition data label for a pint container, 100g serving). Other flavors will have different nutritional data but our Madagascar Vanilla Ice Cream is fairly representative of many of our flavors.

Q: I have a great flavor idea! Will you make it?

A: Without knowing what your great flavor idea is, all we can say is “maybe”.  Candied bacon? Green apple and caramel? Yerba maté ginger chocolate? We love customer requests and have made many flavors at the suggestion of our awesome customers (OK, not candied bacon…yet). So tell us what you want. Go to our flavor suggestion page and send us your flavor idea! We also take special orders if you are looking to commission a flavor (2 gallon minimum).