SHIELDS, MI – A smooth, sweet and salty concoction of a limited-time ice cream flavor is up for grabs.
Great Lakes Ice Cream Co. has brought back its “surprisingly popular” dill pickle ice cream after a three-year hiatus, owners announced via the company’s Facebook page this week.
The simple blend includes pureed dill Freakin’ Pickles, which operates out of Au Gres.
A view inside Great Lakes Ice Cream Company, 7647 Gratiot Road in Shields, Mich.Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com
There aren’t chunks of pickles throughout, but the dill flavor is subtly present.
“The flavor itself has generated a lot of talk. People love the oddball flavors,” said operations manager Andrew Pirie. “I like putting things in ice cream and seeing what works.”
Operations manager Andrew Pirie poses for a photograph with a cone of dill pickle ice cream available from Great Lakes Ice Cream Company, 7647 Gratiot Road in Shields, Mich.Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com
Andrew Pirie said his father, Scot Pirie, owns the business, which is family owned and operated out of two locations.
The Midland location, 901 E. Ashman St., is open year-round and is where all the ice cream is made. It opened in 2003.
The Shields location, 7647 Gratiot Road, is open seasonally. It opened in 2018.
A view of Great Lakes Ice Cream Company, 7647 Gratiot Road in Shields, Mich.Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com
Andrew Pirie said all their flavors are homemade in five-gallon batches. They have two full-time ice cream makers during the summer.
The flavor creations mostly come from Andrew Pirie but sometimes come from customer suggestions.
“Any given year, we’ll probably make 150-plus flavors,” he said. “We love bringing out different flavors that we can’t find anywhere else.”
A view inside Great Lakes Ice Cream Company, 7647 Gratiot Road in Shields, Mich.Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com
Andrew Pirie said the business got its start because his dad wanted good ice cream, so he began making his own.
The Piries use high quality products and source locally as much as they can, such as Michigan strawberries, blueberries, sugar and cream.
“I always try to improve flavors, too. When I go on vacation, if I try an ice cream that I think is better than ours, I come back and I make ours better,” Andrew Pirie said. “It’s a lot of work to make good ice cream, but it’s worth it.”
A view of a sundae available from Great Lakes Ice Cream Company, 7647 Gratiot Road in Shields, Mich.Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com
Great Lakes Ice Cream Co. also creates custom flavors for businesses, such as a lavender ice cream for Indigo Lavendar Farms in Imlay City made with the farm’s lavender and an ice cream with cookies made with Sergeant Scoops and Baked Goods homemade cookies.
Andrew Pirie said they have a loyal customer base, with some of their regulars visiting at least once a week if not more. International visitors to the region have even stopped in after being referred by locals.
While they offer some wacky flavors like dill pickle, they also have all the classics.
Andrew Pirie said in the fall, they will offer pumpkin pie, caramel apple and cider doughnut ice cream flavors. During the Christmas season, they offer holiday flavors, such as eggnog, peppermint stick and gingersnap cookie.
The Midland shop is open from noon to 10 p.m. every day and the Shields location is open from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day.
Check out their Facebook page here and their website here for more information on new flavors and hours.
Would you like MLive to feature your favorite restaurant in Michigan’s Best Local Eats? Send the details, including business name, address and best menu item, to Kaytie Boomer at kboomer@mlive.com.
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Dining and Cooking