Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Factory

 

Willy Wonka: If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it; want to change the world… there’s nothing to it.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

I discovered the magical food ice cream on a trip to San Francisco when I was around 6. While visiting my aunt she asked what I wanted for dessert and I answered “a popsicle”. She told me ice cream was better and gave me some. She was right.

Since then I have been a huge fan of ice cream. On my last trip to San Luis Obisbo I discovered Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab. I started emailing with the founder of Doc Burnstein’s Greg Steinberger. Greg invited me to visit his factory. I was excited as I have never been to an ice cream factory. I met Greg at the factory and he told me all about Doc Burnstein’s.

Doc Burnstein’s is community owned, highly involved in the community, and a member of Benefit Corporations.

 

Greg explained how Doc Burnstein’s was involved with Make a Wish Foundation and helped make wishes.

Next we toured the Dairy Fusion room where the ingredients are stored.

There were lots of crates full of 16% butterfat ice cream mix.

It was here I found out they use Sprecher Root Beer for their Root Beer Marble ice cream.

 

The mixing room was to the right of the Dairy Fusion room and had two 5 gallon ice cream makers. They were making Pear sorbet in the mixing room and we got a sample.

Pear sorbet had texture like frozen lemonade and full of pear flavor. The secret ingredient is canned pears from Smart + Final. Taste just like canned pears from Del Monte cans I use to eat when I was a kid. This sorbet was the freshest I’ve ever had and the flavors so vibrant. Supermarket ice cream flavors seem duller in comparison from too much time in the freezer.

 

The last room was the Cryo Bunker which was kept at -15 so the ice cream would stay frozen.

 

 

 

Visiting Doc Burnstein’s ice cream factory was like magical journey in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It was amazing seeing what goes into ice cream, seeing it made, and tasting samples freshly made samples.

Thanks to Greg for the amazing tour and explaining how Doc Burnstein’s is helping to change the world one ice cream scoop at a time.

 

To conclude this awesome experience I bought some souvenirs. A shirt, ice cream scoop, and a quarts of Heavenly Vanilla and Root Beer Marble Ice cream.

Ice cream scoop was made by Zeroll and did an excellent job.  I set my freezer to the coldest setting so it’s usually -5F resulting in rock hard ice cream.  Only the best quality scoops work as I’ve broken the handles on the cheap ones.

 

Heavenly Vanilla was thick, rich, and full of vanilla flavor. Tasted freshly made. 🙂

 

Root Beer Marble was rich and full of vanilla flavor with burst of sweet root beer flavor from the randomly appearing root beer syrup. Tasted like it was just made. Root beer flavored ice cream has been extremely hard to find and this is the best I’ve had.

Wish I could buy all my ice cream right after they make it in the factory. You can book your own tour on their website.