It’s Never Too Cold for Ice Cream – Pumpkin Edition

By Norah Lubeck and Conrad Hamel

Pumpkin is a classic fall flavor, especially in ice cream. Around the Durham area, there are numerous options to get this treat. We tested out different ice cream locations on three different sets of criteria. The first was the set, setting, and atmosphere. The second being the price of the ice cream itself. Last but not least the flavor and texture of the ice cream. The overall rating is the average of the three ratings.

Location 1: Goodberrys

• Item: Pumpkin shake with pumpkin spice whipped cream and fall sprinkles
• Overall Rating: 6.7/10
  • Atmosphere: Goodberrys has a good range of outdoor seating, with benches, tables, and open lighting. However, it is located in a commercial area that is very car-dominated, which isn’t the most pleasant place to enjoy a sweet treat.
    • Rating: 7/10
  • Price: The price of the milkshake was around $7. This is a fairly expensive price, however milkshakes often cost more than ice cream.
    • Rating: 6/10
  • Taste: The milkshake had an accurate pumpkin pie flavor, but the sweetness levels were too high. The shake had sprinkles, which added texture. For some, the texture and added sweetness of the sprinkles may be too much for their flavor pallet. For us, it created a milkshake that was too rich, and you could only take a few sips. Ultimately, the sheer amount of sugar and sprinkles in the drink drowned out the pumpkin flavor.
    • Rating: 7/10

Goodberrys also offers other fall and winter flavors such as cinnamon, chocolate chip, eggnog, gingerbread, maple almond, peppermint, rum raisin, and spiced apple cider.

Location 2: Eno Valley farms 

• Item: Pumpkin ice cream
• Overall Rating: 9/10
  • Atmosphere: The outdoor seating was stunning. Eno Valley Farms is located in a rural area of Orange County, which enhances the customer’s experience with views of changing foliage and farmland. There was plenty of seating, including a large patio out back overlooking the farm and additional seating around the building. The decor added a lot to the experience. There were a multitude of wooden statues, pumpkins, and flowers.
    • Rating: 9/10
  • Price: A single scoop at Eno Valley Farms costs $3.50 plus tax, a fair price for ice cream. The scoop was fairly large, more than enough to share amongst a few people.
    • Rating: 9/10
  • Taste: The ice cream was a classic pumpkin ice cream with pie crust bits added in. There was a very prominent fresh pumpkin flavor at the beginning, and near the end, you could taste the spices that were added to the ice cream, hints of nutmeg, and cinnamon along with what seemed to be allspice. The ice cream wasn’t too sweet; unlike its competitors. Overall the flavor was tasteful and fresh.
    • Rating: 9/10

Location 3: The Parlour

• Item: Pumpkin pie ice cream
• Overall Rating: 7.3/10
  • Atmosphere: The Parlor provides an array of indoor seating with plenty of public outside space. Located in the heart of downtown, the ice cream shop is accessible and frequently busy.
    • Rating: 8/10
  • Price: A single scoop at the Parlor costs 4.75. This is a pretty typical price for one scoop of ice cream today. However, it is more expensive than Eno Valley Farms.
    • Rating: 7/10
  • Taste: The ice cream was a pumpkin pie-flavored ice cream that incorporated bits of pie crust. The flavor was very sweet in the first taste and had a more natural pumpkin aftertaste.
    • Rating: 7/10

The Parlor also offers other seasonal flavors such as coconut cream pie, dirty chai coffee cake, and milk chocolate molasses, amongst others.