- Luke: This week on Wisconsin Foodie: Today, we're gonna take a road trip across America's Dairyland to explore gelato, custard, and ice cream.

And with me today, I've got two of the world's foremost experts, Ilija Ircink and Silas Zahm.

So we're gonna make vanilla, I mean, if that's cool with you guys.

- Yeah.

- You know?

Yeah?

[Luke laughs] - Look at those little sugar smiles just light up.

- All right, that smooth denseness.

That's what really makes a perfect gelato.

- This is the representation of ice cream in the entire state of Wisconsin.

I have the feeling we're watching a master at work here.

Hey-oh!

Have you ever had a customer ask to try and throw their own?

Could I try?

- Scooper: Yeah, then just flick your wrist?

- All: Oh!

- Luke: Oh, yeah!

[cheers and applause] - Best part of the day for me was when you start the machine for the first time in the morning.

The mix is all fresh and properly flavored and that first bit that comes out is just about as good as it can be.

- Cheers.

- Announcer: Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank the following underwriters: - The dairy farmers of Wisconsin are proud to underwrite Wisconsin Foodie and remind you that in Wisconsin, we dream in cheese.

[crowd cheering] Just look for our badge.

It's on everything we make.

- At Organic Valley, our cows make milk [cheery whistling] with just a few simple ingredients.

Sun, soil, rain, and grass.

[bubbles popping] And grass, and grass.

- Cow: Yee-haw!

[angelic choir music] - Organic Valley Grassmilk, organic milk from 100% grass-fed cows.

[banjo music] - Employee-owned New Glarus Brewing Company has been brewing and bottling beer for their friends only in Wisconsin since 1993.

Just a short drive from Madison, come visit "Swissconsin," and see where your beer's made.

[upbeat music] - Wisconsin's great outdoors has something for everyone.

Come for the adventure, stay for the memories.

Go wild in Wisconsin.

To build your adventure, visit dnr.wi.gov.

- With additional support coming from The Conscious Carnivore.

From local animal sourcing to on-site high-quality butchering and packaging.

The Conscious Carnivore can ensure organically raised, grass-fed, and healthy meats through its small group of local farmers.

The Conscious Carnivore, know your farmer, love your butcher.

- Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the largest local hunger relief organization in the state.

With your help, we ensure your neighbors in need don't have to worry about where their next meal may come from.

Learn more at FeedingAmericaWI.org.

- Additional support from the following underwriters: Also with the support of Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

[clapping along to energetic music] - Luke Zahm: We are a collection of the finest farmers, food producers, and chefs on the planet.

We're a merging of cultures and ideas shaped by this land.

We are a gathering of the waters, and together, we shape a new identity to carry us into the future.

[clinking glasses] [scraping knife] We are storytellers.

We are Wisconsin Foodie .

[paper rustling] [light music] It's summertime, and summertimes are synonymous with road trips.

Today, we're gonna take a road trip across the America's Dairyland to explore some of the best products we offer.

I'm not talking about milk, cheese, or butter.

I'm talking about the finest sweet, frozen treats we have in gelato, custard, and ice cream.

And with me today, because I don't consider myself to be a foremost expert of this subject matter, I've got two of the world's foremost experts in all things sweet, Ilija Ircink and Silas Zahm, ages nine and eight respectively, to help weigh in on the matter.

We're on a mission to find the best frozen treats Wisconsin has to offer.

So our first stop on the road trip across Wisconsin today is gonna take us up to Sheboygan.

And I feel like our first taste test is the quintessential and perhaps most impressive gelato maker in the entire state.

- My name is Baron Gottsacker, and we are at our laboratory here in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

So we create somewhere, I think we're, in our recipe book, about 2 or 300 different flavors.

When we speak about gelato, what we're talking about is we're talking about a product that varies very much from the north to the south of Italy.

So we've kind of narrowed it down to, gelato here in the US is usually gonna be between 6 and 8% fat, 20 to 30% overrun, so the amount of air whipped into the product, and then, because of those two things, served at a warmer temperature.

Like custard, it's always best fresh, where it doesn't have the shelf life and the longevity to, let's say, last in a freezer for months and/or years.

[soft mellow music] We're all family.

We all have one kind of singular goal that we're all working towards, and that's creating the best product possible.

My wife, myself, my little sister, my parents all help out.

So the process of making gelato: So, we have a dairy that makes our gelato base for us.

From that, we're gonna take our chocolate, vanilla, fruit base, anything that we're gonna add to it, blend that all together, and then it's gonna be processed in our machine.

So our machines, all state-of-the-art, very, very quick process.

So although we churn slow, we freeze fast, so, between those two things, we're able to get a smooth, creamy consistency in the product in a very short amount of time, so we can do about three gallons every six or seven minutes.

- Oh, my gosh, I can already see there's like madness of flavors.

And I hope you're cool.

We brought along Ilija and Silas today.

Come on in, fellas.

I'm gonna shut this door.

- Hello.

- 'Cause they know a thing or two about sweet treats.

- Baron: Perfect.

- And we wanted to make sure that they got the full Baron's gelato experience.

- Baron: Sure, really, this is where the magic happens.

- I got 'em here today under the premise that we would make a little gelato, and they'd be able to kinda taste it.

- Baron: Oh, yes.

- Is that cool?

- I think so.

I mean, if that's cool with you guys.

- Yeah.

- You know?

Yeah?

[Luke laughs] - Look at those little sugar smiles just light up.

- Baron: So we're gonna make vanilla.

- Do y'all like vanilla?

- Yeah.

- Yeah?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right.

- So we're talking real, real vanilla, right?

- Luke: So where does this process start for you?

- Here we have our vanilla already mixed up.

- Luke: Oh, whoa, smell it.

- Mmm.

- Ooh-hoo.

- Right, you see all those little flecks in there, right?

Those are the seeds.

- Vanilla for me has always represented this pure, unadultered essence.

- Yes.

- Right?

- Yes.

- It is the baseline for which all other gelatos, ice creams, custards, whatnot.

- Usually, yeah.

Usually, everybody always goes, "Ah, I'm gonna add vanilla to it," right?

Vanilla makes chocolate taste better, right?

- Sure.

- Things of that nature.

So I think this is like the standard.

Everyone goes, "Oh, that's so vanilla," and I think one person should take that as a compliment considering vanilla extract is $800 a gallon and really, really expensive and very sought after and rare.

So basically, they're giving you a compliment, not dissing you.

- This is kind of satisfying.

It's got a viscosity that is a little sticky, it's a little tacky, but it's so smooth.

Mmm.

[machine beeps] - Boom, pure vanilla, 400 different organic compounds that make up the one flavor that we know of as vanilla.

Here, we use the beans.

We take the beans and we soak them in sugar.

We use the vanilla sugar and we use the extract.

- Vanilla on vanilla on vanilla.

- On vanilla.

That's right.

- I like it.

- That's right.

- Yeah, booooyyyyyy.

- All right, so we've got our beautiful vanilla gelato.

A little bit lower.

There you go.

- Ahh.

You're right.

- Oh, there you go.

- Baby, now I'm feeling it.

- Yeah.

- You just gotta get the angle right, you know?

- Yeah.

[machine hums] That's that smooth denseness.

That's what really makes a perfect gelato.

[mellow music] - Luke: What do you think, Baron G?

- I mean, I think just in case, if the Foodie thing doesn't keep working out, you've got a career to fall back on.

[mellow music continues] - Mm.

- Mm.

[Silas squeaks] - Oh, my gosh.

How would you describe vanilla, describe it without saying vanilla?

- Even just like cream.

That just tastes like cream.

So good.

- Gorgeous.

It's gorgeous.

At first, it's not even about the flavor.

It's just about the way that thing feels in your mouth.

- So smooth, creamy.

- It is... - Slowly melts into that, like, round unctuousness of the vanilla and then, like, just a hint of like salt and richness at the end.

- And you do.

You do get the cream.

I get that little bit of, like, you know, kind of milky, delicious, like you get with a really good glass of milk.

It's in there.

You can tell that that was created with love.

And for me, because it's so spectacularly straightforward, I am just getting that amazing milk from those amazing farmers with that amazing vanilla flavor which feels, it's so comfortable, man.

Thank you, brother.

- Hey, thank you.

- Tastes like vanilla.

- It tastes like vanilla.

Thanks, Silas.

- Tastes like vanilla.

- Profound words from a profound man.

Would you say go out and try some Baron's gelato wherever you can find it?

- Kids: Oh, yeah.

- Thanks a lot, fellas.

Way to make my job easy today.

And you, sir, keep cranking that beautiful gelato.

- Thank you.

Gentlemen, thank you.

- Awesome.

All right, shall we keep going on?

- Boys: Yeah.

- Summer's best road trip, part two.

Here we go.

Thanks, Baron.

- Thanks.

- Bye.

- Take care.

- Bye, thank you.

I've had gelato only a couple of times before, but yeah, I really love this experience with the gelato here.

This is the best gelato I've ever had.

They had actual vanilla bean.

It wasn't fake.

It was real vanilla bean and I really liked that.

And that, I say, makes it even better than normal gelato.

[mellow music] - I'm super excited for this next stop.

We're going from Sheboygan all the way back to my side of the state to La Crosse to try one of my childhood favorites.

The Pearl has long been an institution downtown.

And quite frankly, I've actually been here in the middle of winter when it's below zero, and there's still a line out the door.

It's that good.

I couldn't possibly think of trying gelato or custard or ice cream in the state of Wisconsin and not including this iconic place in the mix.

So, to La Crosse we go.

- My name is Azia Peterslie, and we're at the Pearl Ice Cream Parlor in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

So we are an ice cream shop, candy store, and coffee house located right downtown.

And we make almost all of our ice cream that we have here homemade daily in the summertime.

And then, we have it set in this 1930s style candy store to try to take you back in time when you're visiting.

And yeah, our philosophy is really just, "Homemade makes the difference."

Our ice cream is homemade pretty much daily.

Sometimes in the winter, we'll go like every other day, but otherwise, we have one or two ice cream makers in the back making ice cream, sometimes 10-hour days in the summertime.

We source our milk base, which is cream, milk, sugar, from a Wisconsin cooperative, and from there, we add pretty much any of the ingredients that we find that we think really resonates with the flavor we're going for or just what we think our customers would like.

And a lot of the things we'll make homemade too.

So if we're gonna add brownie pieces in, we'll bake the brownies here, anything that involves cookies, like, we are just like wholesome Wisconsin ice cream, like what you would expect.

[mellow music] - Yeah, we made it.

High five.

Boom, here we go.

Are you Azia?

- I am, yes.

Luke?

- Yeah, this is-- - Nice to meet you.

- This is awesome.

I'm so excited to be here.

This is the representation of ice cream in the entire state of Wisconsin because I grew up eating the Pearl ice cream, and still, even as an adult, I come in here and I'm always excited to be here.

I wanted to show, specifically my man, Ilija, here, the magic that happens at the Pearl, downtown La Crosse.

- You came to the right place.

So you are in our ice cream parlor right now.

We make all of our ice cream here every single day in the back of our kitchen.

And then, we bring it out here, and this is where she's gonna scoop whatever you want for you to order.

You can look at all the flavors.

They're gonna be up in our menu up there.

We have waffle cones, we have shakes, malts, sundaes, banana splits, or you can order it in, like, the cone she's making right now, and that would be our homemade waffle cone and I would recommend that, so... - Luke: Is that what that smell is?

- Azia: That is.

That's the smell.

- It's magic.

I wish I could actually, like, bottle this up and take it with me, specifically, like for the van as we get rolling around, and these guys actually are kinda smelly, [Azia laughs] to be able to, like, put that in there, that waffle cone smell.

It's amazing.

- Yeah, it doesn't get old, that's for sure.

- Great.

All right, fellas, here we go.

These are our options.

So what kind of ice cream were you talking about liking, Silas?

- Silas: Snapping Turtle.

- Snapping Turtle, okay.

And how about you, Ilija?

Which one were you thinking?

- Ilija: Blue Moon.

- The Blue Moon.

- Which one do you want to get?

- I'm gonna get the Pearl vanilla because I think, like, you know, vanilla.

It seems like it's the baseline that all these places have in common.

I want to make sure that I taste it all from the same perspective.

- Sprinkled chocolate and Snapping Turtle.

- Sprinkled chocolate Snapping Turtle.

- I'm gonna do a sprinkled chocolate waffle.

- Luke: Sprinkled chocolate waffle?

Only if I get those beatboxing hands in there.

Sprinkled chocolate waffle, sprinkled chocolate waffle.

- I think we're up.

- Oh, I think we're up?

All right.

- May I have a sprinkled waffle cone and Blue Moon?

- Can I please get a scoop of Turtle?

And can I get it in a sprinkled waffle cone?

- Cashier: Sure.

- Thank you.

- Well, I think I would like a single scoop of vanilla in just a homemade waffle cone.

- Okay.

- I have a feeling that we're watching a master at work here.

[scoop taps] Hey-oh!

Boom, yeah [laughs]!

[customers cheer] That is awesome.

- Here's a Blue Moon in a sprinkle waffle cone.

- Yeah.

- Here you go.

- Thank you.

[mellow music] - Luke: Oh my gosh.

Hey-oh!

Yeah!

[laughs] - Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- Have you ever had a customer ask to try and throw their own cone?

- Scooper: I've had them try, but I always say no.

- Really, could I try?

- Oh, my gosh.

- Sure.

- Luke: Yeah.

That's what I'm talkin' about.

- Scooper: You're pretty special.

- Oh, man, I feel like I'm in the special sanctuary of ice cream right here.

Okay.

And now, I'm looking for vanilla.

- Scooper: All right, we've got a clean scoop.

Make sure not to hit the lights.

- Y'all ready?

- Yeah, then just flick your wrist.

- Oh!

- Oh, yeah.

[cheers and applause] - Right?

- Thank you so much, sister.

This was so awesome.

- Scooper: Have a great day.

[mellow music] - Yeah.

All right.

Over to the bench.

Ilija, talk to me about this Blue Moon.

What are you tasting?

- I'm tasting like a little bit of blue raspberry and like a little bit of vanilla, like a mixture almost.

- Yeah.

- It tastes like almost like a classic Blue Moon.

- Classic Blue Moon.

- Yeah, it's really good.

- I dig it.

- You know what an actual blue moon is?

It's two full moons in one month, which means that it's extremely rare.

And I think that that flavor is also kind of extremely rare.

You only find that in the Midwest, which is a cool little fun fact.

Silas, how's your Turtle, Snapping Turtle?

- It's snappin' me right now.

That's how good it is.

- It's snappin' you right now?

What kind of flavors do you have goin' on in there?

- Caramel and chocolate.

- Luke: Mm-hmm.

- And crunchy.

- Crunchy?

And one of the things that I love about vanilla is it's a really simple flavor profile, but it's not.

It's got layers of complexity.

And this one, actually, one of the things I adore about it is it's not overly sweet.

Sometimes vanillas can be so sickly sweet, but this has really nice balance and depth, which makes it delicious.

It's a pretty good gig, right?

- Ilija: Mm-hmm.

- Drivin' around the state, eating ice cream, gelato, and custard.

- Ilija: Mm-hmm.

- Coming back to this place, it's like revisiting a magical part of my childhood.

And to be able to share it with one of my kids and my buddy Ilija here, man, that's through the roof.

After this, should we jump back in the van and drive across the state again?

I got one more stop that I want to make.

And this place is like the hall of fame of custard in the state of Wisconsin.

What do you think?

Are you up for it?

- Yeah.

- One more cone?

- Ilija: Mm-hmm.

- Yeah?

- Yup.

- All right, let's do it.

Here we go.

So we're en route to our third and final stop on the sweet frozen Dairyland treat tour.

And we are headed to none other than the pinnacle of custard in Wisconsin, Leon's.

Now Leon's was one of the first custard shops opened in the entire state.

In the 1940s, this place opened its doors and it spanned generations.

And just like that span of generations of owners, it's created generations of memories for people who stop in on the daily to get their custard fix in South Milwaukee.

I'm excited to show up.

I'm excited for the bright lights, the big city, and of course, that silky smooth custard finish.

Let's check it out.

- I'm Ron Schneider.

We are at Leon's Frozen Custard on South 27th Street in Milwaukee.

I know; I was told I had the perfect face for radio.

It's pretty scary actually.

Best part of the day for me was when you start the machine for the first time in the morning.

Machine's all clean and ready to go, the mix is all fresh and properly flavored, and that first bit that comes out is just about as good as it can be.

Leon's Frozen Custard opened for business May 1, 1942.

My father was Leon.

We've been in business all this time.

Pretty much adhering to the original game plan, which was to sell frozen custard.

For many years, we only had vanilla.

We added chocolate in the 1950s.

We began adding a few flavors in the early 1960s.

Yeah, well, you need eat it fresh here at the store.

I can't really mail it to you or anything like that.

But to be at its very best, it should be enjoyed fresh.

Frozen custard had its origin in a carnival atmosphere on Coney Island in 1919. and by all accounts, it was a particularly hot summer and the ice cream vendors were having problems with their product.

And one of the vendors found out or figured out that if he put a little egg yolk in the mix, it would help stabilize it, emulsify it, and keep it from melting so quickly.

So he renamed his ice cream frozen custard after egg custard, and that's really how it got started.

And it arrived here in Wisconsin about 1930, '31.

So the look of the building is what brings people in.

You see it, you have some idea already what we're doing, and it brings people back.

They tell me we're a city landmark.

I guess we are.

You hang around long enough, either you become a landmark or they tell you to get out; one or the other.

So far, they haven't told us to get out.

So I'm happy people like this place.

I'm happy they come here.

I'm always happy to see 'em.

Long as people keep coming and buying frozen custard, we'll keep making frozen custard and we'll do the best job we can with it.

[gentle music] - All right, so we're here.

We're at Leon's.

Ilija, do you know what you want?

- I'm gonna get raspberry, one scoop in a dish.

- Raspberry, one scoop in a dish.

I like it.

- Silas?

- Can I get a scoop of vanilla, vanilla in a cone?

- Yeah, vanilla in a cone.

I love it.

And I am gonna go with vanilla in a cone as well because, like, if vanilla is the standard by which we are all judged, I feel like I have to do this fairly.

So the road trip will end right here with a vanilla cone.

Could we do two single scoop vanillas in cones - Employee: Okay.

- ...and one single scoop raspberry in a dish?

[light piano music] - The most fun I have when I have time to watch is the little kids because they'll press their noses up against the window and watch the custard machine putting custard down the chute.

It's like at the carnival or the fair, the taffy pull.

When the machine's pulling taffy, everybody stands and watches.

[light music continues] - Here you go.

- Whoo!

- Luke: Thanks, man.

- Kid: Whoo!

- Can I take- - All right, yep.

Yep.

Oh, I like the strategic licking on Silas' part.

Get the base of that cone.

So we've been across the state and back hitting the triple crown of Wisconsin, the gelato, the custard, and the ice cream.

And we're finishing at one of Wisconsin's most historic custard joints, Leon's in Milwaukee.

So, if we were to take another road trip across the state and we explored a food thing that you wanted to explore, what would that be?

To taste all the candies across Wisconsin.

- To taste all the candies across Wisconsin.

I like it.

Silas, if we took a road trip of your making, what would we taste?

- To try 20 of the tastiest chickens.

- The 20 of the tastiest chickens.

Fried chicken, all that jazz?

I love it.

Well, gentlemen, it's been an amazing day.

And for all of you watching, this is right in your backyard.

Get out there and explore.

There are secrets to be found.

[mellow music] Cheers.

There it is.

Baron Von Gottsacker Baron Gon Vot [laughs] That was the best brain fart.

Gelato, does it sound Italian?

- So it came from Italia?

- It came from Italy.

Baron is also from Italy.

Look at him.

[soft music] - I taste a little bit of, like... - Oh, you're all right.

They'll leave you alone.

- I'm out.

[Luke laughs] - Hey.

Lemme tell y'all something.

Y'all tune in, Wisconsin Foodie.

Y'all better not miss it.

Be there or be square.

- Announcer: Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank the following underwriters: - The dairy farmers of Wisconsin are proud to underwrite Wisconsin Foodie and remind you that in Wisconsin, we dream in cheese.

[crowd cheering] Just look for our badge.

It's on everything we make.

- At Organic Valley, our cows make milk [cheery whistling] with just a few simple ingredients.

Sun, soil, rain, and grass.

[bubble popping] And grass, and grass.

- Cow: Yee-haw!

[angelic choir music] - Organic Valley Grassmilk, organic milk from 100% grass-fed cows.

[banjo music] - Employee-owned New Glarus Brewing Company has been brewing and bottling beer for their friends only in Wisconsin since 1993.

Just a short drive from Madison, come visit Swissconsin, and see where your beer's made.

[upbeat music] - Wisconsin's great outdoors has something for everyone.

Come for the adventure, stay for the memories.

Go wild in Wisconsin.

To build your adventure, dnr.wi.gov.

- With additional support coming from The Conscious Carnivore.

From local animal sourcing to on-site high-quality butchering and packaging.

The Conscious Carnivore can ensure organically raised, grass-fed and healthy meats through its small group of local farmers.

The Conscious Carnivore, know your farmer, love your butcher.

- Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the largest local hunger relief organizaton in the state.

With your help, we ensure that your neighbors in need don't have to worry where their next meal may come from.

Learn more at FeedingAmericaWI.org.

Additional support from the following underwriters: also with the support of Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

- Still you hungry for more?

Subscribe to our YouTube channel, where you'll find past episodes and special segments just for you.

♪ ♪