The Guernsey Cow, Exton Pennsylvania

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24 Responses

1. on January 1, 2008 at 9:03 am Joe Puliti (aka) Polite

   Having been the Ice Cream Maker at the cow for over 25 years I can add to the list of flavors. At one time I did sit down and try to count all the concoctions that were produced. Most of the ideas for flavors came from other people. Every time I introduced a new flavor, some customer would say, “why don’t you make this or make that. The list of over 400 flavors from “A” to “Z” will follow: just teasing!!! I remember the A in Apple Strudel and the Z to Zag Nut and every thing in between. Lots of other stories to follow about flavors.

   
   
2. on January 1, 2008 at 12:19 pm Kevin McGlinchey

   It’s great that we can all get together at the Cow once again. I’m brother to webmaster Sean, great nephew to my Uncle Pep (a.k.a. Joe Puliti), and grandson of Ilario and Gladys Polite. I started as a dishwasher and busboy and worked my way up to ice cream dipper.

   Flavors that bring back memories:
   Butter Pecan
   Swiss Chocolate
   Mint Chocolate Chip
   French Vanilla
   Brandy Peach

   I wasn’t a big fan of Brandy Peach but it reminds me of a regular customer whose name eludes me some 30 years later. This gentleman came in every week to get a hand-packed pint of Brandy Peach. The Cow always had a freezer full of assorted gallons and pints but some customers always wanted a hand-packed container to go even if their flavor was already packaged. I’m not sure why they felt that way. Maybe they thought the hand-packed gave them more, or was fresher, or maybe they just liked to watch the dipper get a workout pint packing. Our Peach Brandy man also stands out because he had had a laryngectomy. When this man placed his order he did so by burping out his words which made an impression on Your Humble Narrator that lasts to this day.

   
   
3. on January 1, 2008 at 3:33 pm Joe Puliti (aka) Polite

   How about Licorice, this flavor was introduced when the front parking lot was resurfaced. The product was very black and flavored with anise. I can remember when kids would order it and decorate their faces with a mustache, side burns etc. Another flavor that was introduced when we put a man on the moon, was Moon Dust. It was a gray product with a malt flavor. Roquefort cheese ice cream was made just once and discontinued by popular demand, mushroom ice cream suffered the same fate.

   
   
4. on January 1, 2008 at 3:45 pm Wendy Polite Nickles

   I am the daughter of Joe Puliti aka Pep Polite, and neice of Larry and Gladys Polite. I worked every summer for many years as my dad’s assistant ice cream maker and a waitress. My job was to make all those containers and stamp the names of each flavor on the lids. I also was the taste tester of many of the flavors but may favorite was always Chocolate Chip. My dad always said that Vanilla was the #1 seller and that was the flavor we always started to make first. I now live at the Jersey Shore but I still run into people that fondly remember “The Cow” and the flavors they liked best!

   
   
5. on January 1, 2008 at 7:41 pm Kim Puliti (aka Poilte)

   Grape Nut…wasn’t a big seller, but it was one of my favorites. The hard as rock breakfast cereal would soften in the vanilla based ice cream and give it a nutty texture. Also a Hot Fudge Sundae made with Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream was a heavenly treat after being up to my elbows in the 3-gallon ice cream cans all day long on a hot summer Sunday afternoon. Peppy’s famous gratuitous phrases for pushy customers were “Help your fat” and “Maximillian” (for Thanks a million) Which were spoken so quickly as to be partially unintelligible.

   
   
6. on January 2, 2008 at 8:07 am Kerry Polite

   I was always crazy for butter brickle. I’m not exactly sure what the “brickle” part was but I think it must have been hardened butterscotch chips. I was also assistant ice cream maker for quite a few years in addition to my other duties as bus boy, dishwasher, counter boy, and cook. I did pretty good imitations of Elmer, Vince and Willy which always got a laugh out of Peppy. I thought the moon dust flavor was great – I probably consumed a large portion of that run.

   
   
7. on January 2, 2008 at 8:33 am Tuesday Nights at the Cow « The Guernsey Cow, Exton Pennsylvania

   [...] Flavors [...]

   
   
8. on January 2, 2008 at 11:34 am Joe Puliti (aka) Polite

   Butter Brickle was a very popular flavor and it was a by product of the Heath Candy Co. They made a candy called The Heath Bar and when the bar went through the wrapping machine, bits and pieces of the candy fell on the floor. Somebody came up with the idea of saving and packing these pieces and try to find a market for this product. Fortunately some salesman at Heath Company got the idea of selling these pieces to the ice cream industry. The Butter Brickle name was adopted and the rest is history.

   
   
9. on January 3, 2008 at 9:53 am Joe Puliti (aka) Polite

   Ranger Joe Ice Cream

   Ranger Joe was a breakfast cereal long time ago. One Sunday a father and his small son were lined up to be waited on and as the little boy was tugging on his dad’s sleeve. He kept asking his dad to ask if we had Ranger Joe ice cream. The little boy kept repeating his request from his father. Naturally the father became annoyed and when they were next in line the father reluctantly asked the dipper if we had Ranger Joe. Naturally we didn’t at the time. The father hit the little boy over the head and screamed at him and said “I told you so” Needless to say, the next time I made Ice Cream, I made a batch of Ranger Joe hoping the father and son would return.

   
   
10. on January 3, 2008 at 10:12 am Sean

    That’s a neat story, Pep. Here’s a link to some information on Ranger Joe cereal that apparently started in nearby Chester, PA.

    
    
11. on January 4, 2008 at 11:07 am Joe Puliti (aka) Polite

    January 4, 2008

    Ice Cream Flavors containing Alcohol: Rum Raisin, Egg Nog, Grass Hopper and Turkish Coffee and each has a story.

    The number one selling alcoholic flavored ice cream was Rum Raisin. It was very popular with senior citizens. I normally made this ice cream with raisins soaked in a sugar solution with artificial rum flavoring and a little yellow coloring. At Christmas Time I altered the formula, soaking dry raisins in 150 proof Bacardi rum over night and using this concoction to flavor the product. It was very potent to say the least. Fortunately children never order rum raisin ice cream. The one problem I had with this flavor was that the rum lowered the freezing point of the product and it was very soft, so it could only be served in dishes and not on cones. I did not tell anyone about my little secret, but my brother once said. “What the hell are you doing back there with all that booze?” Must say we had a lot of happy customers at Christmas time.

    
    
12. on February 3, 2008 at 10:09 am Kerry Polite

    My son August just asked if they had any “normal” flavors at The Guernsey Cow. I assured him that they did. The fresh fruit flavors in the summer were pretty amazing in retrospect. I remember baskets of fresh strawberries, peaches and cherries from local orchards. Now this would be considered artisan / gourmet cuisine and retail for outrageous prices.

    Other specialty flavors that were fun to make, although time consuming were the “swirls”…butterscotch and fudge. It was quite an ingenious machine where you put vanilla ice cream in an outer vessel and the swirl ingredients in an inner vessel. By turning a hank crank out came the combined ingredients in the classic swirl pattern. All you had to do then was disassemble the 200 piece stainless steel contraption and hose it down with 2000 degree water.

    
    
13. on February 7, 2008 at 10:58 pm Making Black Licorice Ice Cream « The Guernsey Cow, Exton Pennsylvania

    [...] Flavors [...]

    
    
14. on June 22, 2008 at 11:26 pm Don Hutton

    I grew up in Havertown, and during the late 60’s/early 70’s, we would go to French Creek for picnics. The day wasn’t complete without a stop at the Cow. One of my earliest memories of the Cow was the billboard with the blinking eye across from the resturant. My absolute favorite ice cream flavor was licorice. I have never been able to find it anywhere else.

    
    
15. on July 24, 2008 at 11:47 am Erin McGlinchey

    I am sister of Sean, our host, and grandaughter of Ilario and Gladys Polite. My favorite flavors were mint chocolate chip (in all its green glory), mocha chip, and a chocolate/orange sherbet combo. Mocha chip was amazing, and I often enjoyed a wee nip of it when I worked the breakfast shift.

    As a child I enjoyed the opportunity to get a peek at the master, Uncle Pep, at work back in the ice cream room. His white outfit would bear witness to the varieties of ice cream that he had created that day.

    Our grandfather would make regular visits to our home in the evenings bringing new half gallons of ice cream. We always had an envious selection of ice cream in our freezer at home, and we consumed a lot of it.

    
    
16. on July 24, 2008 at 12:00 pm guernseycow

    thanks, Erin!

    You mint chocolate chip lovers might like your morning coffee in one of these.

    
    
17. on July 29, 2008 at 12:55 pm Katherine Fiumano

    Hi, I am trying to find a company that make Licorice flavored ice cream. Please let me know if you can shipped it to me. Thank you for your help. Looking forward to hearing from you. Katherie

    
    
18. on July 29, 2008 at 2:16 pm guernseycow

    We don’t make or sell ice cream here…just memories. You could try making your own based on these recipes: http://www.licorice.org/Food/Recipes/Deserts/Ice_Cream/ice_cream.htm

    
    
19. on July 31, 2008 at 3:39 pm Marty's Sister

    How come there was never a flavor named after Willie?

    
    
20. on October 3, 2008 at 9:34 pm trudie weiser

    hey this is one of my favorite memories…i got married in 1966 and moved to westchester pa…i don’t know how we discovered the gurnsey cow…but we went there all the time…and later my parents would travel all the way from phila to the cow to re-supply my fix…
    when i was prgenant with my first daughter i would go to the dr get weighed and go to the cow..a reward for getting weighed i suppose…my favorite was peanut butter ice cream…my hus liked blueberry…but we watched others eat black licorice…bus loads of ppl would come to this site…from where i haven’t a clue…why doesn’t a relative start this back up again…you already have an audience that will travel anywhere for this special ice cream…keep the name…
    another patron sent me this web site..we met in a chat room!!!

    
    
21. on October 4, 2008 at 9:53 am guernseycow

    That’s a great story, Trudie. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll stick to making ice cream at home for now!

    
    
22. on April 4, 2009 at 3:25 pm Barbara Frederick

    Peanut Butter Fudge was my favorite as a kid! I remember it fondly more than 50 years later.

    
    
23. on May 16, 2009 at 4:31 pm Barbara Frederick

    I may have mentioned this before, but why don’t you list the peanut butter fudge, which was the best you ever made? My daddy didn’t even have to ask me what I wanted, he just knew.

    
    
24. on June 26, 2009 at 5:32 am Pam McCardell

    My first job was as a waitress at the Guernsey Cow. I’d drive to work in my yellow Pinto after school at Henderson High in the early ’70’s. My favorite was German Chocolate Cake ice cream. I’d make it again in a minute if you’d pass on the recipe. Thanks for the memories. I loved working there!