Meet New England-Style Ice Cream: The Chewy, Dense Treat Your Teeth Will Love
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Ice cream, at its core, is a blend of cream, milk, sugar, flavorings, and sometimes eggs whipped into a cold, luscious dessert. Yet small tweaks to ingredients and technique can dramatically change how ice cream feels and tastes. On one end of the spectrum sits the uniquely airy Philadelphia-style ice cream; on the other end lies the chewy, taffy-like New England style.
From Herrell’s Ice Cream to Hood, the region is home to many family-run shops and a handful of specialty manufacturers, each with their own take. What unites New England-style ice cream are a few defining traits. First, it’s churned more slowly, which yields a low overrun. In practical terms, there’s less air in the base, producing smaller, more tightly packed air pockets and a thick, dense texture. That density provides an ideal canvas for generous mix-ins like cookies, brownies, and candy.
New England-style ice cream also tends to carry a higher fat content. For example, Judy Herrell, the current owner of Herrell’s, told Serious Eats that her shop uses a 14% butterfat base, well above the 10–12% typical of standard ice creams. The higher fat contributes to a richer, denser mouthfeel and a slower melt, as fat surrounds and shields those tiny air bubbles and ice crystals. That fat-rich, chunky texture makes it easy to pack in lots of fillings without losing structure.
Where to find a scoop of New England-style ice cream
If you’re ready to chase your perfect New England scoop, you’re in luck: there are several standout spots to explore that deliver the signature chew.
Herrell’s is a must-visit if you want a true taste of the region’s ice cream. This Massachusetts staple has two locations, in Northampton and Amherst, and is renowned for thick, mix-in-forward creations in flavors like black raspberry mud pie and cookie combustion. The shop has earned mentions in Bon Appétit and USA Today, among others. The founder, Steve Herrell, helped pioneer New England’s signature style in 1973 and launched the concept of mix-ins—what he called and eventually trademarked as smoosh-ins. He’s even said to have influenced Ben & Jerry’s approach to fillings.
If you’re after a classic dense scoop, consider Hood’s New England Creamery Ice Cream. Hood is a storied New England brand, and its line is billed as the creamiest version to date. Or, for interactive flavor-building, you can try a marble slab style with “mix-ins” at Cold Stone Creamery. If you’d rather go full DIY, you can attempt a home-made version using an ice cream maker—though you’ll want to dial in the right settings and add-ins for the thick texture described here.
Making New England-style ice cream at home
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There isn’t a single universal recipe for New England–style ice cream because each creameries’ approach varies based on tradition and preference. Still, the defining goal is a dense, taffy-like texture, which you achieve by limiting overrun. Driving too much air into the mix will yield a fluffier scoop that’s not true to this style. If your machine has variable speeds, keep the churn at a low setting.
If your freezer has a single-speed churning option, you can still coax the texture you want. Add stabilizers to help maintain thickness. Hood New England Creamery, for instance, uses guar gum and locust bean gum as thickeners. If you can’t find these, viable substitutes include arrowroot or xanthan gum.
As for mix-ins, you have plenty of room to play. Add-ins can go in toward the end of churning or be folded in after churning, either by layering them in your container or working them in on a cold surface, marble-slab style. Just be sure to chop mix-ins into small pieces and pre-chill them so they don’t break the texture. If you’d rather keep things simpler, you can also top your scoop instead of mixing in toppings.
And this is where it gets controversial: some purists argue that true New England–style depends on regional sourcing and a slower, traditional churn. Others say a thick, low-overrun base with bold mix-ins matters most, regardless of the exact method. What’s your take on the balance between tradition and practical home experimentation? Share your thoughts in the comments.
