{"id":2447045,"date":"2019-08-01T04:40:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T10:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=310483"},"modified":"2019-08-01T04:40:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T10:40:00","slug":"food-matters-a-social-history-of-aspen-ice-cream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/food-matters-a-social-history-of-aspen-ice-cream\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Matters: A social history of Aspen ice cream"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Long before skiing in Aspen, Roaring Fork Valley citizens gathered for another kind of frosty pastime: ice cream socials.<\/p>\n

Often paired with a community dance or music performance, the mining-era events were typically held at churches or other public venues during the hottest summer month, when winter ice stores at Hallam Lake and three additional \u201cice houses\u201d nearby were nearly depleted.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Aug. 3, the Aspen Historical Society continues the cool tradition it has maintained since the 1970s, hosting its annual Ice Cream Social on the lawn of the Wheeler\/Stallard Museum. Event entry is free; take a bowl of ice cream ($3) to the DIY toppings bar, sip on a famed Aspen Crud spiked milkshake ($5), and enjoy lawn games and entertainment including a concert by the Aspen High School band (2 p.m.) and \u201cA Briefly Complete History of Aspen\u201d performed by professional actors (3 p.m). (See sidebar, opposite page.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there is no evidence of ice running out in Aspen\u2014perhaps due to high-altitude temperatures \u2014 the community tradition of an ice cream social has been alive and well in the area since 1890,\u201d writes Eliza Greenman Burlingame of AHS. By then the national trend was in full swing; Thomas Jefferson popularized the treat, having hosted an ice cream social at the White House in 1802 and serving it to guests half a dozen times after encountering the delicacy in France. Ice cream in Aspen, meanwhile, was available in town beginning in 1881, when the Berg bakery and confectionary shop opened at 419 E. Hyman Ave. (roughly where 7908 supper club is located now on the pedestrian mall).<\/p>\n

Though the Historical Society anticipates a steady stream of nearly 300 guests on Saturday afternoon, an ice cream social happens daily in the downtown core: on Paradise Corner, home, of course, to Paradise Bakery. Owner Mark Patterson estimates that the landmark purveyor of 24 flavors of homemade gelato (Italian-style ice cream) \u2014 as well as cookies, brownies, muffins and other baked goods \u2014 welcomes \u201ca quarter of a million people through the door\u201d annually.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s fairly ironic that Paradise Bakery \u2014 gracious supplier of sweet stuff to the Historical Society social since it opened on the former site of a gas station 38 years ago \u2014 will evaporate from this corner in two years. Even more shocking than the fact that Patterson\u2019s landlord refuses to renew Paradise Bakery\u2019s lease: The luxury retail boutique expanding into the space reportedly plans to open, on a separate lease, as Patterson has heard, \u201ctheir own gelato bakery or something. That\u2019s been kind of awkward for us, we\u2019re gonna compete (with them).\u201d<\/p>\n

How much for a sprinkle of boycott?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve moved on from that,\u201d Patterson says, sitting on a metal chair outside of the bakery one sunny morning in July. His brother and Paradise co-founder Danny Patterson can\u2019t help but chime in: \u201cThat\u2019s already been dragged through the mud!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pattersons urge fans not to worry about Paradise lost, however. The duo is deep in discussion with developer Mark Hunt, who seems intent on continuing Paradise Bakery\u2019s legacy as an Aspen hub \u2014 and steady donor of ice cream and cookies to events by more than 120 area organizations \u2014 potentially in his new development by the Dancing Fountain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe like the community support, and it helps,\u201d Patterson says, alluding to public outcry in the wake of The Aspen Times\u2019 announcement (\u201c\u2018Paradise Corner\u2019 in Aspen to be lost in 2021,\u201d May 2, 2019). \u201cBut we\u2019re excited to go somewhere else. We\u2019re gonna focus on a new-and-improved Paradise.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine the bakery as a better version, but one only needs to step behind the counter \u2014 where a chilled glass case woos passersby with a colorful gelato mosaic next to literal piles of sweet and savory delicacies\u2014to get a taste of how baking flow could improve.<\/p>\n

Below the 600-square-foot space in which grinning patrons order coffee and treats for takeaway (Paradise\u2019s few production ovens and toasters are just out of view, in a cramped, chaotic space the size of a large storage closet), employee Isaac Avendano is keeping cool. This is his realm: the air-conditioned production kitchen that spans a good chunk of the 1,000-foot subterranean portion of Paradise Bakery.<\/p>\n

This is the part of Paradise that few, if any, customers ever see. And this is where the magic is made.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople ask me, \u2018Why are you skinny?\u2019\u201d says Avendano, who each day prepares between 50 to 70 metal display tubs of ice cream, as well as gargantuan batches of cookie dough and other confections. Currently, he\u2019s whipping together four batches (12 containers) of mint chocolate chip gelato, Paradise\u2019s most popular flavor.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should see in the afternoon \u2014 all day there\u2019s a long line outside,\u201d Avendano continues, speaking as if \u201coutside\u201d is a land far away. Another family rush peaks between 7 and 9 p.m., as crowds congregate on Paradise Corner to hear Aspen Music Festival and School students perform for tip money. \u201cWe close at 11 p.m., and sometimes people stay outside, knocking on the door,\u201d he adds, chuckling.<\/p>\n

After 15 years, Avendano, a fellow employee, and two part-timers have production dialed. Gelato is slow-churned from just four ingredients including whole milk, resulting in less air than many ice creams. Last year, the Pattersons purchased a newer, more efficient gelato machine off eBay. The 900-pound shipment arrived two days before the Fourth of July. Somehow, the team was able to hoist it down narrow stairs, and production has continued apace ever since.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as we\u2019re in business here, and there are ice cream socials, these are the things we\u2019re excited to still be a part of,\u201d says Danny Patterson, known to show up to meetings or events with bags of cookies. \u201cWe raised our kids here, we (do a) mentoring program in the store. It\u2019s different if you donate money, but cookies and ice cream \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Patterson points out that of some 75 Paradise Bakery locations that have opened around the country since 1981, Aspen is the only branch to serve ice cream. Meanwhile, every major chain that has launched a scoop shop here \u2014 Ben & Jerry\u2019s, Baskin-Robbins, H\u00e4agen-Dazs, Maggie Moo\u2019s \u2014 has melted away. Maybe it\u2019s the mountain air: Aspen\u2019s tradition of a year-round, small-batch ice cream social will continue along with Paradise Bakery\u2019s next chapter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re known as Paradise Corner,\u201d Danny Patterson explains, regarding the search for real estate. \u201cWe have to stay on a corner. Maybe with some seating \u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

amandaraewashere@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Long before skiing in Aspen, Roaring Fork Valley citizens gathered for another kind of frosty pastime: ice cream socials. Often paired with a community dance or music performance, the mining-era events were typically held at churches or other public venues during the hottest summer month, when winter ice stores at Hallam Lake and three additional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2447045","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 06:48:06","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2447045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447045\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2447045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2447045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2447045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}