Creemee season ends as winter approaches

Vermont is known for its maple syrup, beautiful fall foliage and delicious apples, but what about creemees? Surprisingly, many Middlebury College students can’t define the exact nature of a creemee, perhaps because students come from all over the world, and creemees are primarily a Vermont summertime tradition. Whatever the reason, the definition of a creemee exists and is simpler than one may believe; it is just the Vermont term for soft-serve. Soft-serve deviates from ice cream in that it is made in a specially designed machine that keeps the mix at a warmer temperature than are machines used to make ice cream. In addition, soft-serve, or creemees, have a much higher air content than regular ice cream.
According to Elmore, Vt. native Megan LaCasse ’14, “during the summer a weekly visit to the local creemee stand is a must.” An easy feat since Vermont is home to about 400 licensed creemee stands.

Unfortunately, the end of summer signifies the seasonal closing of many local creemee stands, including the Village Creemee Stand in Bristol, Vt. which is open only during the summer and offers some interesting fried food items, such as eggplant french fries, as well. The stand is on the way to Bristol Falls, an area of waterfalls on the New Haven River.  If you are around for the summer, a trip to the falls and the stand is a fun day trip.

Although most local creemee stands are closed for the season, Middlebury students can still get their creemee fix. Technically, the soft-serve found in the Ross and Proctor dining halls is a creemee, albeit without the charm of a local stand or classic maple flavor. In addition, Sama’s Café, located on College Street, has an ice cream and creemee window. Although the creemee window is seasonal, it usually stays open until sometime in October, and closes when demand drops.

“We are generally the first creemee place open at the start of summer and are usually the last to close at the end of season,” said Sama Hayyat, owner of Sama’s Café.

The café offers creemees in chocolate, vanilla and mixed flavors. The popularity of Sama’s creemees demonstrates just how good they are; Hayyat stated that on any given summer weekend, the café goes through about 20 cases of creemee mix. Each case serves 45-50 creemees. In addition, Sama’s will turn your creemee (or ice cream) into a delicious milkshake that serves as a delightful pick-me-up if you are feeling down (or just hungry).

Although the exact closing date for the Sama’s creemee window is undecided, the café will probably stop serving creemees sometime in October. For those who don’t make it down before then, the creemee window is predicted to re-open sometime during late March.