You'll never guess the flavour of this new Norfolk ice cream

James and David have come together to make a new Norfolk barley ice cream Picture: Submitted Archant

An award-winning brewer and ice cream maker from the county have come together to create a product not found anywhere else in the world.

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A duo of East of England Co-op producers have joined forces to create a unique new product especially for the society's forthcoming Sourced Locally Fortnight.

Producer of the Year, The Norfolk Brewhouse, and Dann's Farm Ice Cream have brought their beer and frozen dessert skills together to make a malted ice cream, infused with the county's world famous Maris Otter malting barley.

Currently in production, with malty, beer-like notes at the front, David Holliday of The Norfolk Brewhouse says the new product is a tasty reminder of just how great Norfolk's farmers are at growing barley.

"Marris Otter is so important to the county and beyond," he reveals. "Not only is it great that local brewers have such a fine barley on their doorstep, but the fact is it is used by brewers all over the world - in over 20 countries. That's something to be celebrated.

"I was keen that people other than beer lovers could appreciate this success story and was thinking of ideas on how we could use Maris Otter barley in other products, not just our Moon Gazer ales and lagers."

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The concept itself was inspired by a conversation with the team at the East of England Co-op, and although there have been challenges imparting the flavour of barley into ice cream, the the two businesses say they came together in perfect harmony in the end.

James Smith, production manager at Dann's Farm Ice Cream adds: "David explained that getting maximum flavour out of malt is as much to do with science as craft, in that the malt releases the optimal level of sugars and flavours during very a precise process of quantity, timing and temperature.

"We therefore realised to get the maximum flavour we would follow the exact same process as the brewers do but using milk instead of water. The results were astonishing - not only was the flavour so deep and malty but it had an earthy naturalness we hadn't found in other malted ice creams."

Following a few taste tests at local food fairs, the two businesses were bowled over by the response, not just to the flavour, but also to the appreciation of its Norfolk heritage.

The ice cream is now in production and will be available at East of England Co-op stores throughout Sourced Locally Fortnight (June 1 to 15).