Ronnybrook Farm Ice Cream

For years and years, dairy was a mainstay of New York State, but with the rise of factory farms and giant dairy conglomerates, the single-family dairy went the way of tickertape and typewriters. But the products these mega-dairies produce don't sit too easily on the stomach when you think about how milk from cows across the country, cows that don't even live in the same ecosystem let alone the same pasture (or feedlot, more likely), is blended together to produce whatever formulas taste engineers have concocted. In a word, ick.

But Ronnybrook Farm, a family dairy in Ancramdale, New York, keeps the old traditions alive. All of their milk and dairy products come from a single herd, sharing pastureland, eating grass, and keeping the Hudson Valley alive with the sound of mooing. While their products are sold in some stores in the city--including their own shop in Chelsea Market--what we love best is the sight of the Ronnybrook stand at the Greenmarket, where New Yorkers patiently wait to return their glass bottles and pick up next week's delivery. Well, ok, we love that second-best. What we love best is the delicious ice cream they make, thick and frosty and full of flavor.