We’re still highlighting the local businesses you voted the best in our Golden Anchor Awards last year. This issue we talked to Nikki Neboshynsky, the owner and ‘Chief Tasty Officer” of Tasty Toucan to learn about how they make their ice cream, their paleta pops and more! If you would like to vote in this year’s Golden Anchor Awards go to shoreupdate.com.
You all say your ice cream is handmade; how do you make your ice cream?
Our ice cream is handmade at a family run dairy farm in Pocomoke Maryland. Since we don’t have room for 200 cows, we sought out a local dairy farm. We searched all over Maryland for a farm that used only their cow’s cream with premium ingredients and a scientific understanding of how gourmet ice cream is made.
It is uncommon for most ice cream to be made on one farm from one family of cows by people who care about their product. Most homemade ice cream starts in a bag or jug of a pre-made mix. If they are using cream from a distributor, they are still not getting the best flavor. Their cream comes from cows with various diets, from different breeds and their living conditions require their cream to be pasteurized at a much higher temperature. All these factors affect the flavor. Ours is 100% from one family of cows from one family run farm. 100% delicious.
We have recently started making our own dairy-free ice cream. We use coconut milk to create a smooth creamy texture similar to regular ice cream. Chocolate is my favorite, but we have some big fans of the peach too.
You all have a ton of different flavors of Ice cream; do you have a personal favorite?
Picking a favorite ice cream is like picking a favorite child. They all have their own amazing qualities. My top favorites plain in a cup are Coconut Joy (tastes like an almond joy candy bar) and Cakebatter. My favorite in a milkshake is orange pineapple, and my favorite with toppings is Toffee Crunch with hot fudge and chocolate chip cookie pieces.
I know you’re all launching coffee subscriptions; how will they work?
I currently don’t have the coffee subscription set up, but it is something I am working on. It will be a monthly subscription for 12 oz bags of coffee.
We partnered with local coffee roaster Open Seas to bring the community amazing coffee. We serve it hot, iced and cold brew. We recently added Affagatos and Frappe’s. To us a Frappe is coffee and ice cream blended but if you’re from New England it’s a milkshake. Whatever you call it, it’s delicious!! An Affagato is cold or hot coffee poured over ice cream.
Your “tasty subscriptions” are really unique; how do they work?
The idea behind the Tasty Ticket subscription was to give a family, friend or loved one the gift of ice cream all year long. Depending on the ticket level $6, $12 or $20 is added to the ticket holders account each month. This allows them to treat themselves at least once a month. We have found this to be a great gift for families and students.
I know you all use real fruit for your paleta pops; what inspired you all to use real fruit?
One of our missions at Tasty Toucan is to be a happy place that serves its guests the best flavor in every bite. Since popsicles are an American childhood piece of happiness and not everyone can eat ice cream, we decided to make our own. After experimenting with various recipes, we discovered the Mexican popsicle which is called a paleta. These cool treats are made from whole fruit and sold in carts on the streets of Mexico. We tried some recipes and loved them! Not only is the flavor and texture amazing but you can feel good about eating them because they are made with whole fruit. Not artificial sweeteners or dyes. They are all dairy and nut and gluten free.
You can see a full list of Tasty Toucan’s flavors on the website at https://www.tastytoucan.com/. You can also follow them on social media on Tiktok and Facebook. To vote for Tasty Toucan or another amazing local business in our 2023 Golden Anchor Awards you can go to shoreupdate.com!