NEW ZEALAND’S OLDEST ICE CREAM TURNS 90 It’s been 90 years since New Zealand’s oldest icecream maker opened for business, and now the Hawke’s Bay icon is going all out to celebrate founder Frederick Rush Munro’s trusty old recipes by asking its loyal customers for new flavours. Rush Munro’s began in 1926, when Munro and his wife Catherine set up shop in Hastings. The business has been privately owned ever since, and was purchased in 2001 by current owner, local grower and exporter John Bostock. The company’s general manager Tom O’Sullivan says the celebration is an exciting time in Rush Munro’s history. “Most people who were raised and live in Hawke’s Bay have fond memories of the iconic Rush Munro’s Parlour with the fish ponds and gardens,” he says. “We welcome people to share their stories and get excited about an ice cream that represents everything Hawke’s Bay.” Over the past decade, Bostock has helped successfully spread Rush Munro’s ice cream throughout the country into supermarkets, cafes, restaurants and ice cream parlours, and has played a big role in growing the iconic Rush Munro’s brand. “We are very proud of Rush Munro’s history. The ice cream represents Hawke’s Bay, with many of the ingredients being fresh produce from local suppliers. It is 100% natural and we still use the same recipes that were crafted by Frederick Rush Munro 90 years ago,” Bostock says. The strawberries come from the Strawberry Patch, the chocolate is made by Silky Oak, the coffee is Bay Espresso and the manuka honey comes from Arataki Honey. “We ensure that we use local suppliers where we can. The heritage is important to the Rush Munro’s brand and we are proud to only use real fruit and natural ingredients.” Factory Manager Graham Copp has been making the Rush Munro’s ice cream for 13 years and says the recipes are fundamentally the same, just tweaked slightly. “There are just six ingredients in Rush Munro’s Ice Cream…milk, cream, sugar, egg yolk, gelatin and whatever the natural flavour is, whether it be strawberries, chocolate or Feijoa,” Copp says. A unique point of difference is that the ice cream is still batch-churned and has been for the past 90 years. “The batch churning means we can only make one batch at a time, so it takes longer. We also do everything by hand without a lot of machinery,” Copp says. “So we physically pour all the ingredients into the ice cream. For example we peel the bananas, pulp fruit and make all our own syrups. There is certainly a lot of love that goes into it.” There are currently 27 Rush Munro’s flavours, but it’s the trusty traditionals which are still the big sellers. “Vanilla Bean is the most popular, then Maple and Walnut, Passionfruit, Hokey Pokey and Feijoa,” Copp says. As part of the 90 year celebrations, Rush Munro’s is running a competition where Hawke’s Bay residents can create their 90-year birthday flavour. In the run-up to the birthday on November 19, plenty of activities are planned, including a week where 90+ year olds eat for free, 90 litres of ice cream is given away and 90-cent discounts on ice creams. www.foodtechnology.co.nz 15
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