By: Dianna Higgs-Stampfler

Peppermint…the flavor of red and white striped candy canes…has synonymous with the holiday season since the late 1800s. To celebrate this long-standing tradition, Hudsonville Ice Cream announces its seasonal release of its Limited Edition Peppermint Stick Ice Cream flavor.

“This flavor will bring back childhood memories of snowy days,” says Ray Sierengowski from Hudsonville Ice Cream. “To create this refreshing and cool flavor, we take our Original Vanilla ice cream and blend in actual candy cane pieces. It’s delicious on its own, or in a creative recipe.”

Michigan is rich with mint history, dating back to the early 1900s when the Albert M. Todd Company in Kalamazoo was recognized as the leading producer of the distilled flavoring that leads to peppermint and spearmint. In fact, in the early Twentieth Century, 90 percent of the world’s mint was grown on Todd owned farms within a 90-mile radius of Kalamazoo. The Todd Company still manufactures mint and other flavorings in Kalamazoo, selling it to other companies like National Flavors, who in turn work with producers like Hudsonville Ice Cream.

“When you look at the whole picture, Peppermint Stick is actually a Pure Michigan flavor,” Ray says.

Find Peppermint Stick and countless other Hudsonville Ice Cream flavors in grocery stores and ice cream parlors in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois. In addition to its “All Season” flavors, which are available year round in blue cartons, several “Limited Edition” are offered seasonally throughout the year, in distinguished red cartons.

Started in 1895 as a farmers’ cooperative, the Holland-based Hudsonville Creamery & Ice Cream is the largest manufacturer of branded ice cream in Michigan. For nearly 90 years, this Midwest company has been producing its creamy, delicious ice cream – using many of its original flavors, while at the same time creating refreshing new recipes inspired by the Great Lakes.

This article was republished with permission from Dianna at Promote Michigan. We do our best to help with the promotion of the great State of Michigan!