Fleur de Glace: artisanal ice cream for the seasons

Until just a few days ago, I didn’t know there was a thing such as a “fleur de glace” or frost flowers. Beautiful ethereal creations of nature, appearing out of nowhere across a frozen sea.

I did, however, know of another Fleur de Glace at the Sainte-Anne’s market, which also seemed to appear out of nowhere, although that nowhere is indeed somewhere: Savièse, a small village in the Valais canton in Switzerland. Three years ago Syvlie Veenhuizen-Roten, founder of Fleur de Glace, her husband and two children decided to “tout plaqué” and moved here to Pointe-des-Cascades.

Like anyone who has moved to a new city, Sylvie went through her period of adaptation. She got the kids in school, she started to know her neighborhood, and figure out what to brands to buy at the grocery store. In Europe there is less choice on the shelves, something so coveted here in North America, but I tell you, it’s overrated. Too much choice can be a bad thing and a source of stress[i].  So when Sylvie turned up at the store to buy some ice cream for her family, she was a bit lost. In order to narrow down the myriad of choices, she started reading the ingredients list. Have you ever read the ingredients list for most of the major brands of “ice cream”? (I think most of them are not even allowed to call it that anymore, but rather “frozen dairy dessert”.) It’s a lesson in chemistry, and not at all what she knew to be ice cream.

So, she decided to make her own. Milk, cream, sugar, eggs. Oh, and a bit of something for flavor: crushed fruit, chocolate, herbs. The ingredients are simple, but the results are astounding. Her little raspberry hearts she made for Valentine’s were exquisite. The taste of tart frozen fruit, wrapped in dark chocolate.

Her friends and family raved after trying her ice cream delights. A friend from the Gourmandises de Hudson also encouraged her to start selling to the public, helping her tweak her product until it was just right.

Her first market was at Saint-Lazare in the summer of 2011. She continued to study the techniques of her trade and experimenting with different flavors, often using what is growing in her garden: lavender, mint, basil. Next year she plans on using more herbs, plus raspberries and strawberries, also rhubarb, rose, currants, and ground cherries, and even experimenting with a tomato sorbet!

Experimenting and creating are the favorite aspects of Sylvie’s new business. An adventurer at heart, she doesn’t like to fall into too much routine.

While at the market she keeps things simple, sometimes little bite-size treats, along with her pints of different flavored ice cream. But she does much more: ice cream birthday cakes (I’m ordering mine with a layer of meringue in the middle – a vacherin), ice cream cheese cakes, hand-made profiteroles, Christmas logs. All can be special ordered for parties or events.

You can find Sylvie and Fleur de Glace at Sainte-Anne’s market the following Saturdays: February 23^rd, March 9^th, 23^rd, April 6^th, 20^th, May 4^th and 11^th.  Or you can email her at: fdeglace@hotmail.com to place an order.

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This post is also available in: French