PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — You don’t have to go far to taste the best ice cream in the state.
Bassetts Ice Cream has been named the best ice cream in Pennsylvania by Food & Wine magazine.
Bassetts is the oldest ice cream company in the country with roots in Philadelphia. The family-owned company has been in business for six generations. Its main counter still operates out of its original location in Reading Terminal Market.
The top eateries in each state were chosen through a national survey by Food & Wine. In order to qualify, ice cream companies had to have at least a year or two of uninterrupted production — no problem for Bassetts.
“The company was founded in 1861 by my great-great-grandfather, Lewis Dubois Bassett, and he made a great ice cream, but it was really my grandfather, Lewis Lafayette Bassett Jr., the grandson of the founder, that developed the underlying base recipe that we use today,” said Michael Strange, the fifth-generation president and owner.
He heard about the Food & Wine accolade through a Google alert.
“Thrilled beyond imagining,” he said. “We had no idea this one was coming and it’s been obviously a very pleasant surprise. We’ve had all sorts of congratulations from our customers and other folks in the industry.”
Strange said the quality of their ice cream has developed through the years, always working to make it better.
“The milkfat is 16.5%,” he explained. “That yields a very smooth, silky mouthfeel.”
Bassetts has created many different flavors too, but he said vanilla is consistently the most popular flavor.
“Vanilla is really the best flavor by which to judge an ice cream brand,” Strange said. “[It’s] a base for many other flavors.”
He said recognition like this will help drive traffic to their stores, especially tourist traffic, which he’s particularly thankful for after the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Very proud to have been named the best ice cream in Pennsylvania,” he added.
Princeton-based The Bent Spoon was deemed the best ice cream in New Jersey, and Woodside Farm Creamery was the best in Delaware.