And so it was with the ice cream. In the 1960s, Maui Soda & Ice Works was making ice cream for Meadow Gold and for Ed & Don’s, the original kama‘aina scooping-parlor chain. More than a few folks noticed a difference between the products made here and on O‘ahu, even under the same label. For one thing, the mint chocolate chip on Maui was colored a cool green, which made it more fun to eat and, somehow, mintier. The tropical flavors beloved by Ed & Don’s fans seemed creamier and tastier at the Maui parlors than at other locations. Turns out it wasn’t our imagination or the aura of the Valley Isle. It was Manuel tweaking the recipes.
The U.S. industry standard for ice cream is a minimum of 10 percent butterfat, which can come from milk, cream, or butter. Roselani uses fresh, sweet, unsalted butter for a 12 percent butterfat ratio in its premium ice cream and a whopping 16 percent in its gourmet, or super premium, line. That’s what gives Roselani its incredibly creamy texture. “Ice cream is supposed to be licked, not chewed,” says Cathy.
To enjoy Roselani at its best, the Nobrigas advise taking the carton out of your home freezer and placing it in the refrigerator for thirty minutes. This brings the ice cream to the ideal temperature and texture, allowing for full appreciation of the flavor. “Otherwise,” says Buddy, “you’re just freezing your taste buds with the first bite.” After tempering and serving, and before returning the carton to the freezer, Cathy suggests placing a sheet of waxed paper over the surface of the ice cream. Purely for the sake of scientific confirmation, I tried this suggestion, and it works! The ice cream softens, but doesn’t melt, and the flavor is intensified.
When Manuel retired in 1971, Buddy took over as president of Maui Soda & Ice Works and brought the ice cream division to a new level of prominence, perfecting flavors of his own to add to his father’s original recipes, and creating the Roselani Tropics line. Available at over 100 retail outlets throughout the state, the fifty-six-ounce cartons come in ten regular flavors—if you can call delicacies like Kona mud pie or mango ‘n cream “regular” — but Roselani also makes dozens of other flavors and sherbets for restaurants and scooping parlors, as well as seasonal favorites such as pumpkin pecan and eggnog.
