Sweet treat for the ice cream makers

May 14 2009 by Emma Davison, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A FAMILY of farmers who started making ice cream to help secure their farm’s future have had their produce named the best in Yorkshire.

Internationally-acclaimed food critics Jay Rayner and Simon Majumdar were tasked with selecting the very best of Yorkshire food.

And they singled out Just Jenny’s Honey Comb Ice Cream, produced by dairy farmer Jenny Clarkson, as one of the winners.

The 28-year-old’s family, based at Hazel Slack Farm in Barkisland, have been dairy farmers for more than 50 years.

The farm, owned by Jim Clarkson and run with his wife Jane and children Jenny and Richard, has 135 Holstein Friesian cows and sells milk wholesale.

But in the last 15 years, the number of dairy farms in the area has reduced from seven to two and falling milk prices prompted the family to add another string to their bow.

So Jenny and her mum decided to devote time to building up Just Jenny’s farmhouse ice cream, which they started two years ago.

Making ice cream has been Jenny’s dream to keep the farm in the family and make a better return on the milk they produce, with local restaurants, farm shops and delicatessens already selling her ice cream.

And when it came to selecting the best of Yorkshire’s food, it was Jenny’s ice cream that caught the attention of some of the most respected critics in the business.

Award-winning food critic Jay Rayner said: “The killer combination of crunchy honey comb and the creamy velvety texture of proper ice cream was a real winner.

“I’m delighted to hear it comes from a local family farm using honey from a local beekeeper. This is a great example of how food should be produced.”