There is nothing quite as nostalgic as ice cream, and Rizza’s of Huntly is up there as one of the best well-known ice cream brands in the North-East.
The family-run business – which began back in 1914 – is now run by father and son Donald and Philip Morrison.
I headed up to Huntly on a frosty morning to try some of their most popular flavours.
It might be a little crazy to eat ice cream at this time of year, but who can resist Rizza’s?
I tried out some flavours from the ice cream carts they use for weddings.
The apron is definitely a useful inclusion – to save overenthusiastic brides from getting sorbet all over their white dresses.
What ice cream did I try from Rizza’s of Huntly?
There are a huge range of flavours available from household name Rizza’s.
The ice cream is all made right there at the factory in Huntly.
They serve several quirky flavours, including Jaffa Cake, Vimto, Jammie Dodger, Parma Violet and Iron Brew ice cream.
But of course they have plenty of well-loved old favourites like raspberry ripple, rum and raisin and strawberry.
The first ice cream I tried had to be their award-winning vanilla bean ice cream.
This was thick, luxurious and perfectly creamy.
Far more tasty than the bog standard – and often flavourless – vanilla ice cream you get in many restaurants and cafes.
I would even go so far as to say that this vanilla ice cream helps to combat the usual assumption that vanilla = boring.
I would definitely order this again.
Joanna: 4/5
Family business Rizza’s also offer Scottish tablet ice cream.
This is a flavour I have tried elsewhere, and I thought that I knew what to expect.
Oh, how wrong I was.
The Scottish tablet ice cream from Rizza’s was unlike any tablet ice cream I’ve had the pleasure to eat before.
This wasn’t an ice cream containing a handful of tiny, Tic Tac-sized crumbs of Scottish tablet through it.
Instead, there were huge, an inch by an inch, chunks of tablet in Rizza’s ice cream.
I was shocked, frankly. This made it a very, very filling ice cream to eat, but it was exceptionally tasty too.
Joanna: 5/5
How does Rizza’s sorbet measure up?
Sorbet is a great option if you’re looking for a lighter dessert, and at Rizza’s many of their sorbets are vegan friendly too.
I tried the mango sorbet, which was sweet, smooth and lovely.
The fruit flavouring didn’t taste artificial which I appreciated.
Joanna: 4/5
Lastly, I tried the raspberry and strawberry sorbet.
Although I was a fan of the consistency of this sorbet, the flavour was a bit too sharp – almost sour – for my taste.
Joanna: 3/5
Rizza’s of Huntly is so well-loved for a reason, and their ice cream tastes just as good as I remember from my childhood.
As we all do our best to support local when we can, I’d definitely recommend Rizza’s ice cream.
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