Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe

takes home top prize in national competition.

Old Lyme — Taking home the top prize in Klavon’s National Ice Cream Competition, Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe got $10,000 and will have its Moroccan Rose flavor featured in more than 50 ice cream shops across the country.

Owner Angeline Reale knows it sounds corny, but she was more excited about receiving the Golden Cone trophy than the check.

“If you saw this thing, it’s like the Oscar of ice cream awards,” she said.

Klavon’s Ice Cream Parlor, located in Pittsburgh, hosted its first ice cream competition on July 16, which is National Ice Cream Day. Entry was by invitation only, and Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe was one of more than 50 shops to answer the call.

It overnighted the Moroccan Rose flavor to Klavon’s for judging, which was based on taste, visual appeal, mouth feel/texture, name of flavor and uniqueness, per the Klavon’s website.

Reale said the ingredients in the Moroccan Rose flavor are Black Mission figs, apricots, dates, roasted pistachios, pomegranate molasses, crystalized ginger, cardamom, cracked black pepper, salt and rosewater.

“I’ve toned down the rosewater a lot, because if you put too much in, it tends to taste like potpourri, so now I’m treating it like a dry martini,” said Reale, who has owned the shop for five years.

Klavon’s noted that this competition was not for those who treasure a “secret recipe,” considering participating shops would be notified of the winner’s recipe so they could carry the flavor.

“We always felt that that’s a pretty unique flavor, and I knew I had to send them something they probably hadn’t had before, and I guess my intuition was correct,” Reale said with a laugh.

The flavor is named after her mother, Rosina Reale, who died in 2012. Angeline Reale said that the cream turns a “really pretty kind of a blush pink” when the pomegranate molasses is added, and that reminded her of her mother.

The flavor is now being carried as far away as Fairbanks, Alaska, and Reale is already thinking about what new flavor she could create for next year.