Growing up in New Zealand means that at least one of your earliest childhood memories probably involves ice cream; mum scooping rock-hard vanilla out of the tub after dinner, a chocolate cone dripping onto the hot sand, or stopping for a real fruit whip on a winding family roadie to the beach.
Ice cream first hit the New Zealand media in 1930, when an advertisement in the Auckland Star deemed it "the health food of a nation".
Since that first foray we haven’t stopped and an image of a teenage Rachel Hunter eating a cone on the beach became something that defines our psyche.
For a country where it's built into our DNA, we sure have a bit of a funny way of showing it.
The 'State of the Nation' when it comes to ice cream is a funny thing; we have jumbo tubs of budget flavours and garish colours in supermarket freezers for less than a fiver, alongside tiny pottles of "gourmet" offerings at eye watering prices, or even ones with the calories removed.
But one Kiwi company is aiming to change that, with flavours inspired by the places we call home.
The Motueka-based business, often known for its 100% NZ seafood, vegetable and potato offerings, says quality shouldn't be sacrificed for cost, and are trying to "bridge the gap" between mainstream and premium ice cream.
Using local ingredients, the tubs are named after local hotspots like Split Apple Rock, Mt Arthur and Kaiteriteri inlet.
They're also tapping into fruit flavours we don't see a lot of in the supermarket's usual offerings, like apricot, lemon cheesecake and crisp apple.
After making ice cream for 14 years Motueka Creamery has gained many awards, including the Supreme award for our Green Tea ice cream in the 2017 NZ ice cream awards.
"We use real milk and real cream - it's the 'real deal," says a spokesperson for the company.
The company plans to only make six million litres in their small factory, in contrast to a national corporate like Top Top which does more than 50 million.
The Talley's Motueka Creamery flavours:
● River Valley Apricot
● Split Apple Rock
● Mt. Arthur Snowfall
● Kaiteriteri Inlet
● Kahurangi Wildberry
This article was created for Talley's Motueka Creamery.
