The Great Frome Ice Cream Taste Test: Which serves the town’s best scoop?
- Becky Percival
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
With summer in full swing and temperatures soaring, we recently set ourselves a delicious challenge: to discover where you can find the best artisan ice cream in and around Frome.
Rather than relying on hearsay, we decided to put two much-loved local ice cream makers to the test ourselves. Armed with a blindfold and an adventurous appetite, Sonia volunteered to take on the challenge while I did the interviewing.
It’s important to say from the outset that nobody involved has any connection with either business, nor were either of them told what questions we’d be asking.
It is also VERY IMPORTANT to point out that both places produce exceptional artisan ice cream. This wasn’t about finding fault. It was about discovering what makes each one special and whether Sonia could identify some of their more unusual flavours without seeing them.
How we judged them
Rather than awarding marks out of ten, we looked at:
Variety and originality of flavours
Quality of ingredients
Texture and creaminess
Strength and balance of flavour
Overall enjoyment
The all-important fun factor
La Strada: Frome’s home of artisan ice cream
Our first stop was La Strada in the heart of Frome, where owner and chef Jude has been making artisan ice cream for more than 25 years.
Walking through the door is enough to make choosing almost impossible.
Alongside favourites such as vanilla, strawberry, mint chocolate chip and salted caramel sit flavours including Dubai Chocolate, Rose Petal, Sea Buckthorn, Toasted Marmalade, Turkish Delight and even Black Coconut.
Every flavour is made upstairs in-house using organic milk and cream from Ivy House Farm’s Jersey herd in nearby Beckington.
Jude admits she is constantly dreaming up new ideas.
“I’m a chef,” she told us. “I need to keep creating. I use what’s in season and my imagination.”
The heatwave has certainly been keeping the freezers busy.
“It’s been amazing,” she laughed. “If you find me lying in the freezer later, it’s only because I’m trying to cool down.”
The blind taste test begins
Then came Sonia’s challenge.
The first mystery flavour proved more difficult than expected. Sonia was convinced she could taste a rich berry flavour and guessed morello cherry.
Not quite.
The answer was passion fruit sorbet and, once she knew, she immediately recognised the distinctive tropical taste.
The second was more of a success, with Sonia quickly identifying the unmistakable flavour of the gin and tonic sorbet.
The final challenge proved much trickier.
She detected biscuit flavours and hints of caramel before eventually admitting defeat.
The answer?
Jammy Dodger.
Our verdict on La Strada
It wasn’t hard to see why La Strada has built such a loyal following. The fruit flavours were wonderfully vibrant, while the ice cream itself had a rich, luxurious texture that reflected the quality of the local ingredients.
If you enjoy discovering flavours you’ve never even imagined before, this is definitely the place for you.
Palette & Pasture: Fresh from the farm
Our second visit took us just outside Frome to Palette & Pasture in Trudoxhill, where the experience couldn’t feel more different.
Here, every scoop begins with milk from the farm’s own mixed-breed Sheeted Somerset cows.
The milk is collected each morning before being turned into small-batch artisan ice cream just a short distance away.
Lola explained that many of the flavours begin with an inspired idea before becoming one of the farm’s latest creations.
Popular choices include Walnut Cookie and Black Forest Gateau, while previous creations have included Lavender and White Chocolate and Blackcurrant Liquorice.
Perhaps our favourite discovery was that they even make ice cream especially for dogs, ensuring visiting four-legged friends don’t have to miss out on a treat.
Sonia takes on round two
Back under the blindfold, Sonia began her second challenge.
Her first spoonful produced plenty of puzzled expressions before she correctly landed on Key Lime Pie.
The second was much harder. After suggestions involving butterscotch and caramel, Walnut Cookie finally emerged as the answer.
The final flavour brought her back to winning ways as she correctly guessed the Baked Apple Sorbet.
Our verdict on Palette & Pasture
The ice cream had a wonderfully fresh, creamy texture and there was something rather special about enjoying it just a few yards from the cows that had produced the milk.
It’s the sort of place where you happily linger a little longer than you intended.
Hear the full challenge on the When in Frome podcast
If you’d like to hear Sonia taking on the blindfold challenge for yourself, you can listen to The Inside Scoop, the latest episode of the When in Frome podcast. You’ll hear every guess, every surprise and plenty of laughter along the way, as well as our interviews with Jude from La Strada and Lola from Palette & Pasture about what makes their ice cream so special.
The final verdict
Having sampled two outstanding local ice cream makers, we were left with an unexpectedly difficult decision.
La Strada is all about creativity.
If you love unusual flavours, colourful displays and the excitement of trying something completely different, Jude’s imagination seems almost limitless.
Palette & Pasture offers something equally special but entirely different.
Its farm-to-cone approach celebrates the quality of local milk, while the peaceful Trudoxhill setting makes the visit feel like a countryside outing rather than simply stopping for an ice cream.
In truth, comparing the two is rather like comparing strawberries and salted caramel.
One is a vibrant town-centre gelateria full of invention.
The other is a destination where the surroundings are every bit as enjoyable as the ice cream itself.
Our conclusion?
Frome is incredibly lucky to have both.
Whether you’re after an adventurous new flavour in the middle of town or a leisurely drive to the countryside for farm-fresh ice cream, you’re unlikely to leave disappointed.
Have we missed your favourite?
Have we missed your favourite? Is there another ice cream maker around Frome that deserves to be put to the test? Let us know in the comments.
Written by Daisy Steel.
Journalist, columnist and podcaster
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