HENRY COUNTY, Kentucky — It’s not everyday that you can taste some handmade ice cream when you visit your pumpkin patch. Jericho Farmhouse has specialized in sweet treats for years and now it’s what they’re known for.
“Maybe for us our draw is the ice cream and they get to do the pumpkin patch on the side. You know it’s whatever brings it out. We’ve tried to expand a little every year. We’ve got some mums, we do some school tours, we’ve added a corn pit, and we’ve got a slide that we’ll install in the next few weeks, so just trying to do a little every year to keep people wanting to come out. Let’s see what’s new at Jericho Farmhouse,” said Curtis Coombs. His family owns Jericho Farmhouse.
Growing up, Coombs worked as a farmer, milking and feeding the cows. That’s what this land was for a very long time.
“We always milked cows. We were always a dairy [farm]. But in 2018 the Deans plant in Louisville shut down and we didn’t have a place to ship our milk to. So, we had 90 days to figure out what to do and the only thing we could do was sell the cows,” said Coombs.
He said the family had a big discussion about what would come next when they decided to try their hand at making and selling ice cream.
“You know, our roots are with dairy, we know dairy,” he said.
The farm got some support from Chaney’s Dairy Barn in Bowling Green and started by selling their ice cream out of a trailer. Now they make their own ice cream which Curtis is proud to boast, won the blue ribbon at the Kentucky State Fair in 2021.
“It was great vindication to know that we were doing a good job with our product, with learning the craft. You know we’d always made homemade ice cream, but you know being able to make ice cream in a larger scale and a product that people will like; that was great vindication to know that we’re on the right track. I think we’ve got something here,” said Coombs.
Coombs says their ice cream is about as handmade as you can get; made from scratch with real ingredients.
“Our banana ice cream has actual bananas in it, not just banana flavor. Cookies and Cream is made with Oreos. You know there’s no flavoring in it, it’s just Oreos. We add Oreos in. And then our Bourbon Crunch is made with local bourbon,” Coombs said.
“You know we try to use local flavors when we can. We try to use as many flavor-rich items in our ice cream as we can to really give it that 1-2 punch to hit that pallet.”
The farm now has a permanent shop people can visit, and in 2022 Jericho Farmhouse reached an agreement with the University of Louisville to sell their ice cream on campus. Coombs says this shift has been a real adjustment, but a welcomed change.
“It’s a whole different, a whole different ball game. When we was milking, you got up every morning and milked the cows,” said Coombs.
“This is the total opposite. Everything, every dime that is made through the farmhouse, you interact with the customer.”
“You know when we was milking farming it was always tough to know if you were going to make it the next day and we got to the day where we didn’t make it to the next one. With this one, so as far as the future, it’s there. We’re hoping to continue to grow and continue to be a member of the community that can help out and also be something that can be passed on from generation to generation,” he continued.