Dairyhaus and Anderson Japanese Gardens team with Miles Nielsen for new green tea ice cream
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKTON — This summer, Miles Nielsen took on an unusual role for a musician headlining a summer concert series.
He also made the ice cream that will be scooped up and served.
Dairyhäus, a homemade ice cream parlor at 118 E. Main St., and Anderson Japanese Gardens, 318 Spring Creek Road in Rockford, partnered to create a new matcha green tea ice cream flavor for the annual Tuesday Evening in the Gardens music series.
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Nielsen, one of the biggest draws at the annual concert series, was tapped to make the first batch of the new flavor.
On Thursday morning, he blended organic powdered matcha into Dairyhäus‘ cream sugar base. He then poured the mixture into the ice cream maker and even scooped the first few quarts into their containers, complete with scribbling his signature across the lids.
The flavor will debut at the first Tuesday Evening in the Gardens concert on May 28, and it will be available by the scoop and in Nielsen’s signed containers at Dairyhäus in downtown Rockton. The special Anderson Gardens Green Tea flavor will also be for sale at the ice cream shop’s retail partners, including Schnucks, Woodman’s, Van Laars Market, Rockford Roasting Co. and others.
Miles Nielsen & The Rusted Hearts perform June 18 at Anderson Japanese Gardens.
“Miles is a big component for helping establish that whole concert series,” said John Gleason, chief operating officer of Anderson Japanese Gardens. “He probably has the record for the most amount of people over the entire time of coming to see him.”
“It will be really cool, especially the day that he’s performing, when we’re introducing him to say, ‘Hey you guys, go over and grab some matcha ice cream. Miles made it himself.'”
Nielsen, when he’s not providing free labor for local ice cream shops, tours the country with his band’s blend of western-influenced rock and classic soul.
But before his music career, he scooped ice cream at a shop in the Edgebrook Center. He had to plead with his parents — Karen and Rock-and-Roll Hall of Famer Rick Nielsen — to let him start working at age 14. Now, he can say he’s both scooped and made ice cream.
Nielsen said Tuesday Evening in the Garden is special show, both because it allows him to perform literally right down the road from his home and because of the atmosphere.
“The beauty of where you’re playing is unreal,” Nielsen said.
The concert series is also family friendly, with many people bringing their children to roam the gardens during the show.
“Having kids, they’re just having fun. They want the ice cream, they want the pizza, they want the fish food,” Nielsen said. “The music is like the fourth thing they want, but at some point they end up getting into it and dancing and having a good time.”
The ice cream connection was made as Anderson Gardens was looking for another partner for a pop-up treat. Similarly, it had a pop-up coffee shop in partnership with Meg’s Daily Grind in the winter.
“We like being able to reach out beyond what we are as a garden with other notable organizations in the community,” Gleason said. “When we have the opportunity to do something fun like this — like we did with Meg’s and now Dairyhäus — it’s just a nice partnership to really bridge the community together.”
Dairyhäus owner Brent Murray worked with Anderson Gardens to develop the matcha green tea flavor, a fitting choice because of its popularity in Japan.
“There’s some marquee places in Rockford that we’ve started to do stuff with — Klehm Arboretum, Rockford Roasting Co., places like that — and Anderson Gardens just felt like, ‘oh my goodness this IS Rockford here,” Murray said.
Murray said the key to the matcha ice cream starts with quality ingredients, and he found the organic Whole Foods matcha blend matched well with his shop’s cream sugar base.
“The matcha flavor comes through really well. It’s not overly sweet,” Murray said. “Those who are used to drinking a matcha without sugar, it’s not going to be too overwhelming. An individual that maybe is not a green tea lover or a matcha lover, this is going to be a really nice entryway into trying out a green tea.”
About | Tuesday Evening in the Gardens
What: Anderson Japanese Gardens features local, regional and nationally touring musicians performing in the garden setting.
When: 5:45 p.m. (opening act) 6:30 p.m. headliner Tuesdays starting May 28 through Aug. 27
Where: Anderson Japanese Gardens, 318 Spring Creek Road, Rockford
Tickets: Adults $12; seniors $11; students and military members $10; free for children 5 and younger
More info and full lineup: Go HERE
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This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
