When Todd Hindman’s “Pooh Bear” honey ice cream won a local dessert competition five years ago, he was encouraged to finally create the ice cream business he had been thinking about for years. Today, Udder Delights provides handmade, small-batch ice cream to locals and visitors.

“Stoked Beekeeping hosted a Harvest Festival at Alice’s and I entered my ice cream into the contest just for the heck of it,” Hindman said. “I was already making ice cream just for me and my friends, but winning and then finding out that the family that had been selling ice cream at the farmers market moved out of town made me decide to go for it.”

Now in his fourth year at the Homer Farmers Market, Hindman rotates through 25 flavors, including his two originals, “Pooh Bear” with basil and pine nuts baked in honey and vanilla with honey caramel sauce and “Better than Breakfast” made from oatmeal, cranberry and cinnamon. He also sells gelato and “No Cows Allowed” nondairy desserts.

Among the ice cream he offers are “Salty But Sweet,” salted caramel; “We Go Hand in Hand,” vanilla with peanut butter, honey and dark chocolate flecks; “South of the Border,” a dark chocolate gelato with cinnamon and cayenne; “Grace Ridge Stout” made with the brewery’s stout beer as well as espresso beans; “Was Mint to Be,” mint with dark chocolate flecks; “Kentucky Kiss” with bourbon and salted buttered walnuts; “Brown Bear,” a chocolate gelato, “24 Carrot Gold,” carrot cake-flavored; “Silk Road” with star anise and candied fennel; and nondairy frozen desserts that include coconut milk with a pineapple compote and a dark chocolate coconut milk.

“I love selling at the market,” he said. “It’s fun watching people decide which flavor they want and it’s rare to run into a grumpy ice cream customer. I recently met a woman who was in town for her mom’s 80th birthday and a couple asked me to cater their wedding. I enjoy making connections like that.”

In addition to the market, Hindman sells wholesale at Save-ww-More, currently selling four flavors and with plans to expand to eight. Udder Delights can be found in Soldotna at The Goods sustainable grocery and in Kenai at a store in the airport.

Hindman finds recipes online and in newspaper and magazine articles. He also tries flavors at ice cream shops and tries to mimic and put his own spin on ones he enjoys. And, he makes up his own flavors.

“’Better than Breakfast’ was inspired by an ice cream I tried at Hot Licks in Fairbanks and ‘Sasquatch’s Trail Mix’ chocolate gelato was inspired by an ice cream I had at Molly Moon’s in Seattle,” he said. “Sometimes I taste something and go back and play with it, and others I just come up with an idea and try to go forward.”

New flavors Hindman is working on include “Peach Cobbler” and “Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.” Inspired by family recipes, including his mom’s pie recipe to make part of the filling and his grandmother’s old pie crust recipe to mix in with it, these flavors pay homage to his fondness for ice cream that was nurtured as a child. Raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Hindman said his family made ice cream for celebrations, like birthdays and anniversaries — his grandparents using their hand-crank White Mountain ice cream maker and his parents, their electric ice cream maker.

When Hindman left home and began traveling around the country, one of the first things he’d do in a new city is seek out ice cream stores and sample the flavors.

“I researched ice cream places ahead of time, seeking out stores that had unique flavors,” he said.

Ten years ago while living in Nome and working as a teacher, Hindman began using a small, 2-quart ice cream machine to make dessert, inviting friends over to taste and rate the flavors he was developing. While he wanted to make and sell ice cream in Nome, he was at the time the lead teacher at a small charter school and teaching full time.

“There was no time to devote to getting a business off the ground,” he said. “Winning the Harvest Fest competition really launched me and I credit Anna, who owns Stoked Beekeeping, with me being out here selling my ice cream.”

Hindman uses all real ingredients and no oils or flavorings. His lemon flavor includes fresh lemons he squeezes. Mint includes fresh mint he gets at the market and other places. Ditto for the banana and ginger flavors.

His ice creams take two days to make, from cooking, chilling overnight, putting into the ice cream machine, and freezing to a soft serve, and then hand packing cups and pints.

“It’s labor intensive, but I got a love of cooking from my mom and my grandmother, and I really enjoy the process of making the ice cream,” he said.

A one-man show, for the first three years he was in business, Hindman rented a kitchen. A Homer resident since 2016, when he retired last fall as principal at Fireweed Academy, he immediately began plans for a commercial kitchen at his residence. Separate from his house, a small entryway leads to this kitchen, an 11-foot by 15-foot room with counter space, his equipment, one fridge and two freezers.

Hindman’s short-term goals include building onto his kitchen so he has space for another fridge and freezer. He also plans to purchase a larger ice cream machine that will allow him to produce 6 quarts at a time verses the one he currently uses that produces 2 quarts at a time, and so that he has a backup machine. He would also like to get a food trailer that would enable him to go mobile.

When debuting a new flavor, Hindman often holds community tastings at Grace Ridge Brewing.

“People ask me all the time which flavor is my favorite, but I like them all,” he said. “I’m very proud of the product I make and I think it’s great that people can enjoy an ice cream that’s made locally and in small batches.”

For announcements on new flavors, community tastings and a few of Hindman’s favorite ice cream quotes, visit Udder Delights Alaska on Facebook and Instagram.

Udder Delights owner Todd Hindman helps customers at his booth at the Homer Farmers Market on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting

Udder Delights’ Pooh Bear ice cream is one of numerous flavors availale at local stores and at the Homer Farmers Market. Photo provided by Udder Delights

Armin Holzner from Austria purchases ice cream from Todd Hindman’s Udder Delights booth at the Homer Farmers Market on Saturday, June 17, 2023 in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting