A Visit to (Not So) Super Secret Ice Cream in Bethlehem, New Hampshire

New England has never been lacking in great ice cream spots, but sometimes a new one comes along that is truly memorable. If you’re heading to the White Mountains this fall and you’ve had your fill of cider donuts but are still craving something sweet, put the “farm to cone” Super Secret Ice Cream in Bethlehem on your must-visit list.

I recently visited Super Secret for the first time with Yankee Photo Editor Heather Marcus after spending the day on assignment at Tarrnation Flower Farm in nearby Sugar Hill. She’d had a tip from Yankee Senior Food Editor Amy Traverso’s Instagram stories, and had already made her first visit the week before on a scouting mission. After spending hours in the summer sunshine, learning how to grow, pick, and arrange gorgeous bouquets, we needed something to fuel us for the drive home, and the staff at Super Secret treated us like royalty. Sometimes the perks of working for Yankee really are extra-sweet.

Super Secret got its name when Kristina Zontini started making small-batch ice cream as a hobby, and she soon had so much of it she started selling it from a ski shed in her backyard. New flavors in the covert operation were announced to friends in a “super secret” email, and the name was born. Next came better equipment, a pushcart, a regular showing at the Littleton Farmers Market, and finally, a Main Street storefront purchase for Kristina and her partner Dan at the end of 2021. Last summer they were able to operate out of a takeout window, and by early 2023 the shop was ready. It’s a bright and open space, full of ample seating, colorful branded merchandise, and the heavenly aroma of homemade waffle cones.

Heather and I ordered an ice cream flight, which features a small scoop of six different flavors. After consulting front-of-house lead Gigi (who couldn’t have been sweeter), we opted for honeycomb, swirly strawberry jam jam, blueberry gooey-buttercake, campfire s’mores, mount cabot maple, and single-origin chocolate. It was hard to choose a favorite, but the the amount of times I’ve thought about the swirly strawberry jam jam (cream cheese ice cream with thick strawberry jam swirls) since my visit is probably a good indicator.

We were then treated to a Super Secret ice cream sandwich made with homemade cookies, a waffle-bowl hot fudge sundae, and samples like an early taste of ultra-creamy canteloupe sorbet, which was by far the most delicious way I have ever consumed canteloupe. Everything at the shop is made from local or carefully vetted sources, which is how they maintain their “tiny batch made from scratch” quality. The ice cream bases are made in-house with milk and cream from nearby Hatchland Dairy, the fresh ingredients come from local farms, and ingredients like chocolate and vanilla beans come from quality sources like Mashpi Chocolate in Ecuador and Laie Vanilla Company in Hawaii.

There are always new seasonal flavors being developed and rolled out and the shop is open year-round, which to me means it’s always a good time to plan a visit. Just be sure to call or check their Facebook or Instagram pages before visiting in the fall or winter. The shop is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and hours may vary.