One of the required activities in Patzcuaro is a stop at one of the gates at the Plaza Don Vasco and try the ice cream that they sell. It is not uncommon for people of Morelia (state capital) to go to this city only for the ice cream. Pasta ice cream (so called) has an international reputation and was created over a hundred years ago.

One day in July 1905, Don Agapito Villegas, 100% patzcuarense, after many attempts ending in watering trees at the Plaza Don Vasco, found the recipe he was looking for. A pasty mixture became ice cream.  It was exactly what he had dreamed of and has become one the most deeply rooted traditions of this city. A small plate of flour cost five cents (also created by him) with ice cream inside. Thus, under a tree he began to sell ice cream. In 1915 he changed places to the site which it is currently located called the Nevería Pacanda (name given by him), at the Hidalgo Gates, a few meters from where it was before.

Years later, in 1939, when fatigue beat him, he passed his secret and his art to his godson, Francisco Contreras Medina. He had taught him the art of ice cream, which was the old way of making ice cream by using friction. The mother of Francisco, Salud Medina de Contreras de Galvan, joined the team and it would be her who would actually make the pasta ice cream famous. In 1958, Francisco decided to move to Zacapu, where he started another business similar to the patzcuarense one. After the death of Dona Saludita (as the locals affectionately called her) her daughter, María Amparo Contreras de Galvan, ran the business and it was her who told us this story. Currently there are more than 40 flavors, unusual ones such as corn, peanuts and tequila, or more traditional ones like pasta, lemon or mango.

At the head of the business, which has already gone through five generations, is Adrian Galvan grandson of Mrs. Saludita and son of Mrs. Amparo, who now only monitors the manufacture of this delicacy. In Morelia ice cream can also be found in The Pacanda at the Museum of Ates. On the 100th anniversary of the invention of pasta ice cream, natives and Patzcuarenses at heart decided to make a collection of texts as a tribute to this famous ice cream and the town where it was born: Pátzcuaro... A sweet tradition that became legend (pasta ice cream of the The Pacanda). The book can be purchased at the ice cream shop and the proceeds go directly to the asylum for orphans cared for by the Josephite nuns. The Pacanda is opened daily from 10:30 am until 8:30 pm.

And even closer...in direct competition with "The Pacanda" is the "Nevería Erendira" with high quality products as well. Notable flavors include pasta (my untrained palate could not tell the difference between this pasta and the other), caramel, pistachio, fig, cheese with blackberry, sweet milk or chongos, strawberries, cheese, the mamey fruit, lemon, guava, coffee, coconut, among others.

This business is not as old as that described above, but it already has been around for about 70.  Four generations have been dedicated to the creation of the ice cream. The Gonzales Family, headed by Mrs. Dolores, offers more than 30 flavors, using milk and seasonal fruit. Prices range from 7 to 22 pesos and you can purchase a half or liter. In Morelia there is a branch of Erendira in a mall. So you decide who buys, but yes, your trip will not be complete without if you don’t try the ice cream that is offered at the Hidalgo Gates.