NORTH SMITHFIELD - It's a business model that will come as no surprise to the loyal customers of Wright's Dairy Farm: If they do something, they do it well.

That mindset has kept the family business on Woonsocket Hill Road busy supplying Northern Rhode Island with cakes, pies, milk and bread over the past 100 years, and with their latest venture, everyone will just have to make a little more room on their plates.

In September, premium ice cream was added to the dairy repertoire. Bakery Manager Paul Dulude gave The Breeze a peek at the process.

"It's something we've wanted to do for a really long time," Dulude said. "We have access to everything already."

The mix is made from Wright's own milk and cream, he said, and the farm received help from the University of Connecticut to create the perfect formulas.

They brought the expertise home, and with just one stainless steel Emery Thompson machine, the bakery churns out 16 to 18 quarts about every 15 minutes for six hours.

That's about 100 gallons per month, Dulude said.

Currently, the farm stocks vanilla, maple walnut, coffee and chocolate, with Oreo cookie to come in February, and strawberry planned for the spring.

The flavors are all made from fresh ingredients, like whole strawberries, pure bourbon vanilla, and walnuts roasted onsite.

"We're doing our best to make premium ice cream from ingredients found right here on the farm," Dulude said.

And the chocolate is a step above average, he said. He explained that while most flavors are made from a vanilla base, he decided to create a chocolate from a base all its own, mixing cocoa right into the milk and cream.

"It's like a rich malt when it's in there," he said.

The ice cream is made with 14 percent butter fat, making it on par with companies like Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's, Dulude said.

But he said the prices are "really reasonable," with a quart costing $7.50, as opposed to others that can cost more than $10.

"Good ice cream has gotten so expensive," he said.

This is not the first time that ice cream has been served at Wright's. In the early 1990s, Dulude said, Wright's served Bliss Dairy ice cream from a former produce stand.

He said the farm was not ready to have the later hours needed to serve ice cream, but he said with this latest addition, they "may be headed there" in the future.

But, Dulude said, only if it can be done right.

"Our regular customers expect a certain standard," Dulude said, "which is why this isn't done halfway."