Tip Top, Zany Zeus, Puhoi Valley: New Zealand's best ice creams revealed

The two best ice cream flavours in the entire country have been crowned - and it's the fifth year in a row for one of them.

At this year's NZ Ice Cream Awards, Zany Zeus' Ghana Chocolate was named the supreme award winner in the boutique manufacturer category.

And beloved Kiwi classic Tip Tip Boysenberry Ripple took out the prize in the best flavour from a large manufacturer category. It's the fifth time the swirling berry number has taken out the top spot.

Proving that sometimes you just can't beat the classics, Tip Top once again won the 'Standard Ice Cream' category with its Boysenberry Ripple Ice Cream. Photo / Supplied

The competition wasn't without weird and wonderful flavours too: the wackiest ice cream entries included beetroot and ginger, turkey with white chocolate gravy and stuffing, and even a massaman curry.

Judges said that the spicy, sweet Massaman Curry gelato delivered a unique hint to the complex flavours of the popular Thai dish and is a "great example of innovation".

If those flavours are a bit wild for you and you're after something simple, fear not - the competition also found the best vanillas in the country: Talley Group's Oravida Vanilla, and Motueka Creamery's Mt Arthur Snowfall Vanilla.

There was no shortage of creativity this year, with one wacky entry being a Massaman Curry gelato. Photo / Supplied

Got kids at home and want to know what flavour they'd love? You're in luck.

The competition even recruited a bunch of 8- to 12-year-old guest judges from local YMCA holiday programmes to pick their favourite. The prize went to Puhoi Valley Cafe's Puhoi Choc Bomb.

Fancy trying an award-winning scoop for yourself? From January onwards, keep an eye out for NZ Ice Cream Awards medal stickers on packs in supermarkets and other retail outlets.