Margaret Asselin Woods brings 23 years of experience in the candy industry to Lickt Artisan Gelato & Sorbet, a new business whose commercial kitchen is on Springfield Avenue.

Woods's favorite and "signature" flavor is Salted Caramel. "I worked on that flavor for months," says Woods, a self-descibed "dessert foodie." She explains, "I have always loved the palette of gelato but wanted to merge it with natural fresh seasonal ingredients making it in small batches."

And to stay close to the consumer, Woods sells her gelato and sorbet at the Maplewood and South Orange Farmers' Markets; at the Concerts on Floods Hill, and at local restaurants Highland Place and St. James Gate.

This allows Woods to spend time with her teenage daughter, a "big reason" she left the corporate world, and to know her customers and their preferences. A chocolate flavor tinged with chilis has been more popular than Woods ever expected, she said, and customers ask for it specifically.

Locals can expect to see flavors change with the seasons. Woods is at work on a raspberry gelato to take advantage of a bumper crop. The top summer choice is cran-pome-lime sorbet, she says.

Fall will bring a new crop of flavors, including oatmeal cookie and Saigon cinnamon.

"And then, who knows?" says Woods. "It's always the right season for gelato."