Flavors
The most popular flavors of ice cream in the United States have long been routinely listed as vanilla and chocolate. Vanilla no doubt was boosted by its versatility, since it is used in sundaes, sodas, shakes, on top of pies, in baked Alaska, Bananas Foster and other prepared desserts, perched on a slice of cake, in root beer floats, and in many other uses. But there has been no end to the development of new flavors, which have increased in number since ice cream was first made.
There are regional favorites in areas of the country which are unheard of elsewhere. In Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and much of New England there are fans of Brown Bread ice cream, which was created in Nova Scotia by blending Grape Nuts cereal into vanilla ice cream in 1919. Since then many variations of the ice cream, which also goes by other names, have evolved, including the blending of cereal into other flavors.
Garlic ice cream is a mixture of garlic and vanilla ice cream, featured at many garlic festivals. Oyster ice cream is nearly as old as ice cream itself in North America, was a favorite of Dolley Madison, and tastes sort of like a cold oyster stew. In Pennsylvania a flavor known as Teaberry ice cream, with a minty taste, became popular. The teaberry was also used as the flavoring agent for Clark’s Teaberry Chewing Gum. Tiger tail ice cream, flavored with orange and licorice, grew popular in Canada and along the border.
Since the 1970s an ice cream flavored with green tea has seen growing popularity in the United States. In the American south, where pralines are looked upon favorably as a go to cookie, the ice cream flavor pralines and cream is found with regularity. On both US coasts, charcoal flavored ice cream became touted for its unproven benefits when detoxing, though it has the unhappy side effect of blackening the lips, gums and teeth of the consumer.
American chains such as Howard Johnson’s (28) and Baskin-Robbins (31) touted the various choices of flavors available to draw customers, as many regional chains still do, changing the options seasonally or monthly. Ice cream has been flavored with pepper and pumpkins, raspberries and roses, grapes and garlic and just about any other flavor which can be imagined. There will no doubt be many more, as ice cream continues to evolve.