Ice cream is a popular dessert worldwide, but did you know there are over 405 ice cream production businesses in the U.S.? Many people enjoy it no matter what flavor, how it is served, or what brand it is from. You can get ice cream pretty much anywhere, such as theme parks, gas stations, parlors, trucks, and your average grocery store. Today, I will discuss the top five ice cream brands you can buy at the store, their origin, and their best flavor. To get my responses, I will be basing this ranking on the Processed Food Industry, which provided these food rankings.
1. Ben & Jerry’s
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield met during junior high athletics in Merrick, Long Island. They shared their fascination with food and hate for running, which allowed these two to bond and form a great friendship. In 1978, they bought out an abandoned gas station in Vermont and started selling their ice cream from there, which then founded their beloved company, Ben & Jerry’s. According to Unilever, it says “Internationally, you will find Ben & Jerry’s in much of Europe, Asia as well as Israel, Canada, Mexico, and in the Caribbean.” Due to its spread-out sales and excellent cream-to-milk ratio, there’s no doubt that Ben & Jerry’s is marked high in the ranks. Besides that point, Ben & Jerry’s also has around 98 different flavors of ice cream, allowing buyers to choose a variety they like. From Chocolate Fudge Brownies to Cherry Garcia, there are so many flavors to choose from, but what is the best one? The Ben & Jerry’s official website states that “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough / Cookie Dough is by far the world’s most favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor. If you’re in Europe, it’s called Cookie Dough, but it goes by Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough in the Americas, South East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.”
2. Baskin Robbins
While it is more typically bought at their ice cream shop, not many know you can buy Baskin-Robbins ice cream at your local grocery stores. Baskin-Robbins originated in Glendale, California, and was founded in 1945. Burton Baskin and Irvine Robbins, brothers-in-law, who founded this popular business, who both shared a passion for ice cream. Their logo combines their last initials but also highlights the number 31 in pink, but what does that have to do with this company? In the Newsroom section of the Baskin-Robbins website, it says, “What was once a selection of 31 flavors—Baskin-Robbins “31®” stands for a different ice cream flavor for each day of the month—has grown to more than 1,400 in its flavor library.”With seasonal flavors such as Peppermint for Christmas and occasional flavors of the month, Baskin-Robbins may not have as many flavors as Ben & Jerry’s. Still, their variety of flavors does not disappoint. In the United States, the most popular flavors are your typical Vanilla ice cream and Oreo Cookies n’ Cream. Still, in other countries like Indonesia, it’s as unique as Jamoca Almond Fudge.
3. Häagan-Dazs
Häagan-Dazs is a brand that has a lot of controversy due to its name origin, for example, whether the name and founder are German or Dutch due to its spelling and pronunciation, but in reality, Häagan-Dazs was created by a Polish man named Reuben Mattu
s. The company was founded in New York around the 1960s. Soon after, they opened their first store in Brooklyn and began booming. They don’t just specialize in ice cream but in cones that pair perfectly well with ice cream when bought together because the same company manufactures them. Out of their estimated 50 flavors of ice cream, like most brands, their Vanilla Bean is the most adored, ranked 9.5 sporks out of 10 on the Sporks website. However, their least favored flavor, Pineapple Coconut, only gets a rating of 3.5 sporks because it is known to taste like sunscreen.
4. Talenti
Talenti is a particularly new brand of ice cream. It was created in the
90’s in Argentina, where its founder, Josh Hochschuler, was from. He lived and worked in Buenos Aires and was passionate about many things, such as the people and fútbol, but had a deep love for gelato. He then began studying the old ways of the gelato process, took his knowledge back to Dallas, Texas, and created Talenti in 2003. I tend to favor the mango flavor the most, but others believe the raspberry is rich and flavorful and that deserves the best flavor spot.
5. Blue Bell
Last but certainly not least, we have Blue Bell ice cream. Their website section “About Blue Bell Creameries” states that, “A group of local businessmen in Brenham, Texas, decided to establish the Brenham Creamery Company and make butter from excess cream brought in by area farmers. A few years later, the creamery began making ice cream and delivering it to neighbors by horse and wagon. It was in 1930 that the company changed its name to Blue Bell Cre
ameries after the native Texas bluebell wildflower. Butter was produced until 1958 when Blue Bell focused full time on making ice cream.” Blue Bell may be exceptionally highly rated, but it is exclusive to stores in Texas. If you wanted Like almost all brands, their most popular flavor is Vanilla, one of their top flavors that is not a classic is their Dutch Chocolate.
