Across the country and beyond, people young and old will be enjoying ice cream as a delicious way to cool off this summer. But who will be serving up vanilla and who will be chowing down on obscure flavors you’ve never heard of? Read on to learn about some of the wacky regional ice cream flavors being served around North America this summer!
Blue Moon (also known as Smurf)
In the upper-Midwestern states, Blue Moon ice cream is known for it’s distinctly fruity taste and unparalleled ability to stain the clothes of young children. Originating at a creamery in Michigan, the flavor became a regional favorite, inspiring other local creameries to hop on the Blue Moon bandwagon. Popular among them is the Kings Island amusement park in the Cincinnati, Ohio area where blue soft serve cones known locally as “Smurf Ice Cream” are served, paying homage to a much-loved, now defunct, ride featuring the small blue men.
Superman
With the success of Blue Moon, Michigan continued to innovate its wacky flavor offerings. Superman ice cream, a vibrant mixture of red, blue and yellow ice creams, is another favorite that you’ll find only in the upper-Midwestern states. Taking a cue from the colors of Superman’s cape, the original flavor profile of Superman ice cream featured Blue Moon, a strawberry-flavor known as Red Pop and lemon ice creams. As its popularity grew, various versions of Superman ice cream emerged, some containing a mixture of three different ice cream flavors and others containing only vanilla ice cream with copious amounts of food coloring added.
Grapenut
While the Midwest was experimenting with bold colors, New England was taking a more natural approach and churning out Grapenuts ice cream. The recognizable crunchy pellets are blended into vanilla custard, where they soften ever-so-slightly, providing the ice cream with their signature nuttiness and crunch. When the locals really want to have some fun, they have been known to top this wacky concoction with regionally-produced maple syrup. While this is a flavor unique to New England, this is an easy DIY ice cream that you can recreate in your own kitchen. We recommend starting with a rich base of Mayor Freddy’s Vanilla Bean.
Tiger Tail
In Canada, Tiger Tail ice cream is a popular, albeit unusual, combination of flavors that the locals will be enjoying all summer long. Orange ice cream featuring a black licorice swirl, the colors are reminiscent of a tiger, hence the playful moniker. While Canadian children and adults alike enjoy this wacky combination, it has not been a hit stateside. Because of that, Tiger Tail ice cream remains an obscure regional delicacy left to be enjoyed across the border.
There are no shortage of ice cream flavors that, while different and unexpected, have gained popularity and devoted followings. What are some wacky flavor combinations you’d like to see? Talk to us and who knows? You might be responsible for the next Instagram-able local ice cream!
P.S. Today is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, swing by the Scoop Truck in Harmony, CA this weekend from 1-4pm for a scoop of our delicious Harmony Chapel Chocolate!
