What's Your Favorite Flavor?
Apparently Thursday is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day.
I'll celebrate that holiday in due course, but in the meantime was inspired to list my five all-time favorite commercial flavors of ice cream. These flavors aren't particularly complex, but they're my comfort food and many make me nostalgic. In another post, I'll tackle my preferred artisan/small-batch flavors.
A childhood favorite.
5. Friendly's Butter Crunch. My ice cream experiences growing up were largely dominated by three brands, Friendly's, White Mountain Creamery, and Brigham's. Although I more often ordered sundaes at Friendly's, if we didn't sit down I opted for a very large cone to-go with Butter Crunch. This flavor is similar to butter pecan, but in the absence of legumes amps up the butterscotch notes such that every spoonful is the perfect marriage of animal fat and dairy.
My grandfather's favorite.
4. Brigham's Chocolate. Brigham's was the official brand of the O'Leary clan and when we visited my grandparents, nearly every meal save breakfast (though, wait, that one time...) ended with a scoop of ice cream. Generally, I'm not a fan of chocolate-based ice cream because to me they usually don't replicate the exact cocoa flavor present in say, a Hershey's bar. The exception is Brigham's Chocolate, which has a rich, dark, almost smoky taste.
3. Oreo/Cookies 'n' Cream.. Or "Cookies and Cream" or "Cookies and Creme"...you get the point. My failure to designate a specific type doesn't mean just old any brand will do but rather that I've had above-average versions from Breyer's, White Mountain Creamery, Friendly's, BlueBell, and others.
Yes, it's "light." Sample this flavor, please, before you sneer.
