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USA Today: Ice cream on crazy streak this coming summer

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XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2012-05-25/weird-ice-cream-flavors/55251508/1

The surest sign of summer isn't the smoke spewing from the grill — it's the crazy-looking ice cream dripping from the cone.

With the economy showing sporadic signs of life, this summer's ice cream selections may rank among the wackiest in years — from "sushi" ice cream cupcakes to ice cream "pizza" to an ice cream "Brrrger."

"The goal isn't to sell a billion of these new concoctions," says Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. "The goal is to get people in the door, thinking it's cool."

Most consumers sample the new flavors for free, but end up buying good ol' vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. "Crazy flavors get the buzz started," says Ray Karam, senior tastemaster at Cold Stone Creamery.

On scoop this summer:

•Sushi cupcakes. Not real sushi, but darned if this new Marble Slab item doesn't look like the real thing. These ice cream cupcakes are even topped with Swedish Fish candy. "It's a conversation starter," says Jenn Johnston, marketing chief at Marble Slab.

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•Watermelon chip. Baskin-Robbins is bringing back Watermelon Chip, watermelon ice sprinkled with chocolate "seeds." Future summer flavors, executive chef Stan Frankenthaler says, may include Fried Ice Cream and Sesame Tahini.

•Ice Cream Pizza. OK, it's not a real pizza, nor does it really look like one. But the Friendly's item is a chocolate brownie covered with vanilla ice cream topped with sprinkles, chocolate chips and fudge drizzle. "Consumers have an insatiable desire for new flavors," says Tim Hopkins, executive vice president of retail.

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•Candy Shop Blizzard. This Dairy Queen item, due in July, smells like a candy shop, with mini-chocolates filled with hazelnut creme, fudge and caramel blended with dark cocoa fudge and DQ vanilla soft serve. "By offering the unusual, we have customers continuing to come back," says Barry Westrum, marketing chief.

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•"Pop Tart." MilkMade Ice Cream, a tiny ice cream maker in New York City that mostly uses local ingredients, has concocted a Pop-Tart-like ice cream sandwich with apricot ice cream stuffed between two freshly baked tarts.

•Ice Cream "Brrrger." No, it isn't a real burger. It's chocolate ice cream, between two sugar cookies, made to look like a burger, right down to the oozing ketchup and mustard coloring. Carl's Jr., which is testing it in Orange County, Calif., calls it the Ice Cream Brrrger. What the chain needs to create next, jokes marketing chief Brad Haley: "A burger shake to wash it down."

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Others:

Marble Slab is also introducing the Leaning Tower of Pizza, an ice cream pizza with strawberry topping, marshmallows and green gummy bears.

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Another new flavor from Friendly's this summer is Rockin' Poppin' Cotton Candy: pink and blue swirled cotton candy ice cream with bits of cotton candy-flavored popping rocks.

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Cold Stone Creamery is launching a retro classics promotion featuring Cherry Vanilla Cherry Pie.

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RubxQub

φίλω ἐξεχέγλουτον καί ψευδολόγον οὖκ εἰπόν
Who the hell orders flavors like Vanilla or Chocolate or Strawberry when you've got insanely better tasting options right around it?

Cookie Dough?
Cookies and Cream?
Peanut Butter?
Coffee?
Chocolate Chip Mint?

...there are so many better flavors than basic V/C/S it's madness to hear that they outsell the good shit. MADNESS!
 

bjork

Member
I saw the watermelon ice cream at B-R a few weeks ago, but didn't try it. It looks like it could be good, though.
 

MechDX

Member
Who the hell orders flavors like Vanilla or Chocolate or Strawberry when you've got insanely better tasting options right around it?

Cookie Dough?
Cookies and Cream?
Peanut Butter?
Coffee?
Chocolate Chip Mint?

...there are so many better flavors than basic V/C/S it's madness to hear that they outsell the good shit. MADNESS!

When gods hand comes down and produces this:

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It goes with EVERYTHING!
 

Lich_King

Member
BREAKING: Ice-cream sales unpredictably increase 9000% this summer over this winter.

I'm eating lime ice right now. It's too hot for fat ice-cream.
 
Who the hell orders flavors like Vanilla or Chocolate or Strawberry when you've got insanely better tasting options right around it?

Cookie Dough?
Cookies and Cream?
Peanut Butter?
Coffee?
Chocolate Chip Mint?

...there are so many better flavors than basic V/C/S it's madness to hear that they outsell the good shit. MADNESS!

Blasphemy. A good vanilla or chocolate is miles above all the garbage flavors crammed full of crap.
 

akira28

Member
Crappy USAToday article?

Crappy USAToday article. That looks nothing like sushi to anyone that's ever seen sushi. And no, the swedish fish doesn't help. Maybe they were just being generous for the sake of the article, or maybe they were just maintaining their reputation as the newspaper version of the Weekly Reader.
 
My friend found a goddamn food truck that sells chipwich-style ice cream sandwiches with homemade ice-cream and fresh cookies.

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genjiZERO

Member
I just want chocolate icecream sandwiches.... why are they so fucking hard to find?

edit:

also I wish taro icecream was sold in regular grocery stores.

edit 2:

I wish taro was sold in regular grocery stores
 

Alrus

Member
So I have to ask, what exactly is "cotton candy" flavor? Because to me it's just plain sugar with colorant. How can it be a flavor by itself? >.>

Not at $4 a scoop that I just paid for on the weekend :(

What kind of ice cream shop was it? As an european that sounds ridiculously expensive :/
 

Nemo

Will Eat Your Children
Man that pizza looks good. I want to try all kinds of sandwich ice cream. I'm a sucker for those!

Why don't they get real crazy and bring back Vienetta to the U.S.?!


vienetta_by_ellanaa-d2xtxs4.jpg


Still mad I never got to try this before it went away.
This is actually not that good, too fancy, but lacking the substance
 
Why don't they get real crazy and bring back Vienetta to the U.S.?!


vienetta_by_ellanaa-d2xtxs4.jpg


Still mad I never got to try this before it went away.

This is actually quite bland.

The chocolate has barely any taste and just crunches in your mouth and turns into a buttery substance that sticks to the top of your mouth, and the vanilla ice cream also is of the least flavorful kind. It's white ice cream alright, with the milk and sugar... but where does the vanilla come into play?

At least, that's how I recall it.
 
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