Ice Cream - Vanilla vs. Chocolate

Whether it's a sweltering 90 degree summer day or a cozy 72 indoors on a wintry day, ice cream is a delicacy enjoyed by tens of millions of Americans year-round. But the age old debate still remains...vanilla or chocolate?

It used to be that ice cream was ice cream and the biggest decision when purchasing at your favorite grocer was how large a carton. Now, trying to make a selection in your ice cream aisle is more complicated than selecting the newest release at Blockbuster, or deciphering your HMO plan!

Brand loyalty is essential to any consumer product, and there are sects of ice cream lovers who will defend their favorite…Ben & Jerry's vs. Häagen-Dazs, or classics like Breyers. But the local and regional dairies across the country comprise a major portion of the ice cream lover's horizon, as they offer their own version of the national giants and even offer unique flavor sensations of their own. So what’s one to do? How to choose?

To the ice cream connoisseur, it all depends upon the original question, vanilla or chocolate? No matter how complex the flavor blend, all ice cream starts with either one or the other. Toss nuts, fruits or any other flavor into each, and you have a totally different result.

Personally, I'm a minimalist, in that the best ice cream is a classic vanilla from Breyers with some fresh, chopped fruit from the local farmer’s market on top. That's NOT to say I don't love to wander into my local Walgreen's and scoop up a few pints of Moose Tracks from time to time. But again, look at the base: vanilla.

I'm not sure how we develop our preferences for ice cream, vanilla vs. chocolate. It doesn't appear to be geographical in nature like pizza or BBQ, but we all hold strong to those prime flavors, and everything we build upon it.

Perhaps some ice cream anthropologists will chance upon this blog and decide to weigh in on the debate. In the meantime, I'll sit back with my bowl of vanilla-inspired ice cream, feet up, and simply enjoy mouthful after mouthful of ice cream delight.