Imagine this: it’s a hot summer day and you’re on the beach. The waves are crashing, the sun is constantly shining on you, and you’re feeling a little peckish. What treat would you eat to beat the heat? If you’re like 95% of Americans, the answer to that question might be ice cream. Ice cream is a centuries-old dessert often credited to Yuan China in the fourteenth century. The technique used to freeze flavored dairy spread from east to west as trade between the regions expanded. Although the United States spans several biomes with different climates, the instinct to seek out the adored frozen summer treat seems to stay constant. The percentage of survey respondents who loved ice cream stayed constantly above 50 across gender, age, race, and even party lines, unlike for other summer activities like sunbathing or kayaking.
6. Strawberry
Strawberry ice cream was first recorded in 1744 in Maryland. The governor at the time served the fruit with vanilla ice cream, unintentionally creating one of the first modern ice cream flavors. Strawberry ice cream is famous for its association with Presidents James Madison and Abraham Lincoln, who chose to feature the sweet treat at dinner parties and balls. Although strawberry is no longer the ice cream flavor of choice for presidents of the United States, the flavor is liked by 43% of Americans and favored by 6%, making it the sixth most popular flavor and tying it for fifth with cookies and cream in likeability according to a 2022 YouGov poll.
5. Cookies and Cream
Ranked as the fifth most popular flavor, cookies and cream is the first in this ranking to include a mix-in to the flavor that is added after the actual ice cream has been made. Due to its popularity, there are several variations of this flavor, but the most common is Oreo cookie crumbled into a vanilla base. The origins of cookies and cream are uncertain, with multiple companies and individuals claiming to have invented it sometime between the late 1970s to the early 1980s. Even though its beginning is unclear, cookies and cream ice cream was an almost immediate favorite among American consumers, first ranking in the top five bestselling flavors of ice cream in 1983. Today, the flavor is liked by 43% of Americans and favored by 7%.
4. Butter Pecan
Butter pecan is the second of the top six most liked flavors to include a mix-in. The flavor originated in the Southern United States, as a way for African Americans to enjoy ice cream despite discriminatory laws banning them from doing so. Butter pecan is also a popular flavor among Latino communities, clearly demonstrating the historical partnership between both communities. Despite its very American origins, butter pecan is a relatively niche flavor, with only 33% of Americans saying that they like it; however, it seems that those who like the flavor really like it. Butter pecan is fourth when it comes to Americans’ favorite flavors, with 8% of respondents indicating that it is their favorite.
3. Mint Chocolate Chip
Mint chocolate chip has been the subject of several heated online debates. Supporters say that the flavor’s use of mint balances the bittersweet chocolate, while opponents claim that it tastes like toothpaste. Despite this controversy, mint chocolate chip is the third most popular flavor in America, with 33% noting that they enjoy the flavor. Of these, 9% claim it as their favorite. The combination of mint and chocolate has been recorded as early as the Tudor Era in England. Mint chocolate chip ice cream is said to have been invented in 1973 by Marilyn Ricketts, an English culinary student who entered her “Mint Royale” into a competition for designing Princess Anne’s wedding dessert. In South Korea, mint chocolate chip, or mincho, is the subject of a polarizing food craze. There, members of the minchodan (literally “mincho army”) can buy mincho cookies, drinks, or to the dismay of the banminchodan (“mincho hate army”), mint chocolate-flavored fried chicken.
2. Chocolate
Chocolate, the second most popular flavor, originated in Mesoamerica and was introduced to Europeans around the same time as the vanilla orchid. Like vanilla, chocolate was first used by Europeans to create frozen spiced drinks. Today, 51% of Americans like chocolate ice cream, and 10% rank it as their favorite. As refrigeration techniques and flavor preferences have evolved, chocolate flavoring has become the base for other ice cream flavors like rocky road, chocolate fudge, or peanut butter cup.
1. Vanilla
The vanilla plant is thought to have first been used by the Mexica as a flavoring. Like chocolate and corn, vanilla was introduced to Europe by explorers. In Spain, one of the first uses of vanilla was as an ingredient in a frozen drink made with cacao, corn, and water. Over time, recipes began to separate vanilla and chocolate as flavors, allowing for greater culinary innovation. Vanilla ice cream was introduced to Americans by Thomas Jefferson, who brought a recipe over from France. Vanilla is the most popular flavor among American consumers, with 11% ranking it as their favorite flavor and 59% saying that they liked the flavor.
