If you’ve never visited an ice cream stand in a faraway state, you may not realize that your favorite flavor has regional roots. Unlike chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and all of their chip, cookie, and candy bar studded siblings, there are some American ice cream flavors that are unique to their respective region. In the Midwest […]
If you’ve never visited an ice cream stand in a faraway state, you may not realize that your favorite flavor has regional roots. Unlike chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and all of their chip, cookie, and candy bar studded siblings, there are some American ice cream flavors that are unique to their respective region. In the Midwest they have Blue Moon, which is bright blue and rumored to taste like Fruity Pebbles cereal (if this is true, I need some ASAP). In parts of California and in Asian restaurants nationwide you can find sweet Red Bean ice cream. And here in New England, there’s Grapenut.
Grapenut Raisin Ice Cream – a classic New England ice cream flavor. Photo Credit : Aimee Seavey
Traditionally speaking, Grapenut ice cream is a vanilla based ice cream with the toothsome, granulated breakfast cereal mixed in during the churning process. They’re added the same way Oreo cookies are added to Cookies & Cream, so by the time a scoop gets to you, the cereal is soft rather than crunchy, and its flavor has seeped into the vanilla base. It’s nutty and sweet, sometimes with plump raisins, and I’ve heard it’s delicious with warm maple syrup drizzled on top. There’s no clear reason why New Englanders love the hearty cereal in ice cream and pudding more than the rest of the nation, but we do, and we’re not stopping!
I have a long history with ice cream in New England, but until recently it did not include Grapenut. During the late 1990’s and early 2000’s I spent majority of my high school and college summers dishing out cups and cones from a large, multi-site ice cream stand operation based in Westford, MA, and while I ate hundreds of spoonfuls of ice cream over the years, if I ever tried Grapenut, I don’t remember it. What I remember most is the kind of patron who used to order it.
Here’s a quick recap of how I remember the customer/flavor breakdown:
Kids ate anything colorful or with cookie dough/candy in it. Flavors like Strawberry, M&M, and the peanut butter cup strewn (and oddly named) Moose Tracks. With jimmies. Duh.
Adults (at least the ones willing to defy their childhood favorite) went for gourmet. Flavors like Caramel Cashew Chip, Kahlua Crunch, Cherry Vanilla Chip, and German Chocolate Fudge.
Seniors loved (and I mean LOVED) anything with fruit or nuts. Flavors like Frozen Pudding (a rum base with dried fruit), Maple Walnut, Butter Pecan, Pistachio, and yes…Grapenut. Heaven help us if we were out of one of these 5.
Almost everyone liked Mint Chocolate Chip.
Despite scooping it into paper cups for a half-dozen summers, I finally tasted Grapenut Raisin ice cream for the first time a few weeks ago when I made a batch at home from a recipe in the Yankee archives. The verdict? Raisins aside (I just don’t care for them in ice cream but wanted to make the recipe verbatim the first time around), I absolutely loved it. The softened cereal lends a dense texture and nutty flavor to the vanilla base that was totally different from any other ice cream I’d ever had, almost like when you eat a bite of cake and ice cream together on the same spoon. Yum. What took me so long to try this delicious treat?
Grapenut Raisin Ice Cream Photo Credit : Aimee Tucker
My fellow scoopers and I always considered Grapenut a “senior flavor,” but I see no reason why it should languish alongside Frozen Pudding (which, for the record, I do remember trying on a dare and very much disliking). If the seniors ordered it because they remember enjoying it as children, then that makes Grapenut a flavor with serious staying power, which I have to admire.
Whether it’s a new appreciation for an old classic or a maturing palate (I’m just as likely to order Maple Walnut now as I am Coffee Heath Bar), I’m delighted to report that Grapenut has a new spot on my own personal list of flavor contenders. Have you ever tried Grapenut ice cream? Do you have a go-to flavor?
Aimee Tucker is Yankee’s senior digital editor. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.
This is a great article! I LOVE GRAPENUT CUSTARD! Every time I order it’s 1/2 Grapenut, and 1/2 whatever flavor strikes me that day.
Btw, your grapenut icecream photo is amazing!
I miss this MADLY on the West Coast. Not only is there no fresh ice cream (!), flavors such as this and Maple Walnut are unheard of. When I’m back home, I eat this for breakfast!
Loved the article! My favorite ice cream flavor is coffee – which, in its pure unadulterated form, is defimitely a regional specialty. Sure, you can find espresso or cappuccino or coffee chip elsewhere, but mild, milky coffee ice cream seems to be just a New England thing. I don’t even drink coffee, but on a sugar cone it is my all-time #1 choice. I don’t like things in my ice cream, with the exception of fruit. Peach is probably my second favorite flavor, as long as no one has tried to get cute by putting something like raspberry swirl or pieces of pie crust or shortcake in it. Does anyone remember ice milk – or any of the now-gone brands like Sealtest (another old New England brand)?
Thanks for pulling coffee ice cream into the discussion, Jonathan and kar0319! Unlike coffee milk, I thought coffee ice cream was something you could find all over the US! I refer to coffee (after chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry) as one of the “core” ice cream flavors. Guess that goes to show how deep our coffee love runs! Stay tuned for my “Recipe with a History” column in the upcoming July/August 2014 issue – I think you’ll be delighted with the featured recipe. 🙂
I assume you worked at Kimball Farm in Westford, MA. Wonderful! I was first brought there by my Dad in the 1940s, and then many times, thereafter. The tradtion carried on with my own children and my grandchildren. Although I have not lived in MA for decades, I manage to stop at Kimball’s whenever I drive by on Rt. 495. I now live in a small village in Maine….and have for many years. I was told that a druggist, many, many years ago, in this village was the one who created grape nut ice cream. Since I am unable to confirm this, I cannot say it is definitely true……but it is legend around these parts…..
This is a great article! I LOVE GRAPENUT CUSTARD! Every time I order it’s 1/2 Grapenut, and 1/2 whatever flavor strikes me that day.
Btw, your grapenut icecream photo is amazing!
Thanks, Betty! I bet a lot of flavors go great with Grapenut. Can’t wait to order a cone this summer!
I miss this MADLY on the West Coast. Not only is there no fresh ice cream (!), flavors such as this and Maple Walnut are unheard of. When I’m back home, I eat this for breakfast!
I’ve always loved any type of flavor with nuts. I guess that makes me an old soul. I’m looking forward to getting a scoop of grapenut icecream.
Loved the article! My favorite ice cream flavor is coffee – which, in its pure unadulterated form, is defimitely a regional specialty. Sure, you can find espresso or cappuccino or coffee chip elsewhere, but mild, milky coffee ice cream seems to be just a New England thing. I don’t even drink coffee, but on a sugar cone it is my all-time #1 choice. I don’t like things in my ice cream, with the exception of fruit. Peach is probably my second favorite flavor, as long as no one has tried to get cute by putting something like raspberry swirl or pieces of pie crust or shortcake in it. Does anyone remember ice milk – or any of the now-gone brands like Sealtest (another old New England brand)?
What? No mention of the venerated Coffee Ice Cream?
Coffee IS the New England flavor. Served on the most Yankee of Yankee tables after dinner.
IMHO overlooking Coffee is just wrong! 😉 And, BTW I miss Brigham’s and Steve’s most of all. (Yeah, I’m old, and proud of it!)
Thanks for pulling coffee ice cream into the discussion, Jonathan and kar0319! Unlike coffee milk, I thought coffee ice cream was something you could find all over the US! I refer to coffee (after chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry) as one of the “core” ice cream flavors. Guess that goes to show how deep our coffee love runs! Stay tuned for my “Recipe with a History” column in the upcoming July/August 2014 issue – I think you’ll be delighted with the featured recipe. 🙂
We have no problem with ice cream for breakfast, Donna! 🙂
Clever article. Just to add, life is not complete until tasting the mocha chip ice cream at Shady Glen in Manchester, Connecticut.
There is a candy store on Main St. in Hyannis that serves a delicious “cranberry” ice cream. It is SO good! Any chance of getting a recipe for that?
I assume you worked at Kimball Farm in Westford, MA. Wonderful! I was first brought there by my Dad in the 1940s, and then many times, thereafter. The tradtion carried on with my own children and my grandchildren. Although I have not lived in MA for decades, I manage to stop at Kimball’s whenever I drive by on Rt. 495. I now live in a small village in Maine….and have for many years. I was told that a druggist, many, many years ago, in this village was the one who created grape nut ice cream. Since I am unable to confirm this, I cannot say it is definitely true……but it is legend around these parts…..