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10 Things You Might Not Know About Breyers Ice Cream – The Daily Meal

When it comes to ice cream and other frozen desserts, Breyers is probably one of the most familiar brands on the market. Peruse any ice cream aisle at just about any grocery store, and there’s a good chance that you’ll spot a variety of flavors from the company. Breyers is known for its classics like Homemade Vanilla, Chocolate, Natural Strawberry, and Mint Chocolate Chip. But the company also runs plenty of other exciting limited-edition flavors like Caramel Apple Pie, which is layered with real apples, shortbread pie crust pieces, and caramel.

Even though Breyers is a popular brand that many people are somewhat acquainted with, it has a rich history full of interesting trivia that you are probably unaware of. If you’re a fan and would like to learn a little more about one of America’s favorite ice cream brands, then you’re in luck. Here are 10 things you might not know about Breyers ice cream.

1. The company gave away $10,000 in an ice cream sundae contest

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In 2010, Breyers teamed up with an executive pastry chef to offer an ice cream sundae contest. The challenge: Create a new and delicious ice cream sundae with 10 ingredients or less. All entries were entered to win $10,000, a trip to Chicago for a private cooking lesson with an executive chef, and a whole year of free Breyers ice cream. For ice cream aficionados and aspiring culinary professionals, there’s no doubt that winning this contest would be like a dream come true.

The winning recipe was dubbed the Brooklyn Stoop Summer Sundae, and comes topped with caramel popcorn, peanuts, caramel, and a final drizzle of chocolate sauce. The end result balances sweet and salty in a delicious way and also offers a lot of tasty textural variety. If you’ve ever daydreamed about making a new and creative ice cream sundae recipe, it might be a good idea to write it down and test it out! You never know when a company like Breyers might be looking to reward your sweet tooth.

2. Breyers is the oldest ice cream company in the country

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In 1866, as the United States recovered from the devastation of the Civil War, William Breyer was unemployed and needed a way to support his family. He eventually decided to make ice cream from his kitchen, since he couldn’t afford to rent a store. It wasn’t until 1882 that he finally opened up the company’s first ice cream store.

Unfortunately, Breyer died later that year. After his death, his wife and children took the reigns and the business quickly grew. Up until the 20th century, ice cream was a rare treat that mostly just the wealthy could afford to enjoy. Before the mass production of electric freezers and refrigerators in the 1930s, it was difficult and expensive to keep food cold. As technology advanced and the demand for ice cream grew, Breyers rose to the occasion and is now considered the oldest ice cream company in the country.

By 1914, Breyers was producing around 1 million gallons of ice cream every year. The popularity of the brand’s ice cream continued to explode, and the company decided to collaborate with designers to construct the biggest ice cream production facility on the planet.

3. There’s a petition to bring back one of its best flavors

Breyers

If you dig desserts, there’s a good chance that you also enjoy tiramisu. Tiramisu features light and airy layers of mascarpone along with chocolate, cocoa powder, and coffee-soaked ladyfingers. The end result is sweet and creamy with a perfect amount of roasty bitterness from the coffee and chocolate. Most recipes also have a touch of alcohol like marsala wine, rum, or flavored liquor. At one point, Breyers made a smart move and decided to feature a new gelato flavor based on the taste of this dessert.

This new flavor was made with mascarpone gelato, espresso sauce, cocoa, and ladyfinger cookie pieces. Customers praised it for its remarkable similarity to tiramisu and some fans even claim that this was one of the best flavors that Breyers has ever created. According to a Change.org petition, the company made the choice to discontinue its Tiramisu Gelato due to a lack of customer demand — a decision that seems to have truly baffled countless customers across the country. The petition was started by a disappointed customer in an effort to get Breyers to bring this flavor back and has received hundreds of signatures and comments over the years. If you want to see this flavor potentially make a triumphant return, throw your hat in the ring and add your name to the petition. Gelato is a worthy cause and we have more collective power than we think.

4. Breyers was sold out of a horse-drawn wagon

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Ponies and ice cream are the dream team we’ve all been waiting for. But the truth is that Breyers already made this whimsical pairing during its earlier years as a company. In the 1880s, after the company opened up some of its first stores, William Breyer had the ice cream delivered from a horse-drawn wagon around Philadelphia. On the way to delivery stops, the ice cream was also sold right from the wagon to people on the streets clamoring for a taste of Breyers’ increasingly famous sweet treats.

To rev up the city’s appetite and make everyone aware of the ice cream’s impending arrival, Breyer rigged up a dinner bell on the wagon. He rang the bell all along the wagon’s delivery route to generate interest in the streets and sell more ice cream. While it’s true that horses were commonplace around cities back then, it’s still pretty cool to imagine a time and place where it was possible to score some fresh ice cream from a horse-drawn wagon.

5. Breyers has earned a Rainforest Alliance seal

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All of us make an impact on the environment to various degrees. But the reality is that big corporations play a powerful role in ecosystems across the globe since their production facilities and harvesting practices consistently operate on such a massive scale. As one of the biggest ice cream companies in the United States, Breyers is uniquely situated with the opportunity to set a good example for other businesses and treat our planet’s rainforests with the respect that they deserve.

If you look at Breyers’ packaging, you’ll notice a green label with a frog on some of its flavors. This is a Rainforest Alliance seal, which is a certification that Breyers has earned for following sustainable practices that benefits our society and the environment. Some of these practices include sourcing ingredients like vanilla, milk, and cream from smaller farms in a way that’s equitable and environmentally responsible. An example of this is how Breyers pays a premium to vanilla farmers in Madagascar and helps them diversify their crops. Mindful business practices that prioritize collective well-being are a step in the right direction and can help build a better future.

6. The company featured some odd labels back in the day

eBay/Breyers

Labels and logos play a formative role in how we perceive the brand of a business. Companies tend to evolve their image over time as fads and cultural trends inevitably shift. Considering that Breyers has been around for generations, it should come as no surprise that the company has tried out some different looks for the sake of advertising. However, we have to admit that some of its attempts are pretty humorous — and even a bit bizarre — under a modern lens.

During the 1940s, Breyers took on a Western flair and prominently featured the face of a cowboy actor Johnny Mack Brown on its ice cream labels. At the time, customers were greeted by his grinning face in a cowboy hat on the lids of some of the ice cream flavors. You might be rightfully wondering what ice cream has to do with outlaws and gunslingers — and your guess is as good as ours.

At one point, the company also appears to have had some kind of elfish-looking mascot. Looking through old pictures of ice cream cartons from the 1950s, there’s a cartoonish creature on the label with big eyes and long, pointed ears. It has rounded cheeks and a mischievous smile, but it also seems to be wearing a fancy trench coat. We aren’t really sure what Breyers was going for with this, but retiring it to the dustbin of history feels like it was a good call.

7. The company used to have ice cream sandwiches

Breyers

There are a lot of different ways to eat ice cream. Waffle cups, cones, and bowls are a few of the most common vessels to enjoy this classic dessert; but one of our favorites has to be an ice cream sandwich. There’s something undeniably nice about not having to mess around with a spoon. Plus, the ice cream tends to soak into the cookie a little bit, creating some extra tastiness. At one point, Breyers produced ice cream sandwiches at its ice cream factories. The sandwich was made with two chocolate wafers and a thick slab of ice cream. It’s not known exactly when or why the company discontinued these chocolate wafer ice cream sandwiches. 

These days, Breyers has shared some videos about how to make your own at home, but that’s not the same as being able to tear into one that’s ready to go. The company also sells ice cream bars on a stick, which is another nice alternative. Looks like for now, if you want to enjoy an ice cream sandwich made with Breyers ice cream, you’ll have to assemble one yourself.

8. Breyers now uses milk that’s free of artificial growth hormones

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Artificial growth hormones can be found in many milk and dairy products. These synthetic hormones are given to cattle to initiate more milk production. Even though they have been generally deemed safe to consume by the FDA, some people still have concerns about them; some are even wary of dairy consumption altogether. These concerns may not be totally unfounded, considering that some studies, as shown in the Iranian Journal of Public Health, have linked dairy consumption to higher instances of testicular and prostate cancer.

The good news is that there are more non-dairy options on the market now, in addition to dairy that’s free of artificial growth hormones. In 2015, Breyers announced that it would only source its milk and cream from cows that haven’t been treated with artificial growth hormones. A lot of other brands, including Klondike and Good Humor, have followed suit. At the time this news was announced, Breyers claimed that it was the largest American ice cream brand to make a commitment to purchasing dairy that’s free of artificial growth hormones.

9. It used to hook students up with free ice cream

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Going to college comes with its challenges, but there’s also some perks along the way. There are often wild parties and student discounts, and if you were a student at Saint Joseph’s University (formerly known as the University of the Sciences), then you also probably scored some free ice cream from Breyers. That’s because, at one point, the company had an ice cream plant on the border of campus with a quality control lab.

Students recall when Breyers would send over free ice cream after they donated blood on campus. In fact, according to some, employees of the company would join students and join in on donation efforts. Some say that Breyers would also let students sample special mystery flavors. For a long time, the company’s big sign also served as a guiding light back to campus at night. These days, the area that was once home to the ice cream lab is now known as the Integrated Professional Education Complex and the McNeil Science and Technology Center.

10. Breyers has some tasty non-dairy options

Breyers

Whether due to lactose intolerance, adhering to a certain diet, or just out of concern for animal welfare, some people may be interested in non-dairy options instead of traditional ice cream. The good news is that they are becoming increasingly popular as consumers become more health-conscious and prefer to have more choices. Breyers has a few non-dairy flavors available, including vanilla, cookies and creme, and mint chocolate chip. While the non-dairy vanilla is made with oat milk, the cookies and creme and mint chocolate chip are both made with almond milk. 

There are numerous benefits to consuming non-dairy milk alternatives. For starters, most plant-based milks are lower in fat and overall calories. At the same time, plant milk is still highly nutritious, often containing doses of zinc, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin B, and potassium. Even though some plant milks are missing vitamin D and calcium, other brands offer fortified plant milks that do include them. The consistency of plant milk is often quite similar to traditional dairy milk too, which makes its replacement almost unnoticeable. Once you try some of Breyers’ non-dairy options, you might be pleasantly surprised how delicious they are.