Every now and then we’ll define technical ice cream related terms in a recurring entry we call the “Ice Cream Dictionary.” This one is about inclusions. Speaking of inclusions, it looks like peanut butter cups is leading the way in this month’s poll (in the sidebar on the right). If you haven’t voted yet, feel free to sound off.
The term “inclusions” is just a technical way of referring to all those delicious, chunky, chewy things that are added to plain ice cream to create new flavors. Cookie dough, toffee bits, cherries, chocolate chips, peanut butter cups and assorted nuts are all examples of inclusions.
But as fun as it sounds, the addition of inclusions is actually a very precise process. Visual appeal, the eating quality of the inclusions when they are frozen and shelf life are all considered. Too many or too few inclusions can radically change the composition and flavor “experience” of ice cream. For that reason, we try to keep the weight of these additions to between 10 and 15 percent of the total weight of the finished product.
As for which bits and pieces go better with various ice cream flavors, some are better with vanilla ice cream and some pair better with chocolate ice cream, but it’s really just a matter of personal taste. If you have any ideas for new inclusions, we’d love to hear them. You never know if your idea might become the next Turkey Hill flavor!
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If you’ve got a technical question about the ice cream making process or some other inquiry about the nuances of America’s favorite treat, chances are Ernie has the answer. He might not be able to answer all questions, but he’ll try his best and some may be featured on the Ice Cream Journal.
Turkey Hill is on sale this week at ShopRite. Stock up! I can’t wait to see which variety my husband comes home with today. He’s a big fan of “inclusions” – although every once in a while plain vanilla is just what the doctor ordered.
I mostly prefer creamy ice cream with only creamy inclusions
i.e. marshmallows or fudge. We made homemade ice cream yesterday for our party and it was the best ever!!!!!!! The strawberry turned out especially delicious 
I’ll take peanut butter cups any day! When eating Moose Tracks I like to push all my peanut butter cups to the side and eat them in one big spoonful of goodness at the end.
For me what about chunks of rasberries in rasberry ice cream like it is done with strawberry. My husband would like walnuts in a walnut ice cream.
On the surface it seems as though great ice cream would be simple, but today’s blog article goes to show that, like most things of value, creating truly delicious ice cream is an art and a science.
The only inclusion that I have yet to see that would be the perfect marriage (for me anyway) would be a neopolitan that included sugar wafer cookie bits. I LOVE sugar wafers (the waffle crisps with cream/icing in the middle). These cookies would match the neopolitan flavors: chocolate cookie bits in the chocolate ice cream, vanilla in the vanilla and strawberry in the strawberry. It’s would be creamy, sweet and crunchy! YUM!
My favorite inclusion is cake. So, my favorites are any cake based ice cream, with Party Cake being above and beyond all the others. I also really like the ones with marshmallow creme. As for future ideas- I think you have done Shoo Fly Pie, but I’d like to see that again. Also, how about a tiramisu based one with lady finger chunks?
Oh, today’s entry also reminds me of a memory from childhood. My parents took us to the local Baskin-Robbins where my sister chose bubble gum ice cream. She collected the bubble gum bits as she ate and used them to blow a huge bubble that popped. She ended up with bubble gum everywhere! In her hair, stuck to her clothes, the car. What a mess. We actually had to cut her hair to get it all out.
So I guess there are good inclusions and bad ones as well ( :
HI, We all turn into little kids again when it comes to ice cream. I find myself looking at the different flavors and wanting 2 or 3 different ones. You make it difficult to choose. I think it would be fun to set up a large table with different ice cream flavors and many inclusions. Invite your employees children in and see what they choose. You may see alot reaching for the same thing. You may come up with a top seller!!… I think I need to get a dish of TH German Chocolate Cake ice cream now. All this talk has made me hungry!
I just discovered Southern Lemon Pie in the store yesterday. It’s great! Normally I shy away from the special exotic flavors but lemon sounds “refreshing.” Guess I’ll have to stock up on it before the limited edition ends!
Thanks for all of your comments. It’s nice to see so many new readers on the Ice Cream Journal!
CJ – You point about the manufacture of ice cream being an art and science is right on. It’s also a lot of fun. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are to be able to do this for a living!
And your follow-up story about your sister is hilarious (even though she probably didn’t think so then).
CAROL – Your idea is interesting. I’d be willing to bet a lot of kids would be reaching for SEVERAL different flavors (I know I would).
I am a big Chocolate Mint Chip ice cream fan. I love to do this version:
Put several hand-scooped Chocolate Mint Chip scoops in a smallish dish.
Take Honeymaid chocolate graham cracker sticks and stick them in the far edge in a circular shape.
Take pretzel sticke and randomly place them in the ice cream.
Take (any flavor, although I prefer dark or milk chocolate) M&Ms and sprinkle these around.
Voila!
I live in Lancaster County, so when I go to the local restraunt known for its ice cream (Turkey Hill of course),I wish they had something like this.
Chocolate Mint Chip fanatics unite!!!!!!!!!
The very best combo so far is: PEANUT BUTTER MARSHMALLOW YOGURT!! But is only available (boo hoo) for alittle while in the winter. I would (and do) eat it every single day.
ABSOLUTLY!! The only inclusion I want with my Turkey Hill ice cream is a spoon. It can be a big spoon or a little spoon. It can be silver, Gold or stainless steel.Plasic spoons can be tricky if your eatting another brand of ice cream that is rock hard, but with creamy Turkey Hill plastic spoons work fine. I used a serving spoon in one moment of desperation while staying at a hotel. I have also used the ice cream scoop (does that qualify as a spoon) when I was alone eatting Turkey Hill and did not want to dirty another spoon. Not recommended. Dont even really need a bowl. Just a spoon!!
We love to crush pretzels and top chocolate icecream. There is just something delicious about sweet and salty! It is not uncommon at our house to have a handful of potato chips with a bowl of icecream!
I just got Phillies Graham slam ice cream and I have to tell you I am addicted. My husband thinks I am a bit looney because I refuse to get a bowl to eat my ice cream. I get the half gallon and a spoon when the kids are in bed and sit down to pure bliss “ME” time. There is nothing like treating myself to Turkey Hill ice cream!!
Ice cream is the cherry topping on summer,and the bees knees in winter. It’s really good in fall too. Well seeing how July is national ice cream month I suppose it may taste better in the summer… I haven’t tried every flavor of Turkey Hill yet but natiomnal ice cream month certainly would be the month to do it… thank you for making great icecream! The only thing better would be winning a years worth…
I’ve got to agree with Michele!! All I need is a spoon. I love trying the new flavors as they come out!
Love the Party Cake Ice Cream, but do we always need pieces of crust in flavors like Coconut Creme Pie? Why not just a Coconut Creme ice cream like Leibey’s Dairy has. (They are in Tamaqua PA!) Or how about Pina Colada, Pineapple and Cocount, JUST Pineapple and Cocount, nothing else included, except for the ice cream, of course! One of my favorite flavors is Cherry Sherbet, can’t think of the exact name right now, but it’s usually a Winter item. The huge pieces of cherries in it are excellent.
Would like to see some more flavors including coconut, without crust or cake!
I would like to add chocolate covered raisins to vanilla ice cream. I love this combo and it is also somewhat a healthy inclusion.
I’m sure the addictive combination of salty and sweet is what wins over most people when they voted peanut butter cups as their favorite inclusion. But, me, I’m plain old fashioned when it comes to the natural addition of fruit, especially strawberries – yum! – to creamy, smooth, delicious Turkey Hill Ice Cream.
you have put pieces of strawberries in but I never seen bananas in it.
I didn’t know what “inclusions” were before this, but I sure do like them!
I have just tried the FF/sugar free vanilla.Compared to Eddy’s FF /sugar free vanila Turkey Hill brand is smokin! Also, the cost is right. thank you Turkey Hill!
My kids love big brownie chunks but it’s toffee pieces for me. Which TH variety has chocolate toffee inclusions?
I have 3 favorites that I guess you would say have ‘inclusion’. Your Strawberry Cream, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Party Cake are all fantastic. The Southern Lemon Pie and Philly Craham SLam sound interesting. I have to look for them at my SHop Rite. Keep up the great work!
Since I’m the one buying the ice cream I buy what I like & one the rest of the family likes. Unless I’m trying once again to stick to a diet then I’ll only buy for the family. I love toffee. I like anything chocolate mixed with vanilla ice cream.
Inclusions are the best, lol, I never heard that term before!
I was stumped by the word inclusions. Thats a new one for me – i had to really think about it – you know, we are talking about ice cream, the best food around for kids and adults. So, why not just make it simple, easy and not so hard to remember. Mix-in’s, add-on’s, whatever, but make it easy! I just got back from vacation with 3 families and we went out 3 different times to get ice cream. we had to travel 30 minutes by it was worth it. Not once did one of our 20 persons, say – what kind of inclusions do you want in your ice cream!! Sounds too funny! I do love whatever is mixed in ice cream to make it yummy – from cookies to toffee, to bubble gum!
Inclusions – that is funny!
I really don’t think it will catch on. My husband and my 5 year old grandaughter are big fans of Turkey Hill mint chocolate chip ice cream. I on the other hand love to add cookies or serve vanilla ice cream on pound cake and top it with a little porto.
This is the first time that i have heard “inclusions” I definaltely liek soft rather than hard – If I had to make up a new one woudl be Girl Scout Cookie Mash – Love Samoas – Cookies with Cramel, Coconut & Chocolate Stripe – Mash them in Vanilla Ice Cream – MMM I am pregnant right now so Ice Cream is my favorite indulgence!
I wish that more of the ‘inclusions’ would be added to a rich dark chocolate ice cream. Most things taste better in dark chocolate…especially peanut butter!
Your fat free Chocolate Cherry Cordial is the best flavor ever. It does not taste fat free at all and chocolate and cherries belong together.
How About N Cluding Sum “TWIZZLERS N Those N Cluesions !!
I like the nuts and chocolate (though not too much chocolate) in mine. More like a candy bar. My husband likes it plain or with fruit.
I’m still new to the homemade ice cream, but my favorite is chocolate mint made using grasshopper cookies. Yum!
I really love your ice cream. I first fell in love with Tin Roof Sundae. The only thing to improve it was topping it with more unsalted peanuts. Now I cannot think of any flavor I don’t love. I really enjoy trying your flavor of the month. Keep up the good work.
Great ice cream – enjoying with the seasonal strawberries.
“inclusions” this is a new word for me…but marshmalow with turkey hill chocolate has got to be the BEST.
Hi:
I really liked your Fat Free mint choc chip with inclusions. I wish you would consider making it again.
How about a Fat Free strawberry yogurt flavor with strawberries?
thank you. you have a really good product. please continue making fat free flavors.
I always buy two kinds of ice cream my husband does like the chocalote ice cream and I do he thinks he can eat mine when he finish with his so I always get the kind he doesn’t like MORE FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!
I mentioned in a previous blog that Whoopie Pie in ice cream would be great, add marshmallow creme for the whoopie pie filling,soft chocolate cookies, into vanilla or chocolate ice cream. I have yet to find a flavor like it, maybe not everyone knows what a whoopie pie is!
Just finished a bowl of Rocky Road.Wonderful marshmallow and crunchy almond inclusions, swirled into the most awesome chocolate Ice cream. I live in western Pa. and grew up eating Isaly’s ice cream. One of my favorites was toasted almond fudge.(Which doesn’t have marshmallow inclusion) After the Isaly’s ice cream stores closed I could never find any thing close to that flavor until I tried the Rocky Road.(The marshmallow is an added bonus and actually makes it better than the toasted almond fudge I grew Up on. Haven’t had a flavor that I didn’t like.
P.s. Duetto is just awesome. Hope your working on some new Duetto flavors.
The ice cream terminology, it’s like
learning a new language.
I would love a “permanent” flavor that had mini caramel ‘cups’ with fudge swirl ice cream.
Turkey Hill ice cream rocks. It is by far the best ice cream on the market. I like the chocolate peanut butter cup flavor the best.
My favorite inclusion would be whatever is in the ice cream I am eating at any one given moment. If I could I would try all of the flavors and all of the inclusions!
Beleive it or not I am a big anti-inclusionary fan. I enjoy just ice cream. Plain old vanilla for me. actually philadelphia vanilla. Four basic ingredients and no preservatives. I’ve moved to Vermont from philly and turkey hill beats ben and jerry’s hands down. I’m teaching all the vermonters what real ice cream is all about, also gelatti’s….thanks for all the great ice cream turkey hill
There’s nothing like vanilla with fresh sweet spring strawberries. YUMMMM!!!!!
Course, I love the cookie-dough, too. And if you pile it high with rainbow sprinkles – I am a kid again!
Has anybody thought of this….If you have gone to Golden Coral Buffet, which means that you already do like to eat…at the Ice cream dispenser, they also have raisinettes. If you mix them into the vanilla Ice cream, it is a pretty doggone tasty treat…….MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMyum
I love Cookie Dough Ice Cream. I also love Chocolate Ice Cream with just about any inclusion you can name. I do miss Death by Chocolate. Here’s a suggestion: Pistachio Ice Cream with Cherries. LOVE IT!!! If it were light, it’d be even better!!!
P.S. Your Green Tea Mango Frozen Yogurt Smoothie ROCKS!
This website brought back great childhood memories. My favorite inclusion was bubblegum ice cream. I would go to my Aunt’s parent’s Velvet Freeze and have bubblegum ice cream cone. I would save all the gum pieces on one side of my mouth and once finished the cone, I had another treat to enjoy. It would be great to bring the bubble gum inclusion back to the East Coast so all children (young and old) can enjoy it. Thanks for the memories…. !!!!!
I THINK ICE CREAM WITH COOKIES INSIDE IS THE BEST. TURKEY HILL SHOULD MAKE AN ICE CREAM WITH VANILLA COOKIES ON THE INSIDE INSTEAD OF THE CHOCOLATE. THAT WOULD JUST MAKE MY DAY.
Peanut butter cups and chocolate are the best inclusions. Moose tracks is the best!
Happy Ice Cream eating!!
I like raisins, yellow raisins and how about blackberries.
As both of my children are allergic to all nuts I enjoy my Turkey Hill without the nuts. Their favorite is cookies and cream.
Have you ever thought of combining caramel and peaches with vanilla ice cream or yogurt?
I remember bubble gum ice cream. We would use it to make root beer floats.
Turkey hill is great, but it is difficult to get a variety of flavors in Manhattan. Gristedes and Associated Supermarket carry a limited selection often limited to 3 flavors, with one of them a sorbet. Complaining to the manager doesn’t really help. Is there another supermarket in New York City.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup….mmmmm mmmmm GOOD!! I don’t need it; but I WANT IT!! It’s the best!
Whoopie Pie is one of your very best! How about making it available all year long?
I love inclusions! I would like to see more inclusions available in a coffee based icecream. I think Turkey Hill does a very nice job with balancing inclusions/ice cream, but I would go for the 15% variety in stead of the 10% if I was choosing.
I like the whitehouse ice cream but find it very hard to get
As a healthy treat I love the vanilla frozen yogurt topped with a fresh blueberry sauce that I make.
You guys are putting our flavor development team to shame. There are so many great ideas in these comments. I hope the team is paying attention. (Just in case they’re not, I’ll forward your ideas their way.)
Ok, who can resist ice cream???
Not me — practically every night before bedtime. Turkey Hill, what a sweet job you have making everyone happy!!! (especially me)
Yummy last night me a couple of girlfriends we decided to make a grown up treat.
I took Turkey Hill coffee icecream and a little Kalua and put it in the blender with some ice. We topped it with a little whipped cream to make an out of this world frosty treat for ourselves.
My inclusion choice of pecans wasn’t very popular. I once saw a personality link with different flavors of ice cream. I remember that butter pecan was the favorite ice cream of conservative people. Had you ever heard of that survey?
My choice would have to be chocolate fudge. When I get a carton with thick ribbons of fudge throughout I just let out a great big sigh. Yum Yum
I just thought of something. Emma made a point about how many inclusions there are in ratio to the ice cream amount. Sometimes, if Turkey Hill is too expensive compared to some other brands, we get the cheaper brands.
If I remember correctly, Green’s makes a ‘white mint’ chocolate chip ice cream. It’s not as good as TH’s. When I finish my bowl, there’s always some chocolate slivers left. It’s awful! But with TH, there’s usually none left. I *HEART* Turkey Hill!
Mint Chocolate Chip fans unite!!!!!!!!!!
I love pistachios. Has anyone ever had or made mango ice cream?
I used to love inclusions and my husband still does but somehow my tastes changed and I perfer no inclusions. I still love Turkey Hill and stock up whenever it’s on sale. I’d love to see just plain strawberry, vanilla, and coffee.
I wish Turkey Hill would make a Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream. The combination makes a great pie, so why not ice cream? Little pie crust chunks would be a nice inclusion.
Come to think of it, I may pick up some Strawberry Ice Cream and use my own Rhubarb from my garden. It will take a good deal of experimentation, But sounds like fun.
The best inclusions are nuts covered in chocolate – like Tin Roof Sunday. My family eats at least 2 gallons a week.
God bless you for the delicious no sugar added flavors!
God bless your no sugar added flavors!
I just love my turkeyhill ice cream.i have a bowl of turkeyhill everyday.Just love it
Coconut….I am a coconut nut. I had some Coconut Cream Pie Ice cream a while back and it was out of this world. I also had one that topped it, it was Coconut Pecan. Oh my goooooodness. I hope they have Ice Cream in Heaven because I sure think it should be. Particularly the Coconut Pecan.Oh I think I need a snack………
I love turkey hills ice cream,but I love to put whipped cream on it and a cherry on top and sometimes a little syrup and crushed peanuts. yum.
The thought came to me that perhaps you could make a flavor like the Dusty Road sundaes, by putting fine malt dust in vanilla ice cream. Seems if you can add all the other luscious add-ins maybe you could do this too. Frankly I think Turkey Hill can do just about everything.
Of the most important “inclusions” to my otherwise “plain” life, Turkey Hill Dairy ice cream is one of the additions that have helped me have a happier life.
I prefer ice cream without hard pieces in it, although the pieces in Southern Lemon Pie melt in your mouth. This is one of the best ice cream flavors, right up there with Party Cake!!! I can’t wait for the lemon and mango Gelato combos to get to my stores. Right now we only get the cherry and I find that one much too sweet.
I would like to see a new ice cream flavor using almonds (or peanuts), marshmallow, and pineapple topping (
I would like to see a new ice cream flavor using almonds (or peanuts), marshmallow, and pineapple topping mixed into chocolate ice cream. This is really the only chocolate ice cream combination that I eat; otherwise, it is vanilla ice cream all the way!
(Sorry for the previous, incomplete comment; I used a “greater than sign” to make an arrow for emphasis on including alot of pineapple topping — apparently the software read it as a “stop”.
Love the almonds! Knowing that a handful a day is a very healthy thing makes eating ice cream with them less guilt-ridden!
Turkey Hill is the best even with nothing in it. Once upon a time ago, I had ice cream with pieces of the chocolate cookie from ice cream sandwiches. I don’t remember what brand it was (Turley Hill, maybe?!) but I’ve never been able to find it again. It was sooooo good!!!
Giant Eagle has expanded and started carring more of the philly style ice creams mmmm mmm good so far they are my favorite style of turkey hill nothing beats the smooth texture and taste of black cherry I do hope the stores here pick it up soon!
I don’t care for the larger inclusions such as the chunks of chocolate. However, I would like coconut – something like coconut cream pie ice cream.
I know I’m in the minority but if I do select a flavor with inclusions (vanilla fudge,chocolate marshmallow, or chocolate cherry cordial to name a few) I feel the inclusion is too overwhelming. I’d prefer less chocolate syrup, less marshmallow etc…
Jody’s right – “inclusions?” Couldn’t we get a little craftier with the word? …but since you asked – GO PISTACHIO!
ooo oooo – i just thought of one – SHOO FLY PIE inclusions!!!
The coconut cream pie was one of my favorites! I’m on my way to the Bi-Lo now to get some ice cream. Turkey Hill is on sale 2/$5 this week. Our stores run out fast only 2 stores in my area carry Turkey Hill. We’ll just have to see what they have left.
any flavor with choc. syrup and kool whip!!!!!!!
I love crunched up M&M’s in my chocolate ice cream. It’s simply perfect! My 5 year old Kevin likes all inclusions as long as they may his scoop look more “gianormous” in the bowl as he likes to exclaim.
I like red hots in my ice cream!!
I can not eat ice cream anymore without inclusions. I would love to see chocolate blueberry inclusions!
I would love to see an oatmeal and peanut butter ice cream with pieces of peanuts in it. Lets just say that one of those “stone cold creameries” had oatmeal ice cream and I loved adding chunky peanut butter to it.
Tin Roof Sundae – the best flavor ever! To me it’s almost synonomous with Turkey Hill, since the first Tin Roof I tasted was Turkey Hill.
Do try most of the limited editions ice cream. This year love “Eagles”
ice cream-”add-ins”make it as good as any sundae. Thanks.
is there really an Ice Cream Dictionary?
is it available in any libraries or only at places that make ice cream for profit and fun?
As far as I’m concerned, NOTHING will ever top Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough chunks of inclusions!
But I love to experiment with making my own mix-ins, especially with TH’s reduced-fat vanilla bean (since I do so many taste tests). I always save the last few scoops of my crazy cookie dough batches to freeze and mix-in to some TH ice cream.
One of my favorites I ever made was with a batch of vanilla oatmeal raisin cookies I made – I highly suggest everyone and anyone try this!
Ernie… how about letting me make you some of my oatmeal raisin cookie dough and sending it to you in one of those “cooler bags” for you to try in a batch of TH Vanilla ice cream! I promise you won’t be disappointed!!!
Ooh! Or chocolate-covered espresso beans! Yum!!!
I remember Strawberry Rhubarb Pie ice cream from Turkey Hill when I was younger. I have been looking for it ever since, but to no success.
I do not know why Turkey Hill stopped making this variety but it was very good, very satisfying.
I would strongly recommend bringing back Strawberry Rhubarb Pie (like little chunks of pie included in the ice-cream) again. I think it will sell rather successfully.
I am not a huge fan of Turkey Hill ice cream (Eddy’s is the way to go), but I have to say, I LOVE PHILLIES GRAHAM SLAM ICE CREAM. I think its sad at this point that I would pay just about anything to get some…It’s amazing…my favorite flavor by far…and I’m a Mets fan!