Archive for March, 2010

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INTRODUCING TURKEY HILL’S “TURKEY DAY TRIPLE FUDGE” (AKA “PROJECT NINE”)

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Over the past 30 years, Turkey Hill has created a variety of new ice cream and frozen dessert products, but the one we’re about to unveil here is without a doubt our most unusual flavor yet. After many months of research and testing, Turkey Hill Dairy is proud to announce a new fall Limited Edition super premium ice cream flavor called “Turkey Day Triple Fudge.”

Turkey Day Triple Fudge is designed to take the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner and unite them in a very rich, creamy, frosty dessert. It does that by combining super premium chocolate ice cream with morsels of real turkey covered in dark chocolate swirled with sweet potato, chocolate fudge and cranberry sauce. Yes, you read that right – it contains real turkey and a sweet potato swirl.

Before you scoff at the thought of poultry in your ice cream, you should know that many people here at Turkey Hill Dairy thought the same thing when the idea was first discussed in our quarterly new product development meeting last summer. As many of may know, unusual ice cream ingredients – including meat – have been popular in Asian ice cream flavors for many years. Recently, the trend has made successful appearances in certain European ice cream shops and Turkey Hill Dairy is happy to introduce the concept here in the United States.

Yes, it’s a bold move, but if our own ice cream guru, Ernie, likes it, you know it’s got to be good. Ernie has been quoted as saying the flavor can “turn a vegetarian into a meat lover, one scoop at a time!” (Speaking of Ernie, some of you may be wondering why Turkey Day Triple Fudge was given the internal codename “Nine,” as revealed in Ernie’s blog entry earlier this month. The reason was because in initial consumer focus group testing, the new flavor received a score of nine out of 10 in taste, which is a very high ranking!)

Turkey Day Triple Fudge will be available wherever Turkey Hill ice cream is sold beginning in late October and will likely remain on shelves through December. If sales are strong enough, we may consider making it a year-round permanent part of the Turkey Hill ice cream line-up!

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ULTIMATE FLAVOR TOURNAMENT (ROUND 4): THE FROSTY FOUR

Monday, March 29th, 2010

And then there were four. Just four flavors remain in this year’s Ultimate Flavor Tournament. One of them — Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, Tastykake Chocolate Cupcake, or Rocky Road — will become the Ultimate Flavor! To register your opinion, cast your vote in the polls on the right.

It should be noted that after correctly predicting the winners of all eight match-ups in round two of the tournament, Ernie flexed his ice cream expertise muscle once again last week by guessing all four match-ups correctly. And let’s just say, he’s not shy about letting everyone here at the Dairy know it! Ernie is back again with his opinion on who will win this week’s Frosty Four match-ups.

MATCH-UP #1: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup vs. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

“If you asked me at the beginning of the tournament, I would have told you that these two flavors would be in the final round, but it looks like only one will make it to the last showdown. Truth is, I’m a big fan of both flavors. Have been for many years. But if I have to pick one to win this match-up, I’d choose Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup. It’s okay Cookie Dough, you know I still love you!”

MATCH-UP #2: Tastykake Chocolate Cupcake vs. Rocky Road

“I’m really glad to see a pint-sized flavor like Tastykake Chocolate Cupcake still in the tournament. It really is a great flavor, which is why I’m picking it to win this week and advance to the final round. If it ends up winning the whole thing, I think I’ll have to make a case to our flavor development team to consider giving this flavor a full-sized container!”

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IT’S FRIDAY! (ANOTHER REASON TO CELEBRATE)

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Is it really Friday already? Time sure does fly when the weather is nice (or mostly nice). On Wednesday, we posted an entry about Turkey Hill’s new mini ice cream cakes and asked everyone to leave a comment with a few personal reasons to have a mini celebration. Thanks to everyone who shared celebrations with us!

There were so many great reasons to celebrate and it was very hard to choose just five. After a lot of discussion and some friendly disagreements here at the office, we chose five of our favorites below and will send each of them a coupon for some free Turkey Hill ice cream. Now get out there and celebrate!

MARY WROTE:

I’ve lost those five pounds!
I’ve cleaned my office!
The temperature rose to above 60 degrees!
My son and daughter both got jobs!
My husband threw away the cap from his Pepsi and the plastic bag from the microwave popcorn!
What could be better than these?

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ANDILU WROTE:

I love to celebrate spring! The first buds on the trees, the first robin sighting, daffodil stems poking through the soil…The days are a little longer too, and there is always that very first day that’s a little bit warm, and just smells like spring. What better way to celebrate than with ice cream?!? Just a hint of many more scoops to come!

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KAREN JUSTIN RACHEL WROTE:

A day we like to celebrate is the first day of school each year and not because the kids are going back to school and mom gets a break (I work outside of the house) but because getting an education and starting a brand new school year is exciting and worth celebrating. Our positive attitude about school equals kids with positive attitudes about school.

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CAROL PASQUA WROTE:

I am going to buy one to celebrate my granddaughter’s “potty training” success! Of course, you don’t need a special reason to enjoy Turkey Hill any time.

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CAROL TRIANO WROTE:

Great for my 84 year old Mom to serve to her friends when they celebrate another year together. We just got a new grandbaby and it would be great to send over to the new Mom & Dad to celebrate the birth of their new son. I am going to take one to my friend so we can celebrate that she is having her last chemo treatment today.

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TURKEY HILL MINI ICE CREAM CAKES ARE HERE!

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Taking time to celebrate life’s little moments is part of what makes life so great. After all, why should you wait for a birthday or an anniversary or a retirement to throw a party and have some cake when you can throw a (smaller) party and have a (smaller) cake to celebrate whatever you’d like!

That’s the thinking behind Turkey Hill’s new six-inch round ice cream cakes. When we launched our ice cream cake line last year, we started it with an eight-inch round cake (serves 12 to 14) and a quarter sheet cake (serves 16 to 20). The new, smaller cake serves four to six people (or two people multiple times!) and can be found at Turkey Hill Minit Markets everywhere.

Speaking of small celebrations, leave a comment below with a few of your own personal little reasons to celebrate. We’ll choose three or four of our favorites to receive some free Turkey Hill ice cream. Now that’s something worth celebrating!

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ULTIMATE FLAVOR TOURNAMENT ROUND THREE: THE EDIBLE EIGHT

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Last week, Ernie boldly predicted he would correctly guess the winner of all eight Ultimate Flavor Tournament match-ups with his Monday commentary. So how many winners did the Einstein of Ice Cream correctly predict? Would you believe ALL EIGHT? That’s right, Ernie was a perfect eight-for-eight, and he’s feeling bold because he’s predicting that he’ll be perfect again in choosing this week’s four winners.

It should be noted that Ernie’s spotless record last week came down to the wire in the showdown between Rocky Road and Choco Mint Chip in what was the closest match-up in Ultimate Flavor Tournament history. After 615 votes were cast in that match-up, Rocky Road won by just FIVE VOTES (310 to 305)! As always, below are Ernie’s thoughts and predictions on this week’s four showdowns.

MATCH-UP #1 – Neapolitan vs. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

“It’s been a good run for Neapolitan, but there’s not much that can stop Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup from making it to the final round of this tournament. I’m calling this one in favor of CPBC by a 60-40 margin, which is impressive when you consider that its opponent is actually three ice cream flavors packed into one container.”

MATCH-UP #2 – Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough vs. YORK Peppermint Pattie

“I’m amazed that a flavor that hasn’t even been released yet (YORK Peppermint Pattie) has been winning so handily over the past several weeks. It doesn’t even have a container designed for it! (As evidenced by the stand-in image above.) I’d be even more amazed if it beat a fan favorite like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, which is why I think Cookie Dough will win here, but it’ll be close.”

MATCH-UP #3 – Chocolate Marshmallow Frozen Yogurt vs. Tastykake Chocolate Cupcake

“You have to applaud a frozen yogurt flavor for making it this far in an ice cream tournament. Bravo to you Chocolate Marshmallow Frozen Yogurt, but Tastykake Chocolate Cupcake will more than likely win this week.”

MATCH-UP #4 – Orange Cream Swirl vs. Rocky Road

“This is probably going to be the closest match-up of the week. Both flavors were locked in very close battles last week and are hungry for another win. But Rocky Road is a tough competitor and could end up making it to the final two. I think the Road will continue this week, beating the Swirl by a narrow 52 to 48 percent margin.”

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CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF ICE CREAM

Friday, March 19th, 2010

We’re not sure what the origin of this photo is, but we found it here and thought we’d pass it along. If only enjoying ice cream on a cloudy day was this easy! By the way, we should take this time to mention how beautiful the weather has been here in Lancaster County this week. It’ll be 70 degrees and sunny tomorrow, with much of the same through the weekend. The perfect way to usher in the spring season!

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HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

May the luck of the Irish be with you today and may you find some time to enjoy a frosty treat like the one above. (Green color is optional.) The flavor above is actually green tea ice cream, but if you’re looking for a more traditional green ice cream flavor, you can always pick up a carton of Turkey Hill’s Choco Mint Chip!

Speaking of Choco Mint Chip, it’s currently locked in a very close battle with Rocky Road in round two of the Ultimate Flavor Tournament (see polls on the right). Four of this week’s eight match-ups are either tied or within two percentage points! If you haven’t already voted this week, now’s the time to do so. Invite a friend, too. We need all the votes we can get!

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ULTIMATE FLAVOR TOURNAMENT ROUND ONE: THE SWEET 16

Monday, March 15th, 2010

The first round is in the books after more than 48,000 votes were cast in the 16 match-ups. That’s right, 48 THOUSAND. That’s a lot of votes.

The 16 flavors that advanced to round two are facing off in the new polls on the right and it looks like there will be more than few close races this week. Last week, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough beat Cookies ‘n Cream by a narrow 51 percent to 49 percent margin in the closest contest of the week. Can “The Dough” win again in round two?

Below are this week’s match-ups, along with Ernie’s predictions and analysis. In last week’s predictions, Ernie correctly guessed seven of the 11 contests that he predicted a winner for. This week, he’s picking a winner in all eight contests and he’s boasting that he’ll correctly pick the winner in all eight!

MATCH-UP #1 – Light Recipe Coconut Almond Fudge vs. Neapolitan

Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have been so confident in my claim that I’ll correctly guess all eight winners this week, because this match-up is a tough one to call. A classic like Neapolitan (which is really three flavors in one) against a newcomer like Coconut Almond Fudge? I’m going with the old timer and saying Neapolitan will win this one!

MATCH-UP #2 – Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup vs. Banana Split

This one’s easy. Banana Split is going to win in a landslide. Just kidding. I love Banana Split, but Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup is probably the odds-on favorite to win the whole tournament, so it should claim an easy victory here.

MATCH-UP #3 – Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough vs. Yankees Pinstripe Brownie Blast

It’s not easy to beat the Yankees, but in the world of ice cream, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough has a powerful line-up. After all, it’s got cookie dough batting clean-up, and that’s a tough ingredient to overcome. I’m guessing The Dough will out homer the Yankees to claim a second round win.

MATCH-UP #4 – Chocolate Marshmallow Frozen Yogurt vs. Root Beer Duetto

We’ve got two non-traditional flavors facing off here and another tough match-up to predict. Still, I’m going with Chocolate Marshmallow Frozen Yogurt here in a very narrow win.

MATCH-UP #5 – Tastykake Chocolate Cupcake vs. Light Recipe Strawberry Cheesecake

This match-ups looks like it would be close, and it very well might be, but based on my expert knowledge of how passionate people are for chocolate, I’m going to venture an easy guess and call this contest in favor of Tastykake Chocolate Cupcake.

MATCH-UP #6 – Orange Cream Swirl vs. Black Raspberry

There are very few flavors more nostalgic than Orange Cream Swirl. The combination of the two flavors gave rise to orange cream soda and, of course, the iconic summer treat which combines vanilla ice cream with an orange exterior. (I’m not allowed to say the actual name, but it rhymes with “creamsicle.”). Anyhow, long story short, I’m picking the very dreamy Orange Cream Swirl to win here.

MATCH-UP #7 – Egg Nog vs. YORK Peppermint Pattie

YORK Peppermint Pattie’s win in round one was shocking because it’s a Limited Edition flavor that hasn’t even been released yet! That’s right, it won despite anyone ever having tasted it. That’s impressive, which is why I think it’ll beat our holiday favorite in this round.

MATCH-UP #8 – Rocky Road vs. Choco Mint Chip

Rocky Road put the meltdown on Rum Raisin in round one by a margin of 79 percent to 21 percent. It was the easiest win of the week and it spells another win for Rocky Road in round two.

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Welcome to the newest members of the Stuff’d lineup!

Friday, March 12th, 2010

We’re always happy when we can take a Limited Edition ice cream flavor and turn it into a full time flavor. That’s why were happy to announce two new additions to our pint-sized Stuff’d line-up: Double Dunker and South of the Border. (And no, these aren’t the “secret” flavors Ernie talked about in Wednesday’s blog entry.)

Some of you may already be familiar with our Double Dunker flavor, which made its Limited Edition debut last year and will make another appearance as our June Limited Edition flavor in our full-sized ice cream line-up. Double Dunker is described as Mocha light ice cream swirled with chewy cookie dough and crunchy chocolate cookie swirl.

Our new South of the Border flavor also made an appearance in the 2009 Limited Edition line-up under the name “Fried Ice Cream.” Like Double Dunker, it’s also a 2010 Limited Edition flavor (April). South of the Border is cinnamon light ice cream swirled with cinnamon sopapilla and sweet tostada pieces. Some would say it’s very good, while others might says it’s muy bueno!

Speaking of flavors, the votes are pouring in for the first round of this year’s Ultimate Flavor Tournament. If you haven’t already voted, you can sound off with the polls on the right. Round one will end on Monday and the winners will advance to round two. There are still a few match-ups that are very close, so anything can happen this weekend. We’re keeping a close eye on the Cookies Match-Up between Cookies ‘n Cream and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. That’s a huge first round showdown between two powerhouse flavors and it’s the closest race of all so far!

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ASK ERNIE: TURKEY HILL’S “TOP SECRET” ICE CREAM PROJECT

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

CAROL M. FROM HALIFAX, PA ASKS: I have a question about new flavors. I heard from a friend that Turkey Hill is making a new flavor of ice cream that will be totally new and different. Is that true? I understand if you can’t tell me about it because it’s a secret, but any information you can provide would be great because I’m a big ice cream fan, especially anything chocolate!

Thanks for your question, Carol. I’m actually surprised that it’s taken this long for rumors about our “secret” new ice cream to find their way to ice cream fans outside the Dairy. (Although I have a sneaking suspicion that the “leak” is a clever tactic cooked up by our marketing department.)

It’s true that we’re working on a new type of frozen treat, but it’s not really a new flavor. It’s more of a new type of ice cream, which will be available in several different flavors. We’ve been working on it for about two years under the internal code name “Nine.” I was initially opposed to using a secretive code name and it took some getting used to, but it’s actually grown on me because I sort of feel like James Bond when I use it.

I can’t really reveal too much about the project until we’re ready to officially announce it later this month, but I can say that this type of ice cream has never been created before and it will redefine the way people enjoy at ice cream. Stay tuned!

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