Our first reader-written entry of National Ice Cream Month comes to us from Jacqueline S. from Fort Lee, NJ. In Jacqueline’s entry, she tackles the debate over which is better, chocolate or vanilla? Feel free to comment and weigh in your opinion!
A man and woman were having a heated discussion in front of the frozen foods section of our local supermarket. I listened with interest, as it concerned ice cream, and ice cream just happens to be my favorite dessert.
SHE: Turkey Hill is on sale today. Let’s buy some chocolate ice cream for dessert this evening.
HE: You know I prefer vanilla.
SHE: But honey, chocolate has such a sweet taste, smooth as silk texture, warm brown color, and an aromatically enticing smell. What could be better?
HE: I’ll tell you what could be better, vanilla. Talk about smooth taste! Vanilla has it all over chocolate. And what could be sweeter?
SHE: Dark and divine, chocolate makes me feel creative. I love the stimulation that chocolate provides. It’s even more vitalizing than the caffeine rush of coffee. Chocolate gives me energy. The caffeine in chocolate like that in coffee sharpens the brain, illuminating the thinking process. It is quite literally the food for thought.
HE: While you’re rhapsodizing over chocolate, let me point out that vanilla is the number one favorite ice cream flavor. A majority of people in the world realize that vanilla is best, why don’t you?
SHE: Chocolate is healthier than vanilla. Flavanols, a key ingredient of dark chocolate, boosts blood flow to key areas of the brain for two to three hours. And what delivers that amazing high you ask?
HE: Actually, I didn’t ask.
SHE: Well, you should ask. Chocolate is complex, containing tiny amounts of more than 300 chemicals besides caffeine.
Chocolate, long considered the food of love, has inspired many authors. For example, Joanne Harris in Chocolat and Laura Esquivel in Like Water for Chocolate both explored chocolate recipes for romance in their novels. Not to be outdone, mystery writers have also found inspiration in chocolate: for instance, Diane Mott Davidson’s Dying for Chocolate and Death by Chocolate: A Savannah Reid Mystery by G. A. McKevett.
HE: Show off!
SHE: (shrugging) I can’t help it if I read more than you do.
HE: Vanilla is still the best choice.
SHE: It’s too bland for me. Chocolate ice cream is divine food.
HE: It’s also devil’s food.
SHE: Chocolate not only stimulates the heart but protects it as well.
HE: Look, why don’t we compromise, since we can’t seem to agree.
SHE: What do you have in mind?
HE: We’ll buy chocolate ice cream for you and vanilla for me. That way, we’re both happy.
SHE: Great idea!
HE: Problem solved?
SHE: Definitely.
After the couple added their Turkey Hill ice cream packages to their shopping cart, they smiled at each other and walked away together.
I decided to follow their example. I picked up one container of Turkey Hill chocolate and another of vanilla before I drifted off to the checkout line.
Tags: chocolate, ice cream, turkey hill, vanilla
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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.
Sounds like a great compromise and I do believe us women like our Turkey Hill chocolate ice cream!
Which produces the best ice cream: milk from Guernsey (brown & white) or Holstein (black & white) cows? I’m not sure which has the higher percentage of milk fat, but I’m sure the cows in Lancaster County PA are just as happy as though “CALIFORNIA COWS.” Let’s show those California cows that our cows back East are happily producing lots of Turkey Hill ice cream. And by the way, Holstein or Guernsey, chocolate or vanilla, it’s all very good!!!
I can never decide between chocolate or vanilla, so I always mix them together for the perfect combination.
Why not have both….eat both at the same time. I eat cholocate and vanilla togather all the time.
some chocolate is to bitter. T.H.milk chocolate is real good.most any flavor is my favorite.have some in freezer now.
I do prefer vanilla myself
I love your ice cream!
GREAT compromise “BUT” as a man I like them together!
You can always combine the 2 and add your own mix-ins. Yum!
Definitely chocolate. Vanilla is a plain Jane and needs something with it to jazz it up. At our house we never buy plain vanilla.
First of all,what idiot goes shopping with his wife.Go by yourself,buy what you want and let her go shopping on her own.
That way you won’t have to waste an hour on talking about it.
Life is short.
I am fond of your “natural flavor” vanilla and chocolate. Any plans to add other varieties??
Cheers to the “Twist” as pictured above.
Seeing that both were bought, a very good idea, but I rather have “Chocolate/Vanilla Swirl”, or “Chocolate/Vanilla Delight”, now that sounds “sensual”!
VANILLA!
The natural chocolate flavor is the BEST chocolate ice cream!
I was always chocolate,chocolate, but….now I decided that vanilla is tasting pretty good too, so I take turns with the dishes of Turkey Hill and all the other good flavors too. So can’t say that I’m chocolate favorite now…just Turkey Hill is my favorite ice cream.
I like cherry and raspberry flavors better than chocolate or vanilla, but combining flavors, including all of these is good too!
Now tht looks Good, you are making me HUNGRY////
I love chocolate!
I would buy 1 choc. and 1 van. and 1 van fudge, something to satisfy everyone. Since TH is on sale why not just stock up on alot of other delicious flavors, that is what I do.
I like having the best of both worlds!
What a silly thing to argue about! It’s on sale, just buy both!!!
Argument settled!!!!
There’s no way you have to compromise on something this important. If you don’t have room in the freezer for both, throw something else out and make room
dont the cows in lanchaster pa get ice cream for dessert….choco is my favorite.
So diplomatic, those two. As for me it’s chocolate, hands down. Even better, chocolate with lots of stuff infused.
Vanilla….with chocolate syrup,then you get your chocolate fix. Or for a change, red raspberries. It’s a great flavor to add anything to!
If it’s dark chocolate, I’ll go for chocolate. If it’s milk chocolate, I prefer vanilla.
The wife should have told her husband that chocolate ice cream puts her in the mood for love and I’m sure the husband would have bought the chocolate then and there – without a compromise. Me, I’m lucky in that my husband enjoys chocolate ice cream as much, if not more, than I do. Keep up the good work TH.
They are both great,BUT BLACK RASBERRY IS THE BEST
why not have both , it just about does not msatter what flavor as longs as its TH ice cream.
Good choice to buy both to stop the arguing but better yet does Turkey Hill make the combo 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 vanilla If so they could have bought that if they only wanted 1 container. But of course who can only buy 1 unless we are on a budget. Personally I sometimes buy vanilla and always keep sundae toppings in the house and seems like the vanilla lasts longer because my kids prefer the favored ice cream. But that dilemma is that my 1 son son does not like chocolate icecream alone but will eat it in combo flavors That is why in our house we buy more Turkey Hill combo flavors.
That’s just swell!
We always buy three – Vanilla, a chocolate based mixture, and a vanilla based mixture.
Chocolate is better. Athough, I like vanilla also.
-Jean Marie
I’m delighted to see how many people are responding to my blog today!
Happy July 4th everyone! Enjoy your ice cream. I know I will!
Sad but true, I find vanilla boring and I don’t really care for chocolate (I know, I am probably the only woman on the planet to say this. I have shocked many friends). When my husband and I went to the store and found Turkey Hill on sale and with my coupons, brought the price down to $.99 (!!), we purchased vanilla moose tracks, for me, and chocolate moose tracks, for him! All I can say is DIVINE!
each has its own personality – just give me the right tool for the job – an ice cream scoop!
I AM KNOWN AS YOUR BIGGEST FAN, ONLY BECAUSE TURKEY HILL PUTS OUT THE BEST ICE CREAM ON THE EAST COAST. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR THE CALENDAR YOU SENT ME FOR THIS YEAR(2010) AND THE COUPONS ENCLOSED ONE OF THOSE COUPONS WAS FOR TH DIED GREEN TEA W/GINSENG AND HONEY. WELL I’M HOOKED ON IT AS IS MY WIFE, WE GO THROUGH TWO GALLONS A WEEK.THANKS FOR THE GREATEST ICE CREAM AND NOW ALSO THE WORLDS BEST THIRST QUENCHER.ANY COUPONS WILL BE APPRECIATED AND USED. .KMAN.
If I absolutely had to choose only one it would probably be vanilla. But my favorite is the two together!
There’s always Neopolitan! You get vanilla, Chocolate and strawberry as added flavour to boot.
Vanilla just goes with everything and you can always top your vanilla with chocolate syrup or hot fudge. Problem solved – vanilla it is for me.
I can never choose between vanilla and chocolate, they both are delicious. I usually choose Neapolitan because it has vanilla and chocolate ice cream plus the amazing taste of strawberry ice cream.
I love both vanilla and chocolate, and will order them combined in a cone or a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate.
While Turkey Hill’s Vanilla is the best (especially Vanilla Bean)I do love their Chocolate the best. Of course, buying their chocolate/vanilla combo satisfies both likes. Nice article Jacqueline.
I have read Dying For Chocolate and other books by Diane Mott Davidson. All of her recipes are great, and I was glad to see her mentioned in the article. In one of her books, there is a recipe for Black and White cookies, and they sound delicious!
Vanilla is great on a slice of pie..but chocolate can’t be beat in a dish or on a cone…
I must say that I never buy vanilla, even though it is my husband’s favorite. He manages to eat a lot of whatever kind I buy, so I don’t feel too bad for him. If I just bought vanilla, I would eat a lot less ice cream. Go chocolate!
Chocolate all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If the ice cream is on sale why did they even need to debate which flavor to get? They ended up buying both and should have just gotten the two cartons out without the debate. We always have vanilla in the freezer but when ice cream is on sale we get lots of other flavors for a change!
“Plain vanilla” is a term used to indicate something boring. Not much left to argue about. Chocolate all the way!
Your favorite flavor is probably what you enjoyed most as you were growing up. The odds are slim that you would change as you grew older. I grew up enjoying vanilla and it is still my favorite. It doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy chocolate once in a while. With Turkey Hill why not be adventurous and try one of their other great flavors.
I adore them both, but if I had to chose when it comes to ice cream, it would probaby be vanilla!
vanilla is good with chocolate swirls
I love ice cream, my favorite is rum raisin, it’s not available in half gallons all the time,but I love butter pecan too.
First let me say, love your new blog look! Now, to the business of ice cream….I am a chocolate fanatic so I can say chocolate, but vanilla has a marvelous creamy go with everything flavor that it would definitely be my second choice!
Mint Chocolate Chip! Can’t beat it!! However, if I am to choose between Chocolate and vanilla…chocolate wins out for sure!
They also could have gotten Neapolitan, so that they could both have had their way AND had a 2nd treat – strawberry.
my all time favorite WAS green tea and mango frozen yogurt. As for vanilla versus chocolate, fortunately I’ve had time for both. Age 1-50 chocolate was tops, since 50(quite a few years) vanilla is tops.
Helen Halligan
No debate… chocolate is always better then vanilla!
I like both flavors. When I go to Dairy Queen, I get twist ice cream cone. That way I can have both flavors.
Vanilla is so underrated in this world. It is such an unreal natural flavor. Go vanilla!
It’s not even a contest: chocolate hands down. Turkey Hill has wonderful choices for even the most dedicated chocolate lover. My motto is “a bowl of chocolate per day keeps the doctor away “(and me happy.)
VANILLA!!!!!!
While I have had vanilla ice cream that was very good, and occasionally enjoy chocolate chip ice cream, there is nothing like really good chocolate ice cream. My all time favorite flavor is Turkey Hills Chocolate Candy Box. Its a shame that it is only available for a very limited time once a year. When it comes out I stock up so I have it for a while.
I NEVER choose vanilla or chocolate if there is another flavor available. I love trying new & different flavors, I already know what V & C taste like
i love them both but chocolate gets a s.light edge
i love them both
Vanilla for me!
It’s a tough choice since I like both flavors but I would have to pick chocolate since it healthier!!!!!
I like them both together! That ice cream cone looks delicious! Great job on the Blog story Jacqueline! Happy Fourth of July all! Have a wonderful safe weekend!
Turkey Hill Nutty Chocolate Moose Tracks or Turkey Hill regular vanilla based Moose Tracks. Aye, there’s the rub!
I totally agree with the final solution. One carton if each is the perfect compromise, and the best of both worlds. Especially because I prefer to have a scoop of 2-3 different turkey hill flavors with each ice cream eating session. I keeps the taste buds entertained by alternating flavors with each bite. That’s one of the reasons I love the duos so much that Turkey Hill makes (although I end up buying a few cartons at a time anyways because I eat ice cream so much!) And chocolate and vanilla seem to blend ever so nicely together. I recommend having a scoop of both the skinny minty light version and chocolate chip cookie dough light version. The mint refreshes your palette and leaves a lasting tingle, while the choc chip cookie dough provides a very sweet and spicy combination with chocolate shavings that melt in your mouth. YUM!
I love both and it depends on what mood you’re in. Sometimes you feel like having the rich, decadent flavor of Chocolate which lingers in your mouth for a few seconds after swallowing it. Sometimes you feel like Vanilla, which is such a pure, fresh, creamy flavor and it tastes so good with Chocolate syrup on it and with whatever you decide to put in or on it like sprinkles or banannas. Yum to both!!!
chocolate i love the most in ice cream – but when i have vanilla i couldn’t resist it – that’s how i love ice cream…
i love ice cream – that’s why i’ll eat chocolate or vanilla…
I don’t care for either separate as together is better.
Great solution to a delightful dilemna. I love chocolate ice cream but I also like vanilla. But when I go to the store, I usually get Chocolate Marshmallow. This is a win-win situation.
I have found that it definitely depends on the day. Sometimes only the clean, fresh taste of vanilla will do. Other times, creamy, sweet chocolate is the winner. It is nice to be able to choose.
I just love all of Turkey Hill’s frozen desserts. Vanilla ice cream will be my first choice because as good as chocolate taste, I just can not eat it. Chocolate keeps me up at night because of the caffeine in it. Can someone make a caffeine free chocolate ice cream or frozen dessert? I’ll be the first to try it…mmm, mmmm, mmm!
Thank you for these delicious lip smacking flavors in Ice creams.
Chocolate is my favorite. However,I do like vanilla (with hot fudge or chocolate syrup on it
)
How about vanilla & chocolate swirled together with hot fudge, whipped cream and a cherry on top. MMMMMMMM yummy.
Even though I love chocolate candy and chocolate cake, and I do like chocolate ice cream, for some reason, I will always pick a vanilla-based ice cream flavor over chocolate. Nothing beats a root beer float with lots of vanilla ice cream in it.
Are either flavors wrong? The answer is NO I love both flavors, I enjoyed the story.
It’s always a tough decision when choosing which TH to buy – some may good flavors. Many times we buy a duo & another container of a different flavor so we have some variety. We always try to keep vanilla in our freezer because everybody loves it & it makes a great dessert when unexpected company visits.
I like chocolate if it’s by itself, but with warm crisp or pie, you can’t beat vanilla.
My father ate Vanilla ice cream as close to daily as possible for 91 years. During his final years aides would bribe him with Vanilla ice cream as a way to get him to take his medicine. He was at the point where he couldn’t remember having dessert 5 minutes after, but he was happy. In fact, he passed away peacefully right after lunch with a bowl of Vanilla ice cream too exactly one month shy of his 92nd birthday.
We have a daughter who inherited his gene. Either at home or in a restaurant she will always review the dessert menu and ask about the flavors of sorbet or ice cream, but always orders Vanilla regardless.
I love vanilla ice cream the best. I have a crazy story. When I was pregnant with my daughter I ate mostly ice cream. I would hear the local ice cream vendor outside playing his music and I would stop eating my dinner and would go straight for the ice cream. My daughter has recently told me that no matter who asks her if she wants ice cream, friends, family, etc she is able to say No if she is full. She told me she can’t say no to me ever. It just is something she cannot explain when it comes to her Mom and ice cream I told her it is probably because I ate ice cream though out my entire pregnancy and the funniest thing is that she was born in July, Ice Cream month. Now that I wrote this I have to go get a bowl of ice cream. Go figure I still have those cravings for the best treat ever invented. I really like vanilla soft serve ice cream and wish that Turkey hill would make one with plain vanilla. I do enjoy the Duette flavors. God Bless everyone at Turkey Hill.
I love vanilla with pie and root beer floats,and I love chocolate alone, but I love Turkey Hill Moose Tracks. Evelynuests
I love vanilla with pie and root beer floats,and I love chocolate alone, but I love Turkey Hill Moose Tracks. Evelyn
Hmmm chocolate vs. vanilla this is hard because I like both equally. Typically I buy vanilla this way I can add chocolate syrup to it if I decide I want chocolate icecream and this frees up room in my freezer for other things like chocloate chip cookie dough or even the new Double Dunker Limited Edition. MMMMM nothing like having your cake and eating it too!
For soft ice cream, I always get both flavors together as a twist, but in Turkey Hill, nothing beats Dutch Chocolate.
vanilla has a place in my heart but every now and then I need chocolate and that photo of the soft twist of both is my idea of heaven
Chocolate ice cream tastes fake and gross. I prefer vanilla of those two, but I would rather have vanilla ice cream with “Stuff” in it!
I love chocolate, but Turkey Hill has the best vanilla ice cream that I have ever tasted. I just can’t seem to get enough of it. Normally I cover my vanilla with toppings, but the Turkey Hill is soooo good that I don’t want to alter the taste of it.
I personally love Chocolate, although it’s great to have Vanilla ice cream in the house as well ! My Vanilla ice cream goes with everything, including my all time favorite…Apple Pie Ala Mode.
Turkey Hill, How about making a container of both CHOCOLATE AND VANILLA? ( Like Breyers does!!! I really enjoy this selection and would like to see Turkey Hill come out with it..Thank you ,Peggy
That’s an idiotic question and a stupid, fabricated debate. What’s “better” – an apple, or a pickup truck?
I always give my husband a hard time, as he is a very “vanilla” kind of guy. There can be 20 or more flavors to choose from and generally he’ll order vanilla. I, on the other hand, am much more adventurous. I love him anyway!
Why chose when you can have them both! I love to have a scoop of each in my bowl, then the hard decision is which one do I finish first!
I Do like the swirl of chocolate And vanilla and nuts and caramel and marshmallows and peanut butter and … yummy!
I can’t imagine any REAL ice cream lover who would have only one flavor of ice cream in the freezer at any given time. Pumpkin pie, for example, just doesn’t go well with chocolate. On the other hand, if you have just plain ice cream – it has to be chocolate.
And I LOVED the idea of breakfast ice cream. I think he has something there. How about blueberry waffle ice cream?
why not both
Chocolate is better, and surprisingly healthier too!