Welcome back to the third edition of Food Fight. Every week, we will discuss two of our favorite foods or orders and battle to find out whose choice wins. This week, we are diving into an ice cream armageddon and figuring out what we truly can call the best ice cream flavor.
Naiiya: You cannot deny cookies and cream its rightful throne
It’s absolute blasphemy if you think the best ice cream is anything but cookies and cream. Everyone has their niche flavors that they love; I will devour matcha or peanut butter crunch ice cream. However, when we think of the best ice cream, you must think universally. What is an ice cream that is beloved by all? What is an ice cream that can stand the test of the picky eaters while simultaneously pleasing those with an advanced palate? The clear answer is cookies and cream.
I love it because it is so classic to my childhood. It is impossible not to love a little Oreo moment. When an ice cream menu is really confusing and boring, I will go to my tried and true, cookies and cream — and guess what? It’s amazing! Whether it’s the cookies and cream from a local ice cream shop or Friendly’s, it never fails me! They really can’t mess it up. The best ice cream should go to a classic flavor which is 100%, without a doubt, cookies and cream.
Charlotte: Peach ice cream is perfectly pleasant
Over the years, I’ve had my fair share of ice cream flavors. Though I won’t deny that a classic flavor every once in a while is nice, I think I’ve started to get sick of them. Don’t get me wrong, I probably will still eat cookies and cream or strawberry ice cream, but they don’t really do much for me anymore. Seeing them at the dining hall and having access to them all the time has made me realize that they’re not actually all that great (the exception being coffee ice cream, despite me not liking coffee, I still really like coffee ice cream). However, one flavor that has consistently wowed me is peach ice cream. I remember that one summer the UConn Dairy Bar was offering a seasonal peach ice cream flavor, and I was curious so I tried it. Nothing could have prepared me for the punch of tangy peach mixed with sweet cream. It was delicious. So much so that for the rest of the summer, every time I had the chance to go to the Dairy Bar and get ice cream, I always ordered peach. I’m honestly surprised that peach isn’t a more commonly seen and distributed flavor because wow, is it good! The next time that I got a chance to have peach ice cream was at a local shop in Michigan, and when I saw that they had peach ice cream, I immediately took the chance and tried it. Yet again, it was the same delicious combination of creaminess with the fresh flavor of juicy peaches and I devoured it. I think peach is definitely growing in popularity as a flavor and I’m excited to see more people discover it.
As far as niche ice cream flavors go, I think there are more uncommon flavors that I’ve really enjoyed, but I won’t push them as my favorite or as one that everyone should try because they’re so hard to find. If you do get the chance, though, I will say that I tried a jasmine ice cream at a Turkish ice cream shop and it was delightful! Same goes with milk flavored ice cream. This flavor is more common in Asia, but trust me on this one, it’s good. Lastly, if you’re looking for something you can pick up at the grocery store, you can’t go wrong with Häagen-Dazs green tea ice cream. It’s got a creamy consistency and mild matcha flavor, and something about it is simply addicting to me. If you ever get the chance to try peach ice cream, though, I highly recommend that you do!
Ice cream armistice
Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cookies and cream or peach; no matter what flavor you prefer, we won’t judge! There are plenty of really great flavors out there, both those we’ve mentioned and others we haven’t. It’s always fun to see where ice cream flavors are going and what the newest trends and combos are. Although we can’t agree on which flavor is best, we can agree on which ones are the worst. We’re looking at you, banana, orange creamsicle and rocky road lovers. But you can do — and eat — whatever floats your ice cream float, to each their own!