It’s the first day of Spring! Wahoo! And that means a lot of things, but for now: it means free ice cream.
That’s right, it’s Dairy Queen’s Free Cone Day 2024, the chance to get one of their ice creams with the little signature swirl on top.
Here’s the deal: Walk into any non-mall Dairy Queen during the day on March 19, 2024 and you can get one FREE small vanilla cone. It’s one per person and you can’t order ahead. If you’re a rewards member, you can get double points on anything you buy on Tuesday.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!
It may be unfathomable to think there are any questions remaining about the culture Pete Carroll has created in Seattle, but if there are, this should put an end to it. Following practice on Thursday, the Seahawks head coach had quite the surprise for his team during these last few hot days in the Pacific Northwest.
That’s right, Carroll brought out an ice cream truck. It doesn’t matter if you are five years old, or a grizzled NFL veteran, everybody screams for ice cream all the same.
Pete Carroll’s latest surprise for #Seahawks? An ice cream truck at practice.
Players became toddlers as they got their treats. Kenneth Walker walked away with a Sponge Bob popsicle—and a huge smile.
Happy National Ice Cream Day to all who celebrate — and really, shouldn’t we all celebrate ice cream every day, especially on Sunday, July 16?
Why is July 16 National Ice Cream Day? That’s not what we’re here to answer. You’re here to find out about free or discounted ice cream, and we want to get to that as fast as possible so the icy stuff doesn’t melt or run out.
So let’s stop writing about ice cream and get to the important stuff here: A partial list of joints that we’ve found who will give something away or sell you ice cream for less than the usual price:
What are the best frozen treats you can buy (RIP, Choco Taco!)?
Like many of you out there on the internet, I mourned the loss of the Choco Taco when it was announced that the incredible frozen treat was getting discontinued after nearly 40 years by its maker, Klondike.
But it also ignited a debate with some friends that I decided to bring here: Where did it rank among the ice cream novelties — that’s what they were called at one camp I attended, which I’ve stuck to since — that you can get from an ice cream truck?
Let’s break them down, and we’re obviously not counting actual soft-serve ice cream here. That’s for another day:
We look at the latest weird products from fast food companies, a coffee chain and a distillery. Plus: Why you should care.
Every week, new food products come to market and some of them— healthy snacks, oddball drinks, fast food experiments, and a few novelty knickknacks — are creative enough to demand attention. Below we’ve put the spotlight on recently released products that made us either smile or do a double-take. Note: we haven’t tasted them… yet.
Why you should care: This New Hampshire company hasteamed up with folks from the University of New Hampshire to create a green crab-flavored whiskey. Why green crabs? Because they’re delicious? Not really; the crustaceans are damaging New England’s coastal ecosystem. And making whiskey out of the critters is a form of sustainable population control. The final product, made with a bourbon base, is 51 percent ABV and is said to have notes of maple, vanilla, and caramel on the nose, followed by cinnamon, clove, and all-spice. Maybe a little brine too?
Why you should care: Rarely has ketchup been promoted to lead role in the culinary world. But times change. Voila: French’s is working with the Canadian ice pop brand Happy Pops to create ketchup ice pops, which is just what it sounds like: condiment frozen on stick and described as a delicious salty-sweet mashup. Currently, they’re only available as giveaways (and in Canada only). But you never know. French’s has already launched a mustard ice cream in the states. Could ketchup be next?
Price: Free if you can find it in Canada
Hey Canadian friends, your favorite condiment just got a whole lot cooler 🍅🧊
A refreshingly savoury & sweet ketchup popsicle, made from 100% Canadian tomatoes.
Why you should care: Oregon-based ice cream company Salt & Straw teamed up with Portland perfumery Imaginary Authors to release three ice cream “perfumes.” The flavors/scents include A Cloud of Cocoa (notes of Ecuadorian chocolate, malted milkshake, and Japanese whisky), A Plume of Blumes (honeysuckle and jasmine), and A Swoon of Citrus (the tartness of citrus balanced with the herbal undertones of an entire orchard). The products launch online and as a topping in shops starting July 17th, National Ice Cream Day. You can sign up for the waitlist by visiting the site. Smell ya later.
Price:$65 for a 65 mL bottle, $48 for a trio of 10 mL travel-sized bottles. Available at Salt & Straw’s scoop shops and online
Why you should care: According to the company formerly owned by Colonel Sanders, this is a “new ergonomic and gastronomic piece of tableware-tech” that will finally make KFC’s sides as finger-lickin’ good as its fried chicken. Ok, that may be a stretch, but they’re certainly the most useful culinary finger puppets we’ve seen and they will help you scoop out your mac & cheese, corn, and mashed potatoes (though this was never actually a problem). They’ve also produced a kitschy video to promote their “revolutionary eating device.” See video below.
Price:Free for anyone who orders a KFC Sides Lovers Meal in person, online, in app, or at participating locations between June 21 and July 12 (while supplies last).
Krispy Kreme Ice Cream
Full name: Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Soft Serve Ice Cream (and Shakes)
Why you should care: For the first time ever, Krispy Kreme now offers Original Glazed Soft Serve Ice Cream — made with ingredients from Krispy Kreme’s secret Original Glazed Doughnut recipe, including its iconic glaze flavor, as well as real whole milk. The confection’s available in waffle cones — made with Krispy Kreme’s doughnut mix and glaze flavor and cups — in three flavors: plain Original Glazed, Strawberry Iced Sprinkled, or Chocolate Iced. It’s also offering shakes designed to taste like Krispy Kreme doughnut varieties: Original Glazed, Strawberry Iced Sprinkled, Chocolate Iced, Lemon Filled, Cookies & Kreme, Birthday Batter, and Coffee & Kreme. Your summer diet plan will just have to wait.
Price: Products are available in-shop and drive-thru only (for details and to search for a store near you, check out their online store)
Photo: Krispy Kreme
Starbucks’ First Fried Chicken Sandwich
Full name: Starbucks Chicken Maple Butter and Egg Sandwich
Why you should care: Almost every other fast-food chain has introduced some kind of fried chicken sandwich — Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Popeyes, KFC, you name it. Now, finally, Starbucks jumps into the game with this breakfast item featuring breaded white meat chicken, fluffy eggs, and maple butter on a toasted oat biscuit roll. As you might expect, Youtubers have already pounced on the opportunity to review the thing.
We’ve posted a few articles this week on the latest weird, wacky and wild flavors out there in the world of ice cream. Time for a reality check. Who knew Butter Pecan gets so much love?
Dessert trends may come and go, but ice cream remains a perennial favorite. The question is: Which flavor is most popular?
We looked at data from Lexham Insurance — they cover ice cream vans — for the 2022 results. They looked at search volume around the world in 121 countries.
Below you will see what the results were back in 2008 when this article was first published. Note: Mint chocolate chip and cookie dough ice cream didn’t even crack the top 10 back then (nor did banana, toffee, or carmel). Vanilla and chocolate are in the top two spots, but vanilla took first place back then. In 2022, strawberry and cookies-and-cream ice cream were absent from the top 10.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavors Back in 2008
1. Vanilla, 29%
2. Chocolate, 8.9%
3. Butter pecan, 5.3%
4. Strawberry, 5.3%
5. Neapolitan, 4.2%
6. Chocolate chip, 3.9%
7. French vanilla, 3.8%
8. Cookies and cream, 3.6%
9. Vanilla fudge ripple, 2.6%
10. Praline pecan, 1.7%
Source: International Ice Cream Association, 888 16th St., Washington, D.C.
More Popular Ice Cream Flavors (based on sales)
Back in 2008, the NPD Group’s National Eating Trends Services published its own Top 5 List, based on share of sales in the USA. Here’s how their cone stacks up; note that Chocolate Chip Mint makes it to the top 5 whereas it was omitted by the International Ice Cream Association data.
1. Vanilla, 30%
2. Chocolate, 10%
3. Butter Pecan, 4%
4. Strawberry, 3.7%
5. Chocolate Chip Mint, 3.2%
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in 2008 and updated on June 9, 2022.
Growing up, I remember every kid in the gym wanting to be like Allen Iverson. From his cornrows to his crossover to the shooting sleeve he wore to games, everybody wanted to copy that.
I also remember every kid beating the lunch room table into the ground while trying to recreate some of Pharrell’s genius beats. To this day, I still cannot properly hit that Grindin’ beat.
These are two pillars of my childhood. The same can be said for a lot of other folks out there who grew up in those same eras. We went from hooping on the court during school hours to being punk skater kids after. It was incredible.
That essence is caught perfectly in today’s SPECIAL DELIVERY subject. We unboxed Reebok and BBC Ice Cream’s ‘Running Dog’ Question Lows — an OG Iverson basketball silhouette with Pharrell’s Ice Cream colors all over it.
It was an absolute blast from the past for me. You can see how Reebok so effortlessly combined these eras in the video above.
If you’re as big a fan of Pharrell and Iverson as I am? You certainly don’t want to miss it.
