Chocolate vs vanilla ice cream. Please explain this...

[seashoreCM]

It seems that every day I would have a different flavor preference.

But I would choose natural ingredients over artificial flavor (or pass it up completely if the natural ingredient ice cream was too expensive); Most of the vanilla ice cream I see is artificially flavored.

 

[Lilliputian]

I love chocolate in general, but I just don't care for chocolate ice cream much. The freezing just doesn't do good things to the flavor somehow. The premium brands are a little better, but I still prefer vanilla.

 

[JVL1018]

I always wondered how vanilla could be more popular than chocolate. I mean CHOCOLATE, nothing better than that!!

Then I met my husband, he is a vanilla ice cream guy. Our daughter is like me- chocolate all the way. Sundaes in places like Friendly's that are made with vanilla? We always switch it out to chocolate.

My son, all vanilla..and you better not put chocolate sauce or anything other than rainbow sprinkles on his ice cream. He won't eat it if it has anything else on it.

I like vanilla okay, but have never in my life ordered vanilla ice cream.
Except with pie-that has to be vanilla.

 

[carrie1626]

I used to wonder the same thing.......vanilla, really

And then in my 40's my desire for chocolate ice cream gave way to VANILLA ice cream with stuff in it like nuts and fudge and marshmallow swirl.

Also, Vanilla ice cream with fudge sauce is very appealing, too!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I am a chocolate fiend. But I prefer vanilla ice cream, if it's good vanilla made with *real* vanilla beans. Anything else is just a poor imitation. Actually, my favorite ice cream flavor is Ben N' Jerry's Chunky Monkey.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Im a vanilla person!

I like chocolate too, but I love vanilla way more.

im guessing that vanilla is more popular because it goes best with a lot of things like pies, and sundaes. As other posters mentioned, a hot fudge sundae with chocolate icecream would be too much. Vanilla is definitely the best choice.

 

[Diznygrl]

I love chocolate, but I've never been a big fan of straight up chocolate ice cream (if I'm going to have chocolate ice cream I'd rather have it blended with other ice cream flavors). Actually between the three "main" flavors (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry), my favorite is strawberry. Vanilla is second.

The best way to have a hot fudge sundae is with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

 

[Buckalew11]

I just like vanilla ice cream. I will always choose it over chocolate. I really do not like a lot of mix-ins. My favorite ice cream ever is chocolate chip mint or mint oreo. A close second (or 3rd) to that is cookies and cream (vanilla with oreos).

My mom and dd love chocolate ice cream though.

 

[indygirl99]

My favorite flavor ice cream is chocolate. My parents' favorite flavor ice cream is chocolate. Same for my sister. When I take my 3 nieces and nephew out for ice cream they all get chocolate. When I go out to a Chinese restaurant with friends, most of them choose chocolate for their free dessert.

So how is it that vanilla is the overwhelmingly more popular flavor? According to the Food Channel, only 8% have chocolate as their favorite ice cream flavor compared to a whopping 29% for vanilla.

Where are all these vanilla people and why have I not encountered them?

Okay now you have gone and done it. Just had to send DH out to get ice cream.

And for the record it is Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia. But if the choice was only vanilla or chocolate it would be chocolate all the way for both DH and I.

 

[Trek Girl]

I'm usually a chocolate fiend, but I can't stand chocolate ice cream. I don't know how that happened, but the idea of chocolate ice cream/shakes/frosties/whatever turns me off completely. Maybe it's the cold temperature that does it for me. I love warm chocolate cookies, cake, syrup, etc., and I like chocolate bars at room temp. I do love a scoop of good vanilla ice cream, though, especially with caramel or butterscotch sauce!

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

It has been mentioned before, I will just second the opinion... I like vanilla best, but it HAS to have chocolate syrup.

 

[leebee]

My all-time favorite ice cream is peppermint stick, followed closely by ginger, but both have to be "right;" not too milky/vanilla-ish, and not too sweet. Both flavors have to be "clean." I am also a big fan of anything with a caramel swirl in it. Other than peppermint stick, I am not terribly fond of candy (chips, filled cups, etc) in my ice cream, but LOVE nuts in ice cream. Sometimes we go to DQ; my favorite order there is vanilla in a dish, with pecans on it! I really can take or leave chocolate... usually leave it.

 

[design_mom]

I love chocolate, but I don't like chocolate ice cream. I would pick plain vanilla over chocolate... Although my favorites are usually fruit flavors with chocolate chip (cherry-chocolate chip... Yum!!!)

 

[scdak]

Chocolate all the way for me, the more chocolate the better! Vanilla is boring and tasteless to me no matter how fancy or expensive it is, I will forgo ice cream at all if its vanilla unless its on top of pie in which case I eat just a small amount of it for the coldness to blend with the taste/warmth of the pie. But its not just ice cream, count me out on anything vanilla - puddings, cookies etc.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

It has been mentioned before, I will just second the opinion... I like vanilla best, but it HAS to have chocolate syrup.

Vanilla with chocolate syrup is so far above chocolate ice cream, it's not even a contest.

And really the beauty of vanilla is how well it works with various toppings or things mixed in

 

[Fire14]

I love chocolate, but I've never been a big fan of straight up chocolate ice cream (if I'm going to have chocolate ice cream I'd rather have it blended with other ice cream flavors). Actually between the three "main" flavors (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry), my favorite is strawberry. Vanilla is second.

The best way to have a hot fudge sundae is with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

I'm same way Mint choc chip hot fudge sundaes

 

[ghoulishgirl]

I remember hearing that fact as well. I believe the popularity is because of floats and pie and stuff like that. People just aren't going to put strawberry ice cream in a root beer float. The poll didn't state ice cream flavor just for eating, it just said vanilla was the most popular. Not to mention, ice cream sandwiches, drumstick novelties, etc. almost all vanilla.

 

[tvguy]

For DW and I, it was chocolate only until we hit about 45, then we switched to vanilla, often with toppings. So I wonder if age is an issue too.

As for statistics, Hormel sells enough Spam for everyone of us to eat a can a week. I like Spam, but 1 or 2 cans a year is enough for me. And why on earth to people in Utah eat more Spam per person than any other state (including Hawaii, where even McDonalds sells McMuffins with spam)

 

[disneychic2]

I think the issue is that there aren't only 2 choices.

I think one way to think about it is that some people like their ice cream relatively plan, and other people like it with added flavor. There are more people in the latter category, but they're divided. Some people like plain chocolate, some people like chocolate chip, or mint chocolate chip, or rocky road, or fudge ripple, or butter pecan or . . . Now many or maybe even most of those people might choose chocolate ice cream over vanilla if that's the choice (like your free ice cream scenario), but because they'll all write down different flavors as their "favorite", vanilla ends up winning.

My favorite ice cream flavors are peppermint or Haagen Dazs Dulce de Leche or maybe mango sorbet. I also like vanilla, especially "French vanilla", in part because it tastes really good in a double scoop with any of the flavors above.

This makes total sense to me.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I think everyone above has done great explaining reasons

Me? I usually prefer vanilla to chocolate, but then it can really depend on my mood

For DW and I, it was chocolate only until we hit about 45, then we switched to vanilla, often with toppings. So I wonder if age is an issue too.

As for statistics, Hormel sells enough Spam for everyone of us to eat a can a week. I like Spam, but 1 or 2 cans a year is enough for me. And why on earth to people in Utah eat more Spam per person than any other state (including Hawaii, where even McDonalds sells McMuffins with spam)

Do they EAT it, or BUY it? I am betting it has to do with the high LDS population and the mandate (?, maybe tradition is better? I am not sure of the right word here) that LDS members stockpile a year's worth of food and supplies at all times. You would need non perishable protein sources (like SPAM) but they also tend to check dates and replace things that expire--thus more spam selling in an area with a high LDS population