Ice Cream News: Diet Halo Top, Big Gay, Butterbeer, Plus Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone


For some folks, spring means cute kittens and fabulous flowers. But for others, it’s all about entering the season when it’s warm enough to eat ice cream. And in 2017, ice cream trends encompass everything from Harry Potter-themed flavors to high protein, low carb frozen desserts.

Get ready to check your grocery store freezer for one of those trends: Big Gay Ice Cream is on its way, reported Food & Wine.

While, currently, Big Gay Ice Cream’s fanciful flavors are limited to who can step up to the Manhattan-based food truck that became an ice cream shop, now the company is ready to serve up pint-sized varieties of their unusual choices.

With the warm weather of spring comes cravings for ice cream. [Image by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images]

There’s the Salty Pimp (vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche, sea salt and chocolate dip), Dorothy (a tribute to Bea Arthur with vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche and crushed vanilla wafer cookies), and Lunchbox (strawberry ice cream with strawberry-filled peanut butter cups and peanut butter swirls). Get ready to choose among Birfdae Cëk, American Globs, Blueberry Gobbler, and Rocky Roadhouse as well.

The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop has several stores and also has made its products available on Amazon and Fresh Direct. The company’s website offers more details on where to buy these frozen delights.

For Harry Potter fans comes a new ice cream flavor from Yuengling’s Ice Cream with Butterbeer. Although it doesn’t contain beer, it’s a reference to a beverage from the beloved book and movie franchise. Author J.K. Rowling described butterbeer as “a little bit like less sickly butterscotch,” according to Penn Live.

There’s just one question. What ice cream flavor to choose? [Image by David Paul Morris/Getty Images]

“We are always looking for ways to inspire our fans and spark creativity. Whether it’s our flavor names and descriptions or the recipes themselves–we’re in the business of having fun,” said David Yuengling, president of Yuengling’s Ice Cream. “We hope we made J.K. Rowling proud with this flavor.”

Butterbeer ice cream, along with another new flavor for the company, strawberry, is sold in stores, with quart-sized cartons available soon.

Dieters craving ice cream have been flocking to another frozen dessert trend, and that’s a high protein, low carb treat, Halo Top. Based in Los Angeles, Halo Top earned high praise from reviewers last year and is still going strong, reported Los Angeles magazine.

The pints of ice cream come in a wide range of flavors, all of which are low in carbohydrates, high in protein, and ranging in calories from less than 300 calories to 360 calories for the entire pint. There’s a red velvet rich ice cream with cocoa and brownie dough, a birthday cake flavor, and even peanut butter cup. The Halo Top website lists the full range of flavors and their calorie counts.

The guilt-free ice cream uses a no-calorie sugar alcohol called erythritol, a zero-calorie sweetener called stevia, and milk protein to add creaminess to the frozen desserts in place of the usual high-fat content of regular ice cream.

CEO and founder Justin Woolverton credits the praise that the low-calorie, low-carb ice cream has received to the use of high-quality ingredients.

“Halo Top is good ice cream because…we use extremely top-shelf ingredients (e.g., organic lemon peel, real vanilla, etc.).”

The Halo Top founder also revealed that when they first experimented with lower cost ingredients, there was a “noticeable difference” in the taste. As for how Justin categorizes the treats, he compares them to Greek yogurt.

“To us, it’s like Greek yogurt: a healthy indulgence that just happened to be packed with protein and low in sugar,” he summed up.

For those who want to indulge with full-fat, high-calorie ice cream, however, mark your calendar for Ben & Jerry’s annual Free Cone Day. Taking place on the company’s anniversary, Ben & Jerry’s revealed that Free Cone Day would take place on April 4, reported Food Beast.

Fans can get a free cone with a scoop of any flavor in Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops between 12 p.m. and 8 p.m. on April 4. The tradition has been on-going since 1979, when co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield wanted to thank the local community after they survived their first year of success in the ice cream business.

It’s estimated that more than one million scoops of ice cream will be distributed at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops worldwide on the special day.

[Featured Image by David Paul Morris/Getty Images]

Share this article: Ice Cream News: Diet Halo Top, Big Gay, Butterbeer, Plus Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone
More from Inquisitr