The promise of summertime fun also comes with a checklist. Sunglasses, sandals, and SPF are a must. Another necessity? Ice cream, and Graeter’s is here to help you pack your freezer with heat-beating, sweet tooth-satisfying flavors delivered right to your door.
This Cincinnati-based brand has been making gourmet ice cream the same way since the 1800s, but now you can enjoy these legendary flavors anywhere in the United States. Order a variety pack to add flare to your next backyard BBQ or serve up some seasonal specialties to celebrate National Ice Cream Day on July 20. Whatever your reason — and really, you don’t even need one — Chowhound would like to introduce you to some of our can’t-miss ice cream flavors from Graeter’s.
A family tradition of ice cream excellence
Graeter’s has been crafting small batch ice cream since 1870, and its recipes continue to stand out today thanks, in part, to a unique preparation method that harks back to the old days. This multi-generational, family-owned company makes its rich, high butterfat ice cream in bespoke French pots just 2½ gallons at a time. It’s the only brand of its size that continues to uphold this tradition.
French pot process ice cream is revered for its denseness, which is achieved by spinning and chilling each flavor in a super-cold saltwater brine. Batches begin with fresh cream, milk, cane sugar, and eggs, before additional ingredients are introduced to the spinning pots to stir up oodles of ice cream options. Graeter’s sensational and often rotating flavors are then hand-packed into pints before they’re whisked off to locales near and far. So, while the studiously formulated final product hews close to tradition, its modern distribution looks to the future. With a few clicks, you too can experience this deliciously decadent ice cream, shipped to your door directly from Graeter’s.
Enjoy new fresh flavors for the summer
With dozens of ice cream flavors to choose from, it can be hard to narrow the field, so Chowhound is here to offer a few suggestions. Let’s begin with some rising stars, shall we? Graeter’s specializes in new varieties and seasonal selections that might just become your future faves.
Pineapple Passionfruit Sorbet debuts July 4, combining two juicy summertime fruits into an icy blend for when you want a refreshingly light tropical dessert. Starting July 18, Key Lime joins the party, featuring real-deal citrus juice and graham pie crust bits to capture the taste of everyone’s favorite warm-weather pie, while rendering it even cooler for the occasion.
Graeter’s Peach ice cream seems tailor-made for anyone who skips cutting up the succulent fruits in favor of devouring them whole (with plenty of paper towels nearby). This seasonal flavor marries the classic summer stone fruit with a rich cream base for a sensory trip to the orchard. This flavor is available now, but much like those juicy, just-picked beauties, this seasonal favorite is fleeting. You won’t want to miss your chance to try these limited-edition specialities which, by the way, pair really well with some of the classics below.
Don’t forget the classics
Many people enjoy ice cream regardless of the season, but certain food memories are simply synonymous with that carefree quarter from June to September. Graeter’s has year-round flavors to satisfy those warm-weather cravings anytime.
Lemon Meringue Pie brilliantly freezes a burst of citrus for a dynamic twist on the bright dessert, blending pie crust and crunchy lemon candy with marshmallow lemon ice cream to complete the effect. Graeter’s Ice Cream creations are particularly suited for mixing and matching, and a double scoop of Key Lime and Lemon Meringue Pie is a dynamic match in your cone or bowl. Their familiar notes of baked fruit pastry, minus the need to crank up your oven, are also welcome any time the heat is on.
Tapping into even more comforting memories, a pint of Graeter’s S’mores ice cream imbues a graham cracker base with marshmallows and chocolate chips to evoke campfires, sing-alongs, and the kind of lilting late nights best enjoyed when the mercury rises.
Graeter’s classic Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip is another historically significant concoction. It harnesses Willamette Valley-sourced fruit from Oregon, pureeing the berries and suspending them in sweet cream in a way that conjures the sensation of summer’s arrival on demand. The chocolate, which Graeter’s melts down and breaks into chunks as it hits the frozen cream and solidifies, comes from Peter’s Chocolate, a chocolatier with a history that goes back nearly as far as Graeter’s.
How to get Graeter’s ice cream delivered to your door
You can navigate your way to ice cream bliss in no time at all with one of Graeter’s curated gift packs, which come in fun and abundant combinations. Why not gift a pal, treat yourself, or even split the difference upon delivery.
We recommend the Chocolate Lover’s Gift Selection — a robust spread that includes 12 pints like Toffee Chocolate Chip, Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip, and Mocha Chocolate Chip. The Grand Gift Selection, which also features 12 pints, includes the aforementioned delights plus Madagascar Vanilla Bean, Original Salted Caramel, and Butter Pecan, among other flavors. Packs of six pints are also available, as is a pack of 48 single-serve cups that weigh in at 5 ounces each to fulfill all your ice cream party needs with considerably less mess. You can split the latter between two different flavor selections.
For an optimized frozen dessert experience, create your own pack in portions of six or 12 individual pints. Deluxe Party Packs are also available. Those include your selected ice cream flavors, plus toppings and a cute ice cream scoop. Conveniently, Graeter’s ships across the continental United States via ground and air, and to Alaska and Hawaii exclusively via next-day air, so a flavor-packed pint is never too far away.
