A handful of ice cream flavors that once filled grocery freezers nationwide have all but vanished from store shelves, and one of them traces its roots directly to Nebraska.
According to a recent roundup by the food site Tasting Table, Butter Brickle, rum raisin, Pink Bubblegum, Heavenly Hash and maple walnut were staples of American ice cream counters in the 1970s. Today, most are difficult to find.
A Nebraska Original
Butter Brickle ice cream traces back to a butterscotch candy invented in Omaha, Nebraska, in the 1920s. The ice cream version, built around that butterscotch flavor with crunchy toffee bits mixed in, became a national favorite by the 1970s. Fans in a Facebook group devoted to 1970s nostalgia still bring it up often, recalling the signature crunch of the toffee pieces.
Rum Raisin’s White House Moment
Rum raisin ice cream has been around since the 1930s but took off in the 1970s, when rum-soaked raisins blended with vanilla ice cream became common in shops and grocery stores across the country. The flavor even reached the White House; President Richard Nixon reportedly served it for dessert. It can still be found in some places, but it has grown scarce in many parts of the country. “I miss it so much! It’s my favorite ice cream flavor,” one Reddit user wrote in a subreddit dedicated to ice cream.
Baskin-Robbins’ Bubblegum Experiment
Baskin-Robbins launched its Pink Bubblegum ice cream in the 1970s, mixing chewy bubblegum pieces into each scoop. The chain has occasionally revived the flavor for limited runs. “It was my favorite. I would eat the ice cream and save the bubblegum for later,” a Reddit user recalled.
Heavenly Hash’s Forgotten Origins
Before it was an ice cream flavor, heavenly hash was a fruit salad made with whipped cream, marshmallows, candied fruit and nuts. Sealtest turned the idea into an ice cream in 1969, combining marshmallows, almonds and chocolate chips into something similar to today’s Rocky Road. The flavor disappeared along with Sealtest’s ice cream line, but some still remember it fondly. “Now that was a great ice cream!” one Facebook user wrote.
A New England Classic Fades
Maple ice cream dates back to 19th-century cookbooks from the Northeast, and the addition of walnuts eventually made maple walnut, also called maplenut, a New England staple. It was far easier to find in the 1970s than it is now. “My grandmother loved the Maple Walnut flavor. I don’t think I’ve seen it since I was a kid,” one Reddit user wrote.
Add comment