Nothing beats ice cream on a hot day, and nothing beats a scoop of one of Ben and Jerry's wacky flavor concoctions on any day.
With around 40 flavors, Ben and Jerry's is a pioneer in ice cream innovation. They're known for their creative names and mixing up intriguing ingredients like chocolate-dipped peanut butter pretzels, graham cracker swirls and even chocolate dinosaurs. Whether your favorite is Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia or maybe Chubby Hubby, there is one for every palette and mood.
Good ice cream is synonymous with celebrations, warm weather and the occasional drowning of sorrows with good friends. Today however, is a day of celebration for Ben Cohen, Jerry Greenfield and ice cream lovers across the United States.
Since 1979, founders Greenfield and Cohen have held an annual "Free Cone Day" celebration. The two best friends started their business in an abandoned gas station in Vermont and turned their dream into an empire. Ben and Jerry's ice cream can now be found in pints and scoop shops across the globe, from Thailand to Belgium to Iceland.
Free cone day is a way for these businessmen with humble roots to give back to their loyal customers. All day today, scoop shops nation-wide will be scooping free ice cream for anyone who stops in.
If you haven't had a chance to try a Ben and Jerry's product before, there are a few things you might be wondering. Because their ice cream is all-natural, you will notice your beloved mint chocolate chip is not the familiar bright green color, made from artificial dyes but a stark white color with vanilla bean speckles and huge chunks of chocolate.
The popular flavor Phish Food, named for the rock band, recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary. One of the most frequently asked questions of Ben and Jerry's employees from kids and, believe it or not, even some adults, was, "Is there really fish food in it?" This top 10 flavor is a delicious, rich, milk chocolate based ice cream with swirls of caramel and marshmallow and miniature chocolate fudge fish swirled in. And no, it doesn't contain actual fish food, or any fish products, for that matter.
Flavors that lack in popularity end up in what is affectionately referred to as the "flavor graveyard." If you take a trip up to the factory in Burlington, Vermont you will be able to see the actual graveyard with dearly departed flavors of yesteryear like Dastardly Mash, Cool Britania, Festivus and Holy Cannoli.
Annually, new flavors are added to its list of staples. Fans of the Colbert Report will love the new Americone Dream flavor with chocolate dipped waffle cone pieces in a vanilla base with a gooey caramel swirl. Other great flavors have been inspired by Monty Python, Willy Nelson, Jerry Garcia and the Dave Matthew's Band. This year's newest addition, "Imagine Whirled Peace," was named for famed musical artist John Lennon.
Even though Ben and Jerry's was recently sold to corporate giant Unilever, it still remains grounded keeping in mind its important environmental and social commitments.
Its famous "Lick Global Warming" campaign raised awareness through education on renewable energy sources and how to offset your own carbon emissions. On their highly interactive Web site, visitors can calculate their own carbon emissions and see ways to reduce them. Ben and Jerry's also launched its newest campaign, called "One," to fight against poverty.
With a conveniently located scoop shop only minutes away from campus, there's no excuse to miss this tasty event. Also, with the regular price of a single scoop now pushing $3, take advantage of this scrumptious steal. Although they'll be dishing up all day, it is best to arrive early for this one.
In past years the line has stretched down the sidewalk past Antonio's Pizza. The store in downtown Amherst is located at 19 North Pleasant Street and will be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
With an emphasis on nurturing our environment while providing an outstanding and interesting product, you can't help but feel good about supporting a company like Ben and Jerry's. Pick up your free cone today and celebrate with your friends 30 years of ice cream euphoria.
Barbara Booras can be reached at bbooras@gmail.com.
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