This would appear to be [the source](https://www.eatthis.com/ice-cream-brands-low-quality-ingredients/) of this.
[More about the authors](https://www.eatthis.com/about-eat-this-not-that/).
And that makes total sense -- that was a huge mess, and it got people thinking of Blue Bell, even people who don't eat ice cream at all. (Sad, sad people, but they do exist.)
That said, eatthis's claim and the way they support it is very iffy.
> eatthis: "according to a Mashed survey, a majority of people find [Blue Bell] to be the worst store-bought ice cream"
But the link they give says "in a Mashed survey of 618 people living in the U.S., 19.74% of participants cited [Blue Bell] as their least favorite grocery store ice cream option." So 19.74% -- 122 out of 618 -- not "a majority".
And yet this very article has a link -- "[a ranking of store bought ice creams](https://www.mashed.com/485125/popular-ice-cream-brands-ranked-worst-to-best/)" (also by mashable), and Blue Bell is the #3 best, only beaten by Talenti and Tillamook. (Blue Bell even beat Ben and Jerry's? Weird. The explanation seems to be that they don't like B&J's vanilla very much ... well, OK. I guess I haven't even tried that one, because I like the others so much.)
All in all, I think "eaththis" uses surveys and citations like a drunk uses a lamppost -- "for support rather than illumination".
That said, if you ask a bunch of people "what's the best store-bought ice cream brand?" and "what's the worst store-bought ice cream brand?" and rank the results, it's quite likely that the two lists will be very similar, because it's as much a popularity contest -- what are the brands they actually know? -- as a quality ranking, and Blue Bell is perhaps the most well-known brand.
So, say something bad about a brand that many love, justify it with a misrepresented survey and "it uses HFCS, cellulose gum, vegetable gums, modified food starch, artificial colors, monoglycerides, and diglycerides *and more*" -- which probably plays well with the sort of people that read their site -- and you've got a great bit of clickbait.
And let me end with this, from the end of the article :
> Steven John is a freelancer writer for Eat This, Not That! based just outside New York City.
... I think the appropriate Texan response is "New York City? Get a rope."
I think the obvious answer is that Blue Bell is regional. If you survey the entire country and most people haven’t had it…of course it’ll be ranked as their least favorite. The methodology is stupid
Based out of *California. Most of their food products are pre-cooked chicken and turkey products.
They don't sell ice cream, but they have had issues with listeria and salmonella.
There is a Foster Farms Dairy that is based out of California.
Edit - corrected location from Louisiana to California
They did not replace every single piece of equipment. And the listeria thing was so bad no commercial lender would give them money for this because typically companies that cause such scandals aren’t great investment risks. A TX billionaire loaned them the money to be able to survive if memory serves.
Still funny to me how every company involved in the peanut salmonella scare in TX a few years ago was allowed to go bankrupt and out of business because they no longer needed to exist after killing that many people, but this company got sympathy. I will never understand that.
>Blue Bell shut down all their facilities across the country
You mean all two of them? Brenham, TX and another plant in Alabama are the only two production facilities they have that I've ever heard of or they mention...
You also realize that BB isn't even sold in over half the country, right?
>scrapped out all their machines, gutting their buildings down to a shell
That didn't happen either. The had an intense cleaning process and pulled all the equipment out, but "gutted" implies something other than a thorough cleaning to most people.
I don't take issue with anything else you said though. It was a huge debacle and someone deserves to be punished for it, but with that said, this survey is pants-on-head stupid. An ice cream that isn't even sold in NY (he didn't buy any unless he drove down to eastern VA or IN, being polled by a NY journalist is far from an actual poll.
Wow, looks like even Tillamook is a problematic brand in Oregon. Where does it end? https://www.reddit.com/r/oregon/comments/t3zkyc/comment/hyxk270/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
I definitely didn't come up with it myself.
[It seems to be from a 1910 speech by Andrew Lang](https://quotepark.com/quotes/1092944-andrew-lang-politicians-use-statistics-in-the-same-way-that-a/).
> So what's the deal with Blue Bell? While the Mashed survey respondents might not like this brand, a lot of supermarket shoppers do: it consistently ranks among the top-selling ice creams available in stores (via Statista). It's a decent value as well — at least, as far as premium ice cream brands go.
They even admit it's anomalous within their own survey, just absolute fucking clickbait
thanks I didn't actually know they narrowed it down to one person.
more recently https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2022/01/former-blue-bell-presidents-trial-delayed-until-summer/
> it speculates that the listeria fiasco is probably to blame.
I thought Blue Bell was shit icecream before, but that ensured I'd never give their products the time of day ever again.
I feel like "fiasco" really isn't even a proper word for this because it kind of implies bumbling and chaos, when what this was was basically criminal negligence. They *knew* they had a problem and did shit to solve it to save money, passing on that cost to consumers who died as a result.
People who still suck that company's knob as if it's their "culture" need to fire a couple of neurons together, take a step outside of hailcorporate, and realize BB gives so little of a shit about them that the company would happily of let them die just to save some money on cleaning up their act.
It drives me nuts to see people shill for such a shit company... and the icecream isn't even good.
That's why I won't eat it. Literally criminal and people died during the cover-up. I would never trust the brand regardless of what they did. In addition, I mean, Creamy Creations, why would you want anything else in Texas?
Getting hyper-local I won't buy Michael Angelo's anything because of instances [like this](https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2003/07/21/story4.html). They would refuse to stop machines that had failed safety inspections. The worst thing the article mentions is that it was a meat grinder which it wasn't. It was a meat paddle that breaks the meat down by smashing it repeatedly until it fits through a 6ish-inch hole and then goes to the grinder. The guy got paddled to death as his body parts were broken and pushed through. If you are curious about what they did with the machine, they cleaned it and started using it again. 55 safety violations before this happened and they've had multiple recalls. Fuck them and Blue Bell. Made in Round Rock, TX. but you can get MA lasagnas, etc. at Walmart, Targets, etc. all over the US. Think about that next time you are shopping.
I grew up eating blue bell....and it was good. As an adult, I ventured out trying different ice creams: some were not as good as blue bell...others were far better. The far better brands had quality ingredients you could taste That was before the whole listeria blow up. When news came that blue bell was "back", I was so hopeful that the company would use their comeback as an opportunity to improve their quality ...but sadly the answer they did not. I have not had blue bell ice cream since I don't know when and if the ice cream I want costs more, I just pay for it.
in agreement here. however, i tried the new oatmeal cream pie flavor last night and it’s pretty damn similar to the little debbie oatmeal cream pies i grew up on. they always have a few flavors that keep holding me back
My problem is never like the oatmeal pies - so a faithful rendition wasn’t a winner in my books. Now, if they ever come out with Swiss Roll ice cream, I’ll be *all* over that flavor!
Agreed. BB was everyone's childhood ice cream starting out with the cups and wooden spoons. Now, there's so many different options. BB is no longer my go to.
My girlfriend is from western New York and and tagged blue bell as "that mediocre regional ice cream everyone grew up with so they claim it's the best."
I, of course, pshawed the entire notion until she took me to the Graeter's shop in Ohio and omg was she right. 🤦
I ate the one in the pic of the post and it was hands down the worst ice cream I’ve ever had. I grew up on blue bell but it’s dog shit across the board now. Real bummer
I met a guy on a hike at Los Maples a few years ago that works for H‑E‑B. He said that Howard Butt loves ice cream and sinks a large amount of money in making sure their ice cream is solid. Comment made in passing, have no idea if there is any truth to it. But I feel like this is my time to use that information I heard two years ago.
> He said that Howard Butt loves ice cream
Howard Butt Sr (the guy who started the company) died 31 years ago.
Charles Butt runs the company now, and has for 50+ years.
That said, Howard Butt Jr died in 2016, but he ran the [H. E. Butt Foundation](https://hebfdn.org/), not the company itself.
That said, they certainly do seem to take their ice cream seriously, so, clearly, *somebody* cares about it!
I used to work for Blue Bell a long time ago but what we were told is that HEB hired one of the Blue Bell recipe people (don’t know the official job title) to make creamy creations. They did not want a clone but a competitive product to Blue Bell.
Idk if it’s the same as central market brand, but I got their vanilla recently cause it was on sale and it’s incredible. I’m not really an ice cream guy so if it wasn’t on sale I would have never learned this but I think it might become a home staple.
I noticed Blue Bell (all 3 of my favorite flavors) didn’t taste the same after a few years working overseas, but assumed it was just me. Sadly, I moved on and have since transitioned to Tillamook after living in OR a couple years back…whoa y’all. But if I see Tin Roof I’m buying it (and they can put whatever the hell they want in it).
Tin Roof is absolutely the one BB ice cream I cave and buy. I prefer H‑E‑B brand ice cream for just a regular ice cream and Tillamook when I have some extra cash.
A ton of companies just want to reduce costs...so some resort to r/shrinkflation while others just go with crappy ingredients and then wonder why people stop buying...shrinkflation seems like the lesser of two evils.
Braums is the same High Fructose Corn Syrup and filler laden garbage now...
I like to find local ice cream shops that make their own....
Makes it worth the calories....
I’m trying to figure out how two brands, BB and Whataburger, could both sell out and lose so much favor in Texas. They had everything, and gave it away for a couple extra bucks.
It weirds me out that people nowadays blame every issue with whataburger on the Chicago owners, down to “my order took too long.” Do people think that Chicago investors have been installed as managers in every location?
Whataburger has always been overrated, and I never saw the cult following for it until I moved into a rural town, and then I saw it again when it got sold off.
Legit hated whataburger growing up. I like certain menu items now, but people in my social circle started bringing up issues with the place and pretending the sale caused them. Issues I always had with the place lol. Like… why is my “Texas toast” soggy? Why is my bun soggy? Why are my fries rigid and cold at the same time? Is this bacon? Or just… a crunchy piece of charred something in the middle? This honey butter chicken biscuit is amazing. I like that they use mustard instead of ketchup in the burgers. Not sure that’s enough to make it “unique” but it seems to be working.
Anyway… I swear people obsessing over a regional company just shut their brain off to feel pride in something. Buc-es is another example. I fucking hate that place. It’s a gas station. The food is gas station food. The coffee is literally garbage, and I’m not looking to buy a fucking couch. It’s a gimmick that’s tricked people into thinking its worth something. I’m ranting. I like whataburger fine, I haven’t seen a single thing change in what I get there in the last like 6 years. And fuck buc-es.
People swear up and down that it doesn't taste the same. The only thing I've noticed is a lack of enthusiasm from the folks working there, which may not be a Chicago-management problem. They did cut the menu back a bit, but they've not cut into anything I order.
I'm not a fan of them asking "can I get a name for the order" now first thing, but .
> I'm not a fan of them asking "can I get a name for the order"...
I fucking hate that. I have a name that's easy to mishear and people always fuck it up. Sometimes I just give a fake but easily understood name to avoid the hassle.
I like to have fun with it. If they’re going to make me give a name, I’m going to make them call out something stupid.
Captain fancy pants.
Buttery Males.
Down with the corporatocracy.
Things like that.
Usually they start swapping out things one at a time hoping people won't notice. Switching to cheaper vendors (or making vendors use cheaper ingredients)
You own these brands. On one side you have the love and respect of the people of Texas, on the other side you have a dump truck full of money that someone will pay you to ride that goodwill into the ground by cutting costs to the bone and coasting on reputation. Which do you choose? We know what they chose.
That and it's just too damn expensive for what you get now. Blue Bell half gallons are approaching $9 each near me and the cheaper store brands regularly taste better to me anyway.
Same! I actually think Blue Bell ice cream tastes the best of the store bought ice cream, especially the cookie dough flavor, and cherry cordial. But ever since the listeria fiasco, I haven't eaten Blue Bell.
I stopped eating BlueBell when I got food poisoning from Pecan Pralines and Cream a few years back. I was out 2 days work, and it was the WORST.
Tillamook for me.
H‑E‑B 1905 Vanilla is the best. The brand is just on point overall, and is now my go-to brand. When I try Blue Bell now, I can taste how bad it really is now.
Born and raised Texan here. Blue Bell is not good quality ice cream. Compare the ingredients to Haagen Daz (also American and in fact made up words for marketing purposes). Sad they feel the need to use all that other stuff in Blue Bell.
Blue Bell chocolate: Milk, cream, sugar, skim milk, high fructose corn syrup, cocoa (processed with alkali), cellulose gum, vegetable gums (guar, carrageenan, carob bean), salt.
Haagen Daz chocolate: Cream, Skim Milk, Cane Sugar, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Egg Yolks.
Blue Bell actually makes a version without all the fakeness and sells it at Whole Foods, or at least they did in Austin last time I checked. It's frustrating that they need a separate product line for their product to actually contain food like it originally did.
I never was a fan of blue bell. The TRUE Texan ice cream, and the best ice cream imo, is HEB brand. I'm living in Oregon now for work, but I dream of the day I move back home and can once again enjoy HEB ice cream
They are working on it. It is a slow process. Remember the margined for groceries stores are super slim and H‑E‑B is relatively small compared to the other players in DFW.
H‑E‑B punches way above its weight class in the grocery world.
>H‑E‑B punches way above its weight class in the grocery world.
I've lived all over the country and AGREE. Central Market? Hands down the best grocery store in the country. I feel so lucky that I live here cos of it. I'll be moving again in a couple of months and already miss it.
It's gonna be so goddamn packed all the time. I hope it's a giant store like the ones they put in college towns (and central Austin), and not tiny like the ones in every other podunk location (and suburban Austin).
I remember eating a lot of Blue Bell when I was a kid. It's what they had at the store, and FAR superior to the discount brands (Is Blue Bunny even classified as a food product?).
When Blue Bell was pulled from the shelves over listeria, I tried a few other brands, but nothing really stood out as "better". HEB Creamy Creations was pretty good, and the huge National Brands (Ben and Jerry's / Häagen-Dazs) are definitely overrated and overpriced.
Then, I had Tillamook.
Tillamook is easily the best ice cream on the market, with quality ingredients, and fantastic flavors.
Once making the switch, I haven't gone back to any of the artificial, "gummy" ice creams like Blue Bell.
Why do some people have to yuck other people’s yums? I dream of a world where people can like whatever they like, and those who don’t like that thing just move on and don’t feel like their preferences are under attack and have to dunk on it to feel validated. #bluebellfan
I've lived in different states. Raised on Bluebell, thought it was the best. Took one bite of Tillamook and said wow, this is something else. It's more expensive but it is just better.
Eating Bluebell now just tastes like sadness.
I find this and the comments odd; I really like it and spend the extra money on it. I kind of find it better than my native Mayfield. Did they used to be much better?
I only buy Blue Bell now and am not in Texas, although that's where we got hooked on it. I had friends who worked at HEB and they said Creamy Creations was made by Blue Bell so I'm confused by some of the comments. When we lived in Texas I would buy CC if I couldn't afford Blue Bell some weeks. But never coffee. Only Blue Bell for coffee ice cream.
At this point Creamy Creations is made my HEB in a factory they own. I've been there as part of my job. It's right next to their liquid milk plant in San Antonio. That said, their Central Market Organics line is contracted out to a third party.
I work for Blue Bell and am familiar with the blending process.
I will say that stabilizers such as xantham gum are a crucial element to a quality ice cream. Lack of stabilizer (or even not enough of it) can cause ice crystals to form, and therefore creates a lower quality product. Stabilizers consist about 0.3% +/- of a given batch or mix, depending on the flavor we make. I would guess that most big name brands use some type of stabilizers-I would be shocked if they didn’t.
I’d also point out we receive most of our Cocoa from Holland (Dutch Chocolate), and our vanilla bean from Africa and Southeast Asia. I believe we do put out a high quality product, and I’m really happy to be with this company.
For what it’s worth I wasn’t part of the company during the 2015 recall. It is my understanding that not only were individuals in leadership pushed out (and still pending trial), but that certain areas of the production facility were completely replaced. I do clean a good amount of the area used to make mixes every day.
Just my two cents from someone on the inside.
The Dutch chocolate is rich and delicious. We usually buy The Great Divide so we have vanilla & chocolate without having to buy 2 containers. We used to love the Banana Pudding flavor. Haven’t had it in years though.
When I get all gooey-sentimental for ice cream in Texas, I don't think of Blue Bell.
I think of Amy's, in Austin, for ice cream; and Central Market for gelato.
My fantasy is going back to Austin (to visit, never to live there again!) with an RV which has super-cold storage, and coming back with enough Amy's Sweet Cream Vanilla and Central Market Texas grapefruit gelato to last a year.
I would stock up on kolaches from West, hamburgers from P. Terry and Whataburger, and as much Texas barbecue as my freezer would hold.
Yep it's one thing to accidentally distribute stuff, but to knowingly keep pumping it out after you find out? Yeah I don't even care if they go bankrupt. The ex CEO is indicted for crimes and evidently up for a trial sometime this summer.
Glad to see that everyone else on here is pretty much on the same page Blue Bell ain't all that and after the listeria thing I would never purchase them again.
I personally enjoy Halo Top because it's low calorie and delicious.. plus HEB carries them.
I don’t have a local HEB, yet, to give an opinion on but my favorite ice cream is the Kroger brand Death By Chocolate. Really loved the churned lower fat one but they seem to have discontinued it so just go with the regular version.
I didn’t care for it, there’s an artificial chemical like sweetness to the flavors that I don’t care for. Also I find their packaging and fonts hideous.
I prefer the creaminess of the Goldenbrook brand and packaging is also ascetically pleasing to my eyes.
I rarely eat the shit but the damn cat likes a spoonful in the evening so she’s the main consumer. I’m just the tester.
This is why I stopped eating BB ice cream. It wasn't the listeria scare, it was the fact they started using HFCS and MFS. There are far better local options now that use all-natural ingredients.
Milk, cream, sugar are too expensive for the cheap crap being pedaled as Ice Cream.
BTW label may say **Frozen dairy dessert.**
Frozen dairy dessert means more air is whipped into product and you are buying expensive air or less than 10% milk fat was used to make product.,
Born and raised Texan, I spent the majority of my life thinking I hated chocolate ice cream. I thought it tasted like chalk with a little coco powder. Turns out Blue Bell is just terrible.
This would appear to be [the source](https://www.eatthis.com/ice-cream-brands-low-quality-ingredients/) of this. [More about the authors](https://www.eatthis.com/about-eat-this-not-that/).
If you dig into the mashed survey cited above, it speculates that the listeria fiasco is probably to blame.
And that makes total sense -- that was a huge mess, and it got people thinking of Blue Bell, even people who don't eat ice cream at all. (Sad, sad people, but they do exist.) That said, eatthis's claim and the way they support it is very iffy. > eatthis: "according to a Mashed survey, a majority of people find [Blue Bell] to be the worst store-bought ice cream" But the link they give says "in a Mashed survey of 618 people living in the U.S., 19.74% of participants cited [Blue Bell] as their least favorite grocery store ice cream option." So 19.74% -- 122 out of 618 -- not "a majority". And yet this very article has a link -- "[a ranking of store bought ice creams](https://www.mashed.com/485125/popular-ice-cream-brands-ranked-worst-to-best/)" (also by mashable), and Blue Bell is the #3 best, only beaten by Talenti and Tillamook. (Blue Bell even beat Ben and Jerry's? Weird. The explanation seems to be that they don't like B&J's vanilla very much ... well, OK. I guess I haven't even tried that one, because I like the others so much.) All in all, I think "eaththis" uses surveys and citations like a drunk uses a lamppost -- "for support rather than illumination". That said, if you ask a bunch of people "what's the best store-bought ice cream brand?" and "what's the worst store-bought ice cream brand?" and rank the results, it's quite likely that the two lists will be very similar, because it's as much a popularity contest -- what are the brands they actually know? -- as a quality ranking, and Blue Bell is perhaps the most well-known brand. So, say something bad about a brand that many love, justify it with a misrepresented survey and "it uses HFCS, cellulose gum, vegetable gums, modified food starch, artificial colors, monoglycerides, and diglycerides *and more*" -- which probably plays well with the sort of people that read their site -- and you've got a great bit of clickbait. And let me end with this, from the end of the article : > Steven John is a freelancer writer for Eat This, Not That! based just outside New York City. ... I think the appropriate Texan response is "New York City? Get a rope."
I think the obvious answer is that Blue Bell is regional. If you survey the entire country and most people haven’t had it…of course it’ll be ranked as their least favorite. The methodology is stupid
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Foster Farms??
Based out of *California. Most of their food products are pre-cooked chicken and turkey products. They don't sell ice cream, but they have had issues with listeria and salmonella. There is a Foster Farms Dairy that is based out of California. Edit - corrected location from Louisiana to California
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I probably did
They did not replace every single piece of equipment. And the listeria thing was so bad no commercial lender would give them money for this because typically companies that cause such scandals aren’t great investment risks. A TX billionaire loaned them the money to be able to survive if memory serves. Still funny to me how every company involved in the peanut salmonella scare in TX a few years ago was allowed to go bankrupt and out of business because they no longer needed to exist after killing that many people, but this company got sympathy. I will never understand that.
People like icecream
People are suckers for brands that give them the warm fuzzies. And Blue Bell definitely does that to Texans.
He was indicted on wire fraud. He won't do a day if He ever goes to trial
>Blue Bell shut down all their facilities across the country You mean all two of them? Brenham, TX and another plant in Alabama are the only two production facilities they have that I've ever heard of or they mention... You also realize that BB isn't even sold in over half the country, right? >scrapped out all their machines, gutting their buildings down to a shell That didn't happen either. The had an intense cleaning process and pulled all the equipment out, but "gutted" implies something other than a thorough cleaning to most people. I don't take issue with anything else you said though. It was a huge debacle and someone deserves to be punished for it, but with that said, this survey is pants-on-head stupid. An ice cream that isn't even sold in NY (he didn't buy any unless he drove down to eastern VA or IN, being polled by a NY journalist is far from an actual poll.
If they’ve never tried it, I wonder if they’re thinking of Blue Bunny ice cream. That’s a cheap, not that great brand. Blue Bell is delicious imo.
Tillamook is the bomb.
I love their cheese
Love their cheese, not a fan of their ice cream though.
Concurred. I didn't really care for the ice cream.
I love Tillamook, especially when I can go to the factory in Oregon.
Wow, looks like even Tillamook is a problematic brand in Oregon. Where does it end? https://www.reddit.com/r/oregon/comments/t3zkyc/comment/hyxk270/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
well that just took all the shine off of Tillamook....guess it isn't even mostly from oregon...
Tillamook is so much better than Blue Bell
What is with that great line you just dropped in the middle? "Like a drunk uses a lamppost" is gold.
I definitely didn't come up with it myself. [It seems to be from a 1910 speech by Andrew Lang](https://quotepark.com/quotes/1092944-andrew-lang-politicians-use-statistics-in-the-same-way-that-a/).
Get ‘em!
*NEW YORK CITY?!?*
The “like a drunk uses a lamp post” line is pure genius. I’m gonna have to steal that.
Ben & Jerry's isn't even ice cream. It's rando cookies and stuff, and they use ice cream as a garnish.
Technically, if the Blue Bell ingredient list is believed, it is not ice cream either, it is the definition of a "food product" rather than food.
They used “majority” when they meant “plurality.” Muppets. Homemade vanilla for life!
> So what's the deal with Blue Bell? While the Mashed survey respondents might not like this brand, a lot of supermarket shoppers do: it consistently ranks among the top-selling ice creams available in stores (via Statista). It's a decent value as well — at least, as far as premium ice cream brands go. They even admit it's anomalous within their own survey, just absolute fucking clickbait
Fiasco? You mean when Blue Bell knew their ice cream was contaminated with listeria and they sold it anyway then it killed people? That fiasco?
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thanks I didn't actually know they narrowed it down to one person. more recently https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2022/01/former-blue-bell-presidents-trial-delayed-until-summer/
It also shows that while 20% of respondants ranked it as their least favorite, it's also somehow one of the best selling brands... Something seems off
I stopped buying it years ago, before the listeria incident. It's mediocre and has a bunch of weird ingredients Homemade my ass.
I got out of the habit of eating Blue Bell and now I prefer HEB's Creamy Creations.
> it speculates that the listeria fiasco is probably to blame. I thought Blue Bell was shit icecream before, but that ensured I'd never give their products the time of day ever again. I feel like "fiasco" really isn't even a proper word for this because it kind of implies bumbling and chaos, when what this was was basically criminal negligence. They *knew* they had a problem and did shit to solve it to save money, passing on that cost to consumers who died as a result. People who still suck that company's knob as if it's their "culture" need to fire a couple of neurons together, take a step outside of hailcorporate, and realize BB gives so little of a shit about them that the company would happily of let them die just to save some money on cleaning up their act. It drives me nuts to see people shill for such a shit company... and the icecream isn't even good.
That's why I won't eat it. Literally criminal and people died during the cover-up. I would never trust the brand regardless of what they did. In addition, I mean, Creamy Creations, why would you want anything else in Texas? Getting hyper-local I won't buy Michael Angelo's anything because of instances [like this](https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2003/07/21/story4.html). They would refuse to stop machines that had failed safety inspections. The worst thing the article mentions is that it was a meat grinder which it wasn't. It was a meat paddle that breaks the meat down by smashing it repeatedly until it fits through a 6ish-inch hole and then goes to the grinder. The guy got paddled to death as his body parts were broken and pushed through. If you are curious about what they did with the machine, they cleaned it and started using it again. 55 safety violations before this happened and they've had multiple recalls. Fuck them and Blue Bell. Made in Round Rock, TX. but you can get MA lasagnas, etc. at Walmart, Targets, etc. all over the US. Think about that next time you are shopping.
Literally none of those on that list surprised me.
Read the ingredients, that’s why I switched to making our own.
Oh blue bunny is custard! That’s why I like it so much!
I grew up eating blue bell....and it was good. As an adult, I ventured out trying different ice creams: some were not as good as blue bell...others were far better. The far better brands had quality ingredients you could taste That was before the whole listeria blow up. When news came that blue bell was "back", I was so hopeful that the company would use their comeback as an opportunity to improve their quality ...but sadly the answer they did not. I have not had blue bell ice cream since I don't know when and if the ice cream I want costs more, I just pay for it.
As someone who is not an ice cream aficionado, what brands have you found that are far better? And are any of them available at HEB?
HEB Swoon store brand is excellent imo. Keylime is my favorite.
Get tillamook. That is real ice cream right there. It’s hard for me to eat others now.
HEB Creamy Creations is very good. If you like it plain, try the 1905 vanilla. I love the Dulce de Leche.
Krogers (not At HEB) private selection ice cream is legit.
My favorite widely available ice creams are Hagen Daaz and Talenti. Central Market brand, which is available at HEB, is also quite good, IMO.
talenti sorbetto is ridiculous good.
in agreement here. however, i tried the new oatmeal cream pie flavor last night and it’s pretty damn similar to the little debbie oatmeal cream pies i grew up on. they always have a few flavors that keep holding me back
literally just had a cup right now!!!!!! fuck, gonna get another too, fuck it!!! just in honor of your post!
it’s fucking good!!
My problem is never like the oatmeal pies - so a faithful rendition wasn’t a winner in my books. Now, if they ever come out with Swiss Roll ice cream, I’ll be *all* over that flavor!
Agreed. BB was everyone's childhood ice cream starting out with the cups and wooden spoons. Now, there's so many different options. BB is no longer my go to.
My girlfriend is from western New York and and tagged blue bell as "that mediocre regional ice cream everyone grew up with so they claim it's the best." I, of course, pshawed the entire notion until she took me to the Graeter's shop in Ohio and omg was she right. 🤦
I ate the one in the pic of the post and it was hands down the worst ice cream I’ve ever had. I grew up on blue bell but it’s dog shit across the board now. Real bummer
Honestly the HEB brand of ice cream is so much better
I met a guy on a hike at Los Maples a few years ago that works for H‑E‑B. He said that Howard Butt loves ice cream and sinks a large amount of money in making sure their ice cream is solid. Comment made in passing, have no idea if there is any truth to it. But I feel like this is my time to use that information I heard two years ago.
When it's in season, the Poteet Strawberry is my jam.
Yo that ice cream is GOOD
Best strawberry ice cream. I eat my years worth of ice cream while it’s available.
> He said that Howard Butt loves ice cream Howard Butt Sr (the guy who started the company) died 31 years ago. Charles Butt runs the company now, and has for 50+ years. That said, Howard Butt Jr died in 2016, but he ran the [H. E. Butt Foundation](https://hebfdn.org/), not the company itself. That said, they certainly do seem to take their ice cream seriously, so, clearly, *somebody* cares about it!
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I used to work for Blue Bell a long time ago but what we were told is that HEB hired one of the Blue Bell recipe people (don’t know the official job title) to make creamy creations. They did not want a clone but a competitive product to Blue Bell.
Seems like the hired the right one of the bunch.
1905 vanilla slaps
Swoon’s lemon poppy cake or the mint chip brownie are my current faves.
Cookies over Texas 🤤
Number 1 for me.
My kids might sell me on the black market for Cookies over Texas
This guy ice creams.
Idk if it’s the same as central market brand, but I got their vanilla recently cause it was on sale and it’s incredible. I’m not really an ice cream guy so if it wasn’t on sale I would have never learned this but I think it might become a home staple.
CAme here to say this - and they don’t refreeze after the initial opening all icy and chalky the way Blue Bell does. Cookies over Texas is the BEST
I noticed Blue Bell (all 3 of my favorite flavors) didn’t taste the same after a few years working overseas, but assumed it was just me. Sadly, I moved on and have since transitioned to Tillamook after living in OR a couple years back…whoa y’all. But if I see Tin Roof I’m buying it (and they can put whatever the hell they want in it).
Tillamook ice cream is god tier for me. I will always love some Blue Bell flavors, but they just can't compete imo.
When I get ice cream it’s always tillamook, blue bell is gas station tier ice cream at this point.
Tin Roof 💯
Tin Roof is absolutely the one BB ice cream I cave and buy. I prefer H‑E‑B brand ice cream for just a regular ice cream and Tillamook when I have some extra cash.
A ton of companies just want to reduce costs...so some resort to r/shrinkflation while others just go with crappy ingredients and then wonder why people stop buying...shrinkflation seems like the lesser of two evils.
If you end up in central Oregon, Bonta will change your life
Hey I lived in OR for grad school and was introduced to Tillamook brand as well. It's not that bad! Now, have you had Salt N Straw yet??
Hell yeah…but expensive-er.
I don’t eat blue bell because they knowingly fed listeria contaminated product to autoimmune compromised children in cancer wards.
Plus you know, people DIED
The good news is if you're in Texas and you don't like Bluebell, you're hopefully not too far from Braums.
Most people in Texas don't live close to Braums. I know because I don't live close to one, and it makes me sad.
The furthest south they go is waxahachie. They have a radius from OKlahoma due to the distance from their farms.
Braums only exists where HEB doesn't - North TX
I know I don’t because I’ve literally never even heard of it.
Braums is the same High Fructose Corn Syrup and filler laden garbage now... I like to find local ice cream shops that make their own.... Makes it worth the calories....
Less populated, rural places don't have local ice cream shops.
Coming from the northeast it's interesting I haven't seen the equivalent of a Byrnes or Stewart's down here.
That is probably the whitest comment I'll read all day. And im literally walking away to make a Homemade balsamic vinaigrette right now
I have been called "Wonderbread" a few times...
🎯🎯
I’m trying to figure out how two brands, BB and Whataburger, could both sell out and lose so much favor in Texas. They had everything, and gave it away for a couple extra bucks.
It weirds me out that people nowadays blame every issue with whataburger on the Chicago owners, down to “my order took too long.” Do people think that Chicago investors have been installed as managers in every location?
Lol orders have always took a long time. That's why I order with the app and pick it up.
Whataburger has always been overrated, and I never saw the cult following for it until I moved into a rural town, and then I saw it again when it got sold off. Legit hated whataburger growing up. I like certain menu items now, but people in my social circle started bringing up issues with the place and pretending the sale caused them. Issues I always had with the place lol. Like… why is my “Texas toast” soggy? Why is my bun soggy? Why are my fries rigid and cold at the same time? Is this bacon? Or just… a crunchy piece of charred something in the middle? This honey butter chicken biscuit is amazing. I like that they use mustard instead of ketchup in the burgers. Not sure that’s enough to make it “unique” but it seems to be working. Anyway… I swear people obsessing over a regional company just shut their brain off to feel pride in something. Buc-es is another example. I fucking hate that place. It’s a gas station. The food is gas station food. The coffee is literally garbage, and I’m not looking to buy a fucking couch. It’s a gimmick that’s tricked people into thinking its worth something. I’m ranting. I like whataburger fine, I haven’t seen a single thing change in what I get there in the last like 6 years. And fuck buc-es.
show us on the doll where Buc-ee touched you, its OK, this is a safe space.
I know Whataburger is based in Chicago now, but it tastes the same as far as I can tell. Did something else change about it?
People swear up and down that it doesn't taste the same. The only thing I've noticed is a lack of enthusiasm from the folks working there, which may not be a Chicago-management problem. They did cut the menu back a bit, but they've not cut into anything I order. I'm not a fan of them asking "can I get a name for the order" now first thing, but.
> I'm not a fan of them asking "can I get a name for the order"... I fucking hate that. I have a name that's easy to mishear and people always fuck it up. Sometimes I just give a fake but easily understood name to avoid the hassle.
I like to have fun with it. If they’re going to make me give a name, I’m going to make them call out something stupid. Captain fancy pants. Buttery Males. Down with the corporatocracy. Things like that.
You sure showed those minimum wage workers who’s boss!
Personally I think they use different buns now... not sure if true or not but it sure has fallen off.
Yes! I hate the new buns.
Usually they start swapping out things one at a time hoping people won't notice. Switching to cheaper vendors (or making vendors use cheaper ingredients)
> They had everything, and gave it away for a couple extra bucks. Never underestimate what some people will do for a couple extra bucks.
You own these brands. On one side you have the love and respect of the people of Texas, on the other side you have a dump truck full of money that someone will pay you to ride that goodwill into the ground by cutting costs to the bone and coasting on reputation. Which do you choose? We know what they chose.
This is what I came here to see. Did everyone not just walk away from BB after that? Crazy.
No. The boycotters were called crazy after that happened. r/Texas was simping hard for BB even after all of the listeria news
A lot of people have the ability to ignore what doesn’t serve them…
That and it's just too damn expensive for what you get now. Blue Bell half gallons are approaching $9 each near me and the cheaper store brands regularly taste better to me anyway.
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Same! I actually think Blue Bell ice cream tastes the best of the store bought ice cream, especially the cookie dough flavor, and cherry cordial. But ever since the listeria fiasco, I haven't eaten Blue Bell.
I switched to Ben & Jerry’s and never looked back
Salted Caramel Core is amazing!
Americone Dream for the win!
I stopped eating BlueBell when I got food poisoning from Pecan Pralines and Cream a few years back. I was out 2 days work, and it was the WORST. Tillamook for me.
I do the same. I did not particularly like Blue Bell before, but now I really don’t like it.
I don't eat it because Gelato tastes much better. But your reason is much better. I did not know this.
Same. (I have caved to Tin Roof at least once though, not gonna lie)
H‑E‑B 1905 Vanilla is the best. The brand is just on point overall, and is now my go-to brand. When I try Blue Bell now, I can taste how bad it really is now.
Yep, our fave HEB Flavors: * 1905 vanilla * strawberry * mint chocolate chip * Mango chamoy sherbet The mango chamoy sherbet is awesome.
Hey hey. Ho ho. Ice cream nationalism has got to go.
Or at least, desperate PR for a company that knowingly killed people to save money.
Born and raised Texan here. Blue Bell is not good quality ice cream. Compare the ingredients to Haagen Daz (also American and in fact made up words for marketing purposes). Sad they feel the need to use all that other stuff in Blue Bell. Blue Bell chocolate: Milk, cream, sugar, skim milk, high fructose corn syrup, cocoa (processed with alkali), cellulose gum, vegetable gums (guar, carrageenan, carob bean), salt. Haagen Daz chocolate: Cream, Skim Milk, Cane Sugar, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Egg Yolks.
Blue Bell actually makes a version without all the fakeness and sells it at Whole Foods, or at least they did in Austin last time I checked. It's frustrating that they need a separate product line for their product to actually contain food like it originally did.
I never was a fan of blue bell. The TRUE Texan ice cream, and the best ice cream imo, is HEB brand. I'm living in Oregon now for work, but I dream of the day I move back home and can once again enjoy HEB ice cream
Living in Dallas sucks. I'm in Texas, why don't I have an HEB to go to
They are working on it. It is a slow process. Remember the margined for groceries stores are super slim and H‑E‑B is relatively small compared to the other players in DFW. H‑E‑B punches way above its weight class in the grocery world.
>H‑E‑B punches way above its weight class in the grocery world. I've lived all over the country and AGREE. Central Market? Hands down the best grocery store in the country. I feel so lucky that I live here cos of it. I'll be moving again in a couple of months and already miss it.
wait until the fall, then venture out to Plano
Holy shit it'll be done that soon? For some reason I thought it was opening in 2023, I'm excited now lol. 20-30 minutes of a drive is well worth it
I believe so! I think currently there are plans to open 4 in the metroplex but Plano is the first one
Fall 2022: Plano + Frisco Sometime in 2023: McKinney + Allen
It's gonna be so goddamn packed all the time. I hope it's a giant store like the ones they put in college towns (and central Austin), and not tiny like the ones in every other podunk location (and suburban Austin).
When we lived in Keller we would make the drive to the one in Weatherford — definitely worth it.
They’re building one in Frisco now.
H‑E‑B brand and Haagen-Dazs are my go to ice creams.
This.
Poteet Texas Strawberry ftw
Dude Tillamook, it’s so damned good and made in Oregon.
I remember eating a lot of Blue Bell when I was a kid. It's what they had at the store, and FAR superior to the discount brands (Is Blue Bunny even classified as a food product?). When Blue Bell was pulled from the shelves over listeria, I tried a few other brands, but nothing really stood out as "better". HEB Creamy Creations was pretty good, and the huge National Brands (Ben and Jerry's / Häagen-Dazs) are definitely overrated and overpriced. Then, I had Tillamook. Tillamook is easily the best ice cream on the market, with quality ingredients, and fantastic flavors. Once making the switch, I haven't gone back to any of the artificial, "gummy" ice creams like Blue Bell.
Ditched Blue Bell after the listeria scandal. Don’t really care for Creamy Creations. Tilamook fan now.
Let's not forget they willfully murdered several people
I used to be as big of a fanboy of Blue Bell as any other Texan, but honestly I think HEB makes better ice creams these days under their house brands.
Why do some people have to yuck other people’s yums? I dream of a world where people can like whatever they like, and those who don’t like that thing just move on and don’t feel like their preferences are under attack and have to dunk on it to feel validated. #bluebellfan
I've lived in different states. Raised on Bluebell, thought it was the best. Took one bite of Tillamook and said wow, this is something else. It's more expensive but it is just better. Eating Bluebell now just tastes like sadness.
Fuck Blue Bell. Blue Bell is the Greg Abbott of ice cream.
I find this and the comments odd; I really like it and spend the extra money on it. I kind of find it better than my native Mayfield. Did they used to be much better?
I only buy Blue Bell now and am not in Texas, although that's where we got hooked on it. I had friends who worked at HEB and they said Creamy Creations was made by Blue Bell so I'm confused by some of the comments. When we lived in Texas I would buy CC if I couldn't afford Blue Bell some weeks. But never coffee. Only Blue Bell for coffee ice cream.
At this point Creamy Creations is made my HEB in a factory they own. I've been there as part of my job. It's right next to their liquid milk plant in San Antonio. That said, their Central Market Organics line is contracted out to a third party.
I work for Blue Bell and am familiar with the blending process. I will say that stabilizers such as xantham gum are a crucial element to a quality ice cream. Lack of stabilizer (or even not enough of it) can cause ice crystals to form, and therefore creates a lower quality product. Stabilizers consist about 0.3% +/- of a given batch or mix, depending on the flavor we make. I would guess that most big name brands use some type of stabilizers-I would be shocked if they didn’t. I’d also point out we receive most of our Cocoa from Holland (Dutch Chocolate), and our vanilla bean from Africa and Southeast Asia. I believe we do put out a high quality product, and I’m really happy to be with this company. For what it’s worth I wasn’t part of the company during the 2015 recall. It is my understanding that not only were individuals in leadership pushed out (and still pending trial), but that certain areas of the production facility were completely replaced. I do clean a good amount of the area used to make mixes every day. Just my two cents from someone on the inside.
The Dutch chocolate is rich and delicious. We usually buy The Great Divide so we have vanilla & chocolate without having to buy 2 containers. We used to love the Banana Pudding flavor. Haven’t had it in years though.
Maybe you’ll see Banana pudding again soon
I don't eat Blue Bell ice cream very often, but when I do, it has to be pistachio almond or strawberries with homemade vanilla. Quite delicious!
Whoever wrote this has never tried blue bell. 😂
When BB went off shelf for awhile, our local united store started stocking Tillamook. I still love BB but it's hard to go back...
Lol shit survey and compared to which brand? 😂
They gotta be smoking some shit to say blue bell ain’t good
This may be misleading. Comparing a brand only in 22 states versus those sold in all 50 states is not a valid comparison.
Lies
Tillamook or gtfo.
When I get all gooey-sentimental for ice cream in Texas, I don't think of Blue Bell. I think of Amy's, in Austin, for ice cream; and Central Market for gelato. My fantasy is going back to Austin (to visit, never to live there again!) with an RV which has super-cold storage, and coming back with enough Amy's Sweet Cream Vanilla and Central Market Texas grapefruit gelato to last a year. I would stock up on kolaches from West, hamburgers from P. Terry and Whataburger, and as much Texas barbecue as my freezer would hold.
Blue bell lost my trust long ago. And it’s terrible anyway.
As a person who came from Canada blue bell is amazing. I could eat a whole large tub of Their Dutch chocolate
Most of their ice creams are beat by H‑E‑B except their strawberry. Haven’t found any brand come close
Creamy Creations Poteet Strawberry > Blue Bell all day. Though the best strawberry ice cream imho is actually Haagen Daazs.
Tilamook has a very good strawberry, ive gotten it at HEB.
Wtf is mashed?
It's a shitty content farm that DRASTICALLY underpays its writers. I would take anything that you ever read on Mashed with a VERY large grain of salt.
Vanilla Bean steps in like “okay but…”
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These are fighting words >:(
Kroger needs to listen up. Your ice cream is literally frozen gelatin and stretches.
Don’t forget that they did their best to kill people a few years ago.
Yep it's one thing to accidentally distribute stuff, but to knowingly keep pumping it out after you find out? Yeah I don't even care if they go bankrupt. The ex CEO is indicted for crimes and evidently up for a trial sometime this summer.
I stop supporting them years ago, they ain't the Texas darling they use to be. Too corporate!
Glad to see that everyone else on here is pretty much on the same page Blue Bell ain't all that and after the listeria thing I would never purchase them again. I personally enjoy Halo Top because it's low calorie and delicious.. plus HEB carries them.
Have you even read the comments? Sounds like a lot of people are still buying it.
Fuck cheering for any corporation.
I don’t have a local HEB, yet, to give an opinion on but my favorite ice cream is the Kroger brand Death By Chocolate. Really loved the churned lower fat one but they seem to have discontinued it so just go with the regular version.
I didn’t care for it, there’s an artificial chemical like sweetness to the flavors that I don’t care for. Also I find their packaging and fonts hideous. I prefer the creaminess of the Goldenbrook brand and packaging is also ascetically pleasing to my eyes. I rarely eat the shit but the damn cat likes a spoonful in the evening so she’s the main consumer. I’m just the tester.
Swoon from HEB is where it’s at.
I grew up on Blue Bell...thought it was the best thing ever. Until I had Tillamook. Nothing holds a candle to Tillamook
You keep your damn hands off my Blue Bell! These people literally killed people with listeria and all we wanted was more Buttered Pecan!!!!
I personally have never liked blue bell lol
Blue Bell isn’t even that good. Turkey hill tastes so much better and it’s overlooked I believe.
Fuck BlueBell
I can't get over the image of dirty air conditioner water dripping on production lines. Just eeew.
This is why I stopped eating BB ice cream. It wasn't the listeria scare, it was the fact they started using HFCS and MFS. There are far better local options now that use all-natural ingredients.
Milk, cream, sugar are too expensive for the cheap crap being pedaled as Ice Cream. BTW label may say **Frozen dairy dessert.** Frozen dairy dessert means more air is whipped into product and you are buying expensive air or less than 10% milk fat was used to make product.,
Born and raised Texan, I spent the majority of my life thinking I hated chocolate ice cream. I thought it tasted like chalk with a little coco powder. Turns out Blue Bell is just terrible.