# Besides Butter Pecan: What are the 'American' flavors? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635 "2010-05-24T23:24:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/41 "2010-05-25T15:48:38Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Neapolitan is strawberry, vanilla and chocolate … That’s the most common kind of Neapolitan icecream, but it’s sometimes made with pistachio substituted for the vanilla, giving a more interesting mix of flavours. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/42 "2010-05-25T15:55:21Z")
Salmon - according to Jimmie Walker, looks just like strawberry. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/43 "2010-05-25T16:06:52Z")
For me, having grown up for a few years in the 1970s in the US, the flavors that are quintessentially American are those things that are facsimiles of actual tastes. “Grape” flavor “Cherry” flavor “Cinnamon” flavor The “chocolate” flavor in a Tootsie Roll Whatever Hot Tamales are meant to taste like All the above take me back to my childhood in Texas - as well as peanut butter and jelly (with sweet PB, and the fake grape taste of the jelly). ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/44 "2010-05-25T16:07:19Z")
[Apple Pie](http://www.dreyers.com/brand/grand/flavor.asp?b=134&f=2110&le=1), of course. And let’s not forget [Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert%27s_AmeriCone_Dream). ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/45 "2010-05-25T16:29:58Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > For me, having grown up for a few years in the 1970s in the US, the flavors that are quintessentially American are those things that are facsimiles of actual tastes. > > “Grape” flavor > “Cherry” flavor > “Cinnamon” flavor > The “chocolate” flavor in a Tootsie Roll > Whatever Hot Tamales are meant to taste like > > All the above take me back to my childhood in Texas - as well as peanut butter and jelly (with sweet PB, and the fake grape taste of the jelly). Lisa: Do you have anything with fruit in it? Homer: This one has purple. Purple is a fruit! ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/46 "2010-05-25T16:35:29Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Riffing on **devilsknew** ’s mention of chocolate and peanut butter, I was told by a British friend years ago that our fondness for chocolate and peanut butter in general is definitely American. I’d sent her a bag of Reese’s cups in a big care package of American goodies, and they were quite unpopular. I take this as proof of American Exceptionalism. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/47 "2010-05-25T16:58:04Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > That’s the most common kind of Neapolitan icecream, but it’s sometimes made with pistachio substituted for the vanilla, giving a more interesting mix of flavours. Interesting to know. I’ve never come across that in the UK, though, so I doubt it’s what **njtt** was thinking of (pistachio’s not a very common flavour for ice cream here even now). > [@amanset](#): > > Arguably similar to the British Dandelion and Burdock. It could be: the big difference is the wintergreen component, I think – which is definitely an American taste not much found elsewhere. > [@jjimm](#): > > For me, having grown up for a few years in the 1970s in the US, the flavors that are quintessentially American are those things that are facsimiles of actual tastes. > > “Grape” flavor > “Cherry” flavor > “Cinnamon” flavor > The “chocolate” flavor in a Tootsie Roll > Whatever Hot Tamales are meant to taste like. Would you add “Watermelon” flavour to that, do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/48 "2010-05-25T17:05:01Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > Cinnamon in the US is also different. It is actually _cassia_, as opposed to the true cinnamon used in England, Mexico, and much of the rest of the world. Well the “cinnamon” flavor used in toothpaste and candy isn’t really cinnamon, if that’s what you mean. 🙂 But we get plenty of real cinnamon, and use it in such delightful things as cinnamon rolls, cinnamon toast and apple pie. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/49 "2010-05-25T17:47:39Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Actually I’m American, but I don’t really eat much ice cream (due to taste aversion to milk)–I’ll eat it but very rarely. So I sort of know all these flavors by name but not by taste. And I just realized I have no idea what most of them are. I googled butter pecan and I sort of can tell what it is but I think one day I’ll have to go on an ice cream tour of America. I believe they make soy ice cream. You’d miss out on a lot of the more exotic flavors, but butter pecan and rocky road shouldn’t be too hard to find. I’d actually try to tell you where to find ice cream that didn’t taste like milk, but honestly, I’ve never thought it did. Even when I was a kid and hated milk, I loved ice cream. You must have a very sensitive tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/50 "2010-05-25T17:48:12Z")
What the hell is Superman ice cream? I was born in Colorado, grew up in Wisconsin, and have lived in Minnesota for the last 9 years and I’ve never heard of this. Huh. I [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_ice_cream)’d it, and I’ve still no idea. It’s clearly not rainbow sherbet, though that might be it’s non-custard analogue. Weird - I’ve never seen this. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/51 "2010-05-25T18:59:32Z")
At the Gilroy, California Garlic Festival a few years ago I had some garlic flavored ice cream. I don’t imagine they have that anywhere else in the world. They aren’t missing anything. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/52 "2010-05-25T19:16:04Z")
I know Blue Moon is a U.S.A. ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/53 "2010-05-25T19:19:09Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Not American per se, but of American origin: Grape Nut Ice Cream. This is actually quite popular here in Panama - I think it originated somehow in the old Canal Zone. It has bits of Grape Nuts cereal in it. I think the Grape Nut ice cream is something the cereal company promoted people use as a topping to sell cereal. Twinkle coat is an American ice cream topping that is almost impossible to get, but everybody ate from Dairy Queen decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/54 "2010-05-25T19:48:43Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Twinkle coat is an American ice cream topping that is almost impossible to get, but everybody ate from Dairy Queen decades ago. Thanks for the flashback…we called that “crunches”. And it was only a couple of decades ago. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/55 "2010-05-25T20:13:48Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Nah, cantaloupe ice cream isn’t American, it’s Californian. Blue Bell out of Texas used to sell it, but as I understand - will not be offered as a flavor this year ([current flavor list](http://www.bluebell.com/what_were_crankin_out/our_ice_cream.html)). ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/56 "2010-05-25T20:15:00Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > [Apple Pie](http://www.dreyers.com/brand/grand/flavor.asp?b=134&f=2110&le=1), of course. > And let’s not forget [Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Colbert%27s_AmeriCone_Dream). I checked your recipe to see and yes … it’s got cinnamon in it - definitely an American taste - apple pie with cinnamon, totally different taste to the English (or Irish since it would have been my mum making it) version without it. It’s as American as apple pie with cinnamon. I know the French don’t do it because we ended up making apple pie _sans cinnamon_ for a French friend over there - he was totally exasperated with the spice aspect of said pie. 😃 Englishers - do you put cinammon in your apple pie? We never did. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/57 "2010-05-25T20:24:38Z")
I know they tried to launch Jolly Ranchers in the UK during my early teens- they didn’t go down well- I think because the fruit flavours were so chemical and fake tasting. Root Beer Sassafras Pumpkin made into sweet things Wintergreen I think Haagen-Dazs market butter pecan flavour as “Pralines and Cream” in the UK- it is one of my favourites, and has a picture of a pecan and a piece of toffee on the tub. I’ve had peach icecream (with bits of real peach flesh and skin in it) in Florence, so i don’t think that flavour of ice-cream is american! ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/58 "2010-05-25T20:35:54Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > I think Haagen-Dazs market butter pecan flavour as “Pralines and Cream” in the UK- it is one of my favourites, and has a picture of a pecan and a piece of toffee on the tub. Close. Pralines are a type of candy made from sugar, butter, cream and pecans - the sugar is carmelized and covers the nuts. Butter pecan ice cream usually doesn’t have carmelized sugar in it. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/59 "2010-05-25T22:54:35Z")
> [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](#): > > Englishers - do you put cinammon in your apple pie? We never did. _I_ certainly do. Cloves as well, sometimes. Or I might use allspice – it depends how I feel. Spice is the variety of life, you know. “Englishers,” though? What kind of talk is that? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635/60 "2010-05-25T23:47:21Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I know Blue Moon is a U.S.A. ice cream. Mmmmm, blue moon! I’m not even sure exactly what it’s supposed to be, other than blue moon. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-butter-pecan-what-are-the-american-flavors/540635.md?page=4)