# Wal-Mart Ice Cream doesn't melt, apparently **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059 "2014-07-25T21:35:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/21 "2014-07-26T16:06:40Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > 2.) The original outrage was not over there being adulterants in the ice cream, but that IT DIDN’T MELT. IT DID MELT. The fluids in it were at room temperature and fully fluid, if that’s their state at room temperature. The gums and trapped air just helped it maintain its shape as long as nobody handled it. Had she tried to pick it up it would have collapsed into a foamy ooze. Klondike Bars also have that quality, which is why I eat them with a spoon. Ice cream sandwiches and other novelties are not intended for gourmets. They are for little kids. Gross, filthy, sticky little kids, and if a product can appease the little bastards while reducing how much more disgusting they will get I’m all for it. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/22 "2014-07-26T16:12:40Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Ice cream sandwiches and other novelties are not intended for gourmets. They are for little kids. Gross, filthy, sticky little kids, and if a product can appease the little bastards while reducing how much more disgusting they will get I’m all for it. I am STILL a sticky little kid when it comes to ice cream sammiches - haven’t yet found a brand I didn’t like, and that includes Walmart brand. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/23 "2014-07-26T16:18:19Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > IT DID MELT. The fluids in it were at room temperature and fully fluid, if that’s their state at room temperature. The gums and trapped air just helped it maintain its shape as long as nobody handled it. Had she tried to pick it up it would have collapsed into a foamy ooze. Klondike Bars also have that quality, which is why I eat them with a spoon. > > Ice cream sandwiches and other novelties are not intended for gourmets. They are for little kids. Gross, filthy, sticky little kids, and if a product can appease the little bastards while reducing how much more disgusting they will get I’m all for it. NOT COMPLETELY. When Ice Cream melts, it should leave a puddle of liquid. The complaint is that this left an ice cream sandwich-shaped semisolid construction. In this universe, ice cream sandwiches shouldn’t do that, unless they’re those freeze-dried “astronaut” ice cream sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/24 "2014-07-26T16:39:23Z")
Pfft. A few years ago, this was [a feature, not a problem.](http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/107375/cold-stone-creamery-intros-non-melting-ice-cream.html) Personally, I don’t have an issue with it and am surprised by the hubbub. If I want real ice cream, I buy real ice cream. If I want a frozen treat, then I just look at the cheap shit. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/25 "2014-07-26T17:47:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > NOT COMPLETELY. When Ice Cream melts, it should leave a puddle of liquid. Well, aren’t YOU putting on airs and graces! You think you’re better than us, don’t you? I’ll have you laughed out of WalMart, I will. The nerve of some people, coming in here all lah-dee-dah. And prithee\*, who makes an ice cream sandwich that meets your standards for purity? - - “Prithee” is my word for the week. Next week it will be “riddle,” as in “riddle me this.” ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/26 "2014-07-26T18:57:53Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > And in defence of gums, they are soluble fiber and good for you, making a box of WalMart ice “creme” sandwiches good for you. > [@dropzone](#): > > IT DID MELT. The fluids in it were at room temperature and fully fluid, if that’s their state at room temperature. This. Both **dropzone** and… um… **dropzone** are right on the money. There is nothing wrong or bad about gums. They are no worse than corn starch or flour, and they work in a number of circumstances where traditional thickeners or stiffeners would not. I am a semi-regular user of Xanthan and Guar gums. They are amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/27 "2014-07-26T20:25:33Z")
Moving from MPSIMS to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/28 "2014-07-26T20:35:28Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Well, aren’t YOU putting on airs and graces! You think you’re better than us, don’t you? I’ll have you laughed out of WalMart, I will. The nerve of some people, coming in here all lah-dee-dah. The way they act, you’d think butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/29 "2014-07-26T20:37:15Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > This. Both **dropzone** and… um… **dropzone** are right on the money. There is nothing wrong or bad about gums. They are no worse than corn starch or flour, and they work in a number of circumstances where traditional thickeners or stiffeners would not. I am a semi-regular user of Xanthan and Guar gums. They are amazing. Yep. I use Xanthan gum as well fairly regularly. And – god forbid – that poison known as “MSG.” I don’t even have the “Accent” bottle. I have the cheap 99 cent bottle of MSG that says “MSG” in big letters right in front. But that’s straying from the topic at hand. I do like using gums as thickeners. But, I admit, there are some things I don’t like gums in, and I could understand the folk who don’t want it in their ice cream. It does change the texture a bit. For example, I always look for cream and sour cream that is simply made from cream, with no gums or carageenan or any of that stuff. It’s actually surprisingly difficult to find. And price is no guide. Sometimes the cheaper stuff is the one without any additives. (Here, I know Daisy brand sour cream is the one that is just cream, but I can’t remember which of the sweet cream brands are.) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/30 "2014-07-26T20:45:22Z")
Plus 1. Moms don’t want their kid’s melted ice cream bars ruining their car seats and furniture. Additives keep it semi solid and easier to clean up when a six year old walks away leaving it to melt on the family’s nice furniture. The target market for cheap ice cream bars are kids. Kids are slobs that don’t realize mom wants nice furniture and carpet thats not stained and sticky. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Pfft. A few years ago, this was [a feature, not a problem.](http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/107375/cold-stone-creamery-intros-non-melting-ice-cream.html) Personally, I don’t have an issue with it and am surprised by the hubbub. If I want real ice cream, I buy real ice cream. If I want a frozen treat, then I just look at the cheap shit. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/31 "2014-07-26T20:55:01Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > [Walmart's Ice Cream Sandwiches Don't Melt In The Sun | HuffPost Life](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/25/walmart-ice-cream-sandwiches_n_5621240.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592) > > Wal-Mart responded that their ice cream contains a lot of cream, and therefore melta at a slower rate. > Yeah > > See – THIS is why I miss the old Breyer’s Ice Cream. I refuse to buy it since the new management started adding gums. > I didn’t realize that Haagen Dazs still doesn’t. I’ll have to try some again. Pepper Mill claims that Turkey Hill doesn’t, either. She wasn’t surprised about the Wal-Mart stuff though. > > “Sea weed doesn’t melt” she said. I won’t buy Breyer’s either. They abandoned what made their product wonderful. I buy Hagen-Daaz since they have kept true to simple, pure ingredients. To me, it just simply tastes better. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/32 "2014-07-26T21:03:35Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > This. Both **dropzone** and… um… **dropzone** are right on the money. There is nothing wrong or bad about gums. They are no worse than corn starch or flour, and they work in a number of circumstances where traditional thickeners or stiffeners would not. I am a semi-regular user of Xanthan and Guar gums. They are amazing. Yeah, but THere’s a Place for Everything, and Everything in its PLace. IMHO, gums don’t belong in proper ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/33 "2014-07-26T21:45:30Z")
“But this is _not_ proper ice cream,” he said in false exasperation. “It’s shit for kids. The don’t deserve better. They’re just kids.” Jewel had a new brand the other night and I bought whatever tiny amount they are pretending is a half gallon these days. I didn’t try it, being that it was for my kids. I wonder if there’s any left. The real crime is the shrinking half gallon. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/34 "2014-07-26T21:51:00Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > There is nothing wrong or bad about gums. They are no worse than corn starch or flour, and they work in a number of circumstances where traditional thickeners or stiffeners would not. It is not that there’s anything wrong with carageenan or xanthan or what - you’re perfectly correct that they’re natural substances, benign if not wholesome. It is _why_ they are used that raises questions. A recipe change from quality ice cream that does not use gums to one that does means something else was changed, and they’re trying to cover it up with a mouthfeel additive. It’s not a matter of just adding something; it’s a matter of changing the product so that it is not the same but brashly claims it is. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/35 "2014-07-26T21:57:57Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > They are for little kids. Gross, filthy, sticky little kids To the best of my knowledge, there’s no other kind. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/36 "2014-07-26T22:06:32Z")
I do not know what to call the substance such a confection is made of. It might be a perfectly good food, both in gustatory experience and in nutritive value. It might, conceivably, even be better than ice cream. But if it doesn’t melt, then it isn’t ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/37 "2014-07-26T22:44:53Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It is not that there’s anything wrong with carageenan or xanthan or what - you’re perfectly correct that they’re natural substances, benign if not wholesome. That was mainly aimed at the “‘What am I feeding to my children?’ she asked, appalled.” quote and similar sentiments. > [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > It is _why_ they are used that raises questions. A recipe change from quality ice cream that does not use gums to one that does means something else was changed, and they’re trying to cover it up with a mouthfeel additive. It’s not a matter of just adding something; it’s a matter of changing the product so that it is not the same but brashly claims it is. That is understandable. In this specific case, however, it certainly can be argued that the use of Guar gum is justified and makes a better product. It allows the ice cream sandwich to maintain its integrity over a longer period of time. It is less likely to end up as a gloppy mess on a hot summer day. ---
**Author:** ![slowlearner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@slowlearner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slowlearner)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/38 "2014-07-27T00:21:07Z")
I don’t eat sugar so I don’t know about ice cream, but us salty old irrigators stuff white bread into main lines to dry them while we work, I’ve noticed lately that an opened loaf of white bread stays mold free and soft for _weeks_ now, and this frightens me. What are you people eating? Real bread gets hard and crusty and moldy in 3-4 days, and the best part of an ice cream sandwich was always the race to eat the dern thing before it melted out the sides on a hot summer day… ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/39 "2014-07-27T00:46:02Z")
Just for science, I got a Drumstick brand Sundae Cone from the local Sheetz. I kept it wrapped until I got home, at which time I opened it and ate it. (The things I do for science. :D) The ice cream had started to melt, but it held its shape fairly well. It didn’t drip a lot, and when it did, it dripped in a glob. I tore the ingredients list in half when I opened the thing, but I found them on the Internet: > [@Nestle Drumsticks website](#): > > WHEY, SKIM MILK, CREAM, SUGAR, CONE (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, SOYBEAN OIL, VEGETABLE SHORTENING [PALM OIL, SOYBEAN OIL], SOY LECITHIN, SALT), CORN SYRUP, CONE COATING (COCONUT OIL, SUGAR, COCOA POWDER, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, SOY LECITHIN, HYDROGENATED PALM OIL, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR), CHOCOLATEY TOPPING (COCONUT OIL, PALM OIL, SUGAR, COCOA, REDUCED MINERALS WHEY, MILK, CHOCOLATE, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVOR), CHOCOLATE MORESELS (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT), TAPIOCA MALTODEXTRIN, COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, PROPYLENE GLYCOL MONOSTEARATE, SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK (MILK, SUGAR), GUAR GUM, HYDROGENATED COCONUT OIL, MONOGLYCERIDES, CAROB BEAN GUM, CARRAGEENAN, SODIUM CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE, COCOA BUTTER, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, ANNATTO COLOR, SOY LECITHIN, XANTHAN GUM, SALT. (Sorry about the caps, but c’mon. It’s for science!) Basically, it’s low-rent dairy products held together with gums and oils, kinda like an old car might be held together with duct tape and Bondo. It’s not going to kill you (unless you eat whole boxes at once), but it’s not the healthiest thing you can eat. The panic seems to come from the Food Babe fans who don’t get that just about anything out there has an unpronounceable name. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to get a sugar-induced buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059/40 "2014-07-28T00:15:31Z")
I bet they don’t have to ship them in reefers\*. \*refrigerated trucks for those of you not up on you '70s CB lingo. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wal-mart-ice-cream-doesnt-melt-apparently/694059.md?page=3)