The Midwest Ice Cream Brand Fans Swear Is The Greatest Of All Time

Most Americans can agree that ice cream is wonderful, but when it comes to the specifics, the solidarity starts to melt down, replaced by fiery opinions over brands and flavors. Regional ice cream brand loyalty is particularly fierce – Ben & Jerry's is New England royalty, Tillamook reigns supreme in the Pacific Northwest, and Southerners swear by Blue Bell. For many Midwesterners, however, there's no competition for the best ice cream brand of all time: it's Graeter's.

This Cincinnati-based creamery is beloved for its ultra-indulgent, extra-creamy French pot ice cream. Graeter's popularity is particularly concentrated in the Midwest, especially its home state of Ohio (the brand has even released a controversial Skyline Chili-flavored ice cream, and it's hard to get more Ohio than that). However, it's not just Midwesterners who think Graeter's is the greatest. Oprah Winfrey has called it "the best ice cream I ever tasted" (via New York Post), and many internet reviewers agree that it's the greatest (or rather, Graetest) ice cream brand of all time. In a Reddit thread on the r/icecream subreddit, users called Graeter's "superior to all other ice cream" and "so fire it's insane," and praised its unmatched quality and unbeatable chocolate chunks. The cherry on top? Our taste testers crowned Graeter's as the best brand of cookie dough ice cream.

Graeter's started as a street cart in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1870, and has been churning out delightfully indulgent frozen dairy desserts ever since (in fact, it's one of the oldest ice cream shops in the United States). By the 1920s, the family-run company had become a regional chain, and by the 1970s, Graeter's was shipping its famously indulgent ice cream to loyal fans across the Midwest. Nowadays, the brand runs scoop shops in Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, and is available in grocery stores across the country.

Graeter's hand-packed dairy treats start with a high-butterfat (around 18%) egg custard base, which is slowly transformed into delectable ice cream in 2.5-gallon spinning French pots. This unique production method limits the overrun, aka the amount of air churned into the ice cream (low overrun is the reason the best ice cream tastes better). The combination of low overrun and high butterfat content gives Graeter's ice cream its signature dense and silky texture. 

As for the mix-ins, Graeter's stands out for its gargantuan chocolate chunks, which play a starring role in everything from classic flavors like black raspberry chocolate chip to creative variations such as s'mores and chocolate coconut almond chip. Whether you live in the Midwest or on the West Coast, it's safe to say that Graeter's splurge-worthy grocery store ice cream is well worth a scoop.