Graeter's
Graeter's is a local chain of ice cream and candy shops which originated in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1870. Their premium, thick ice cream has been featured on Food Network, and has earned them many dedicated fans including Oprah Winfrey. Their signature flavor is Black Raspberry Chip.
"French pot" process
Graeter's ice cream is made in a French pot process. The ice cream mix is placed into a chilled, spinning French pot. As the liquid freezes, a worker scrapes down the sides of the pot with a blade. For flavors that include chocolate chips, liquid chocolate is poured into the pot, and freezes into a thin shell on top of the ice cream. A worker uses a blade to break up this shell and mix it into the ice cream, resulting in Graeter's' famous huge dark chocolate chips.
Despite being very labor-intensive, each batch of ice cream is only about two gallons. The resulting ice cream is so thick that it must be hand-packed into pints. The pints are sold at Graeter's stores, and at grocery stores of Kroger, also a Cincinnati-based company. Because of the small batches and high amount of labor involved, Graeter's pints are even more expensive than other brands of premium ice cream, such as Ben & Jerry's and Häagen-Dazs.
The New York Times ran an article a few years ago on the ice cream industry. It pointed out that for reasons of chemistry, not yet understood, ice cream made in small batches is far superior in taste to factory-made premium brands like Häagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's. This article went on to say that “...the ice cream most connoisseurs feel to be the best in the world, Graeter’s of Cincinnati, is made in two gallon batches." The same article pointed out that Graeter’s has far less butter fat than others. Mr. Graeter was quoted as saying “Butter fat just makes it greasy and is used to compensate for air content.” On her show in July, 2002, Oprah Winfrey said: "You haven't had ice cream till you've had Graeter's. The butter pecan is Stedman's favorite, and mine, too." The company was then overwhelmed with phone and Internet orders.
Graeter's stores also receive full two-gallon tubs of the ice cream, which they scoop to make ice cream cones, ice cream sodas, and milkshakes. Usually, ice cream sold in the stores will be only a few hours old. Graeter's also sells its ice cream online, for those who do not live within the Greater Cincinnati area.
Cincinnatians have long known about Graeters’s fresh baked-goods and hand-dipped chocolate, which they claim are "the best on the planet".
Graeter's locations
Graeter's has stores located around Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton in Ohio, and around Lexington, Louisville, and Northern Kentucky. A shop opened in the Paramount’s Kings Island amusement park in 2005. (Graeter's had investigated opening a shop in Kings Island in the past, but dropped the idea after questioning their ability to keep up with the high demand.)
List of Graeter's flavors
- Black Cherry
- Black Raspberry Chip
- Buckeye Blitz (sold as "Peanut Butter Blitz" outside of Ohio)
- Butter Pecan
- Chocolate
- Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Coconut Almond Fudge
- Coconut Chip
- Coffee
- Cookie Dough Chip
- Cookies And Cream
- Double Chocolate Chip
- Lemon Ice Sorbet
- Mango Sorbet
- Mint Chocolate Chip
- Mocha Chip
- Peanut Butter Chip
- Pralines and Cream
- Raspberry Sorbet
- Strawberry
- Strawberry Sorbet
- Toffee Chip
- Vanilla
- Various Seasonal Flavors (including)
- Watermelon Sorbet
- Apple Cider Sorbet
- Blueberry Sorbet
- Peach
- Tangerine Cream
- Cheesecake
- Mint Cookies and Cream
- Rocky Road
- Strawberry Chip
- Chocolate Fudge Brownie
- Cinnamon
- Peppermint
- Pistachio
- Pumpkin Spice