Have you heard or tasted Superman ice cream? Superman ice cream is a colorful treat that is so irresistible and named appropriately due to the three Superman’s signature colors that make the ice cream: blue, red, and yellow. The ice cream, however, has no official affiliation with DC Comics. This is why this ice cream is associated with one of the world’s most famous superheroes.
What about the flavor? What does a Superman ice cream taste like? Does each color have a different taste or it’s simply vanilla ice cream with food coloring?
If you are from the Midwest, you are probably well familiar with this treat. For everyone else, here are a few things to know about Superman ice cream, including its creation, taste, and most importantly, where to find it.
How Was Superman Ice Cream Created?
You may know where this superhero comes from, but not many are familiar with the place where the whole Superman ice cream thing started. Even though the origin story is a bit unclear, we do know that the tricolor treat first appeared in Michigan.
According to many people, the vibrant ice cream was developed in the brewery Stroh Brewing Company located in Detroit, Michigan.
How come a beer company comes up with a unique ice cream flavor? Well, the Prohibition in the 1920s banned the Stroh’s Brewery usual business, so Julius Stroh, the owner, had to come up with something new if he wanted to stay in business.
What he did was rebranding the company to Stroh Products Company and starting to sell soft drinks, birch beer, ice cream, and malt products. Some will argue that the unique Superman ice cream flavor was created by Stroh Ice Cream Company, its subsidiary.
One thing’s for sure – back in the 1920s, the colorful ice cream wasn’t related to Superman as the first Superman comic wasn’t released until the late 1930s. It’s really interesting that the Superman ice cream flavor was invented before the creation of the superhero.
After the Prohibition, the company went back to producing beer, but the unique ice cream flavor became popular across the Midwest.
Once the Superman comic was released, the superhero’s growing popularity made the tricolor ice cream equally popular. The two of them were melted together and the name of the ice cream was established.
Even though the sweet treat is popular because of its name, no brand, including Stroh’s, has got a license from DC Comics to officially carry the superhero name. So, you can find it under many other names such as “Super Hero”, “SuperScoop”, or “Scooperman” ice cream.
The company that purchased Stroh’s has rebranded the ice cream as “Super Rainbow.”
Although the name of this popular ice cream has been widely accepted, it doesn’t have official approval from DC Comics. This, however, doesn’t stop people from associating it with the superhero or calling it Superman ice cream.
What About the Taste?
In general, the taste of this colorful ice cream depends on the region, but the most common flavors of each color are:
- Red – Black cherry, Cherry, Raspberry, Strawberry, or Red Pop (a local fruit soda with a flavor that reminds of something between strawberry and cherry cream soda).
- Blue – Blue Moon, a flavor popular in the upper Midwest believed to be produced of everything from marshmallows to Froot Loops. It’s still unclear which ingredients are used for the unique fruity flavor of this Smurf-colored ice cream, but many describe it as something between bubble gums and marshmallows.
- Yellow – Vanilla, Lemon, or Banana
The Superman ice cream flavor combination differs from one store to another, but one thing’s for sure – it’s super sweet and kids love it. Some would say it’s Froot Loops in the form of ice cream.
Even if the yellow hue is made of lemon, the sweetness is still the most dominant flavor of the ice cream.
Where to Find Superman Ice Cream
Luckily, you don’t need to go to the fictional lands of Metropolis or Smallville to try this sweet ice cream. Instead, go to the Midwest and you’ll find it in almost every ice cream shop and store in Michigan and Wisconsin, including:
- Stroh’s – they call it Super Rainbow and make it with lemon, Blue Moon, and Red Pop ice cream.
- Meijer’s Store – they call it Scooperman and make it with vanilla, black cherry, and Blue Moon ice cream.
- House of Flavors – they make it with lemon, cherry, and Blue Moon
- Hudsonville Creamery & Ice Cream Company, LLC – they call it SuperScoop and make it with vanilla, black cherry, and Blue Moon ice cream.
- Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company – they make it with vanilla, Blue Moon, and cherry ice cream.
For those from Canada, you can find the tricolor ice cream in:
- Laura Secord Chocolates – they call it SuperKid and make it with banana, strawberry, and blueberry ice cream.
- Scooper’s Ice Cream Treats in Stratford, Ontario – they call it Super Hero ice cream.
For those from Australia, you can find the colorful treat as a Rainbow ice cream. Even though it’s made of the same color combination, the three colors have the same caramel flavor.
What Is Superman Ice Cream?
If you’re interested in ice cream, Superman ice cream is something you’re going to want to try.
Ingredients
Strawberry ice cream
banana ice cream
blue moon
Directions
- Buy or make up your own superman ice cream
- Serve and enjoy
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Conclusion
Superman ice cream is so popular in the Midwest that locals here think it’s universally popular. We are sure that if you give this vibrant treat to kids from different parts of the world, they would all devour it and associate it with the famous superhero.
Home cooks are trying to recreate the flavor of Superman ice cream, but they have a hard time to get the characteristic Blue Moon flavor. Instead, they use blue food coloring and vanilla ice cream. You can use this trick to surprise your kid with a scoop of the famous superhero ice cream.
But, if you want to taste the true Superman, Super Rainbow, or Scooperman ice cream, head to some of the ice cream shops and stores in the Midwest listed above.
