Caramel Kettle Crunch - New Blue Bell Flavor for National Ice Cream Month
BRENHAM - In honor of July, National Ice Cream Month 2010, Blue Bell Creameries is introducing a brand new flavor, Caramel Kettle Crunch Ice Cream, a creamy vanilla ice cream with crunchy caramel-coated popcorn and a smooth caramel sauce swirl.
Caramel Kettle Crunch was inspired by more than one American food tradition--beginning with popcorn, which was discovered by Native Americans thousands of years ago. According to one source, when Columbus landed on San Salvador, he discovered the natives eating popcorn and wearing necklaces and headdresses made of popcorn.
Americans quickly fell in love with popcorn. During the Great Depression, popcorn was especially useful. A bag of popcorn sold for five or ten cents. It was easy to make and an inexpensive source of nourishment—one of the few little luxuries people could still afford. During World War II, sugar was rationed so Americans turned to salty snacks like popcorn—most commonly eaten, as today, at the movies.
Nowadays there are many variations on the basic theme of popcorn. One company boasts that it offers over 160 flavors of popcorn! But one of the most popular versions currently is “kettle corn”—a variety with its own colorful history. There are various stories about the origins of “kettle corn.” Some say Americans began cooking the distinctive slightly sweet, slightly salty kettle corn during the 1700s. Popcorn was cooked in lard in iron kettles and then sweetened with molasses, sugar or honey before salt was added.
Dutch settlers in Pennsylvania may have been the first to produce the treat. Others say kettle corn was popularized by German farmers in Missouri or by cowboys on the trail. In any case, kettle corn was very popular for a time, fell somewhat out of favor and then was revived in the 2000s, especially at 19th-century “living history” events, as a delicious treat from the past. Kettle corn has become a popular snack again, most commonly seen at fairs and arts and crafts festivals—and now part of a new ice cream flavor, just in time for National Ice Cream Month!
President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July to be National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of July to be National Ice Cream Day in 1984. After all, who doesn’t love a bowl of ice cream on a hot July day?
Blue Bell’s Caramel Kettle Crunch combines the slightly sweet, slightly salty crunch of “kettle corn” with creamy ice cream and a silky caramel swirl. It will undoubtedly be the new dessert hit of the summer!
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