The Worst Vanilla Ice Cream Out Of The Most Popular Brands

Much like pizza or macaroni and cheese, it's tempting to think that all ice cream is good ice cream. Unfortunately, when it comes to the traditional vanilla flavor, ice cream has nowhere to hide. As Chowhound food writer Kyle Grace Mills discovered in her ranking of 11 popular vanilla ice cream brands, there are a few cardinal ice cream sins that should dissuade you from certain brands.

An icy consistency, distasteful in and of itself, typically means a lower fat quantity and, usually, a lower quality product. A bland taste might sound like the worst-case scenario, but some ice cream brands display an even worse fake vanilla taste that will stay with you long after you've finished a spoonful. A poor vanilla ice cream product will not only miss the mark when eaten on its own but can also potentially ruin that stunning apple pie you spent hours on when dolloped on top or mar the flavor of your show-stopping 5-layer ice cream cake.

With these potential pitfalls in front of you, follow Mills's guidance and avoid Mayfield Creamery Homemade Vanilla at all costs. The icy texture, plastic-y fake vanilla taste, lingering unpleasant aftertaste, and questionable ingredient list should have you reaching for any other option.

Mayfield Creamery, which is labeled as a premium ice cream, boasts several attributes that should make it a popular crowd-pleaser, rather than a last-place finisher. It has a high fat content, so you know it's not wasting space with filler air, and an easy-to-stomach price of just $4.97 for a quart and a half. When you first peel back the lid, the ice cream has an appetizing golden hue which could speak to an extra dash of vanilla extract or a rich, custard base.

Unfortunately, with less than 2% egg yolks per container, this tub is neither deliciously rich nor exceptionally creamy. The hoped-for authentic vanilla taste from either vanilla extract or vanilla beans is also missing and in its place is a more mass-produced, candy-vanilla flavor. The sunny color, which could indicate quality, is actually the result of annatto and turmeric extracts. Why does a tub of classic vanilla ice cream need additive food dyes? We simply couldn't say. The ingredient list doesn't help Mayfield Creamery's case, either, as the container contains both gums and corn syrup — perhaps creating that noted plastic-y taste.

Out of all 11 popular brands, only two were true misses (Breyers Natural Vanilla similarly dropped to the bottom of the rankings for its fake-tasting aftertaste). So, while you're statistically unlikely to go wrong with a vanilla ice cream brand, let this ranking be your guide to avoid the worst of the worst in the freezer aisle.