Friday, March 29, 2024

A Michigan State Staple: Ranking the MSU Dairy Store's 11 flavors

The State News did a taste test of all twelve flavors of ice cream at the MSU Dairy Store on Aug. 24, 2022.
The State News did a taste test of all twelve flavors of ice cream at the MSU Dairy Store on Aug. 24, 2022. —
Photo by Devin Anderson-Torrez | The State News

In 1867, the first cow was brought to Michigan State University.

You may not think that has a lot of significance but, it's part of the reason you can enjoy Dairy Store ice cream today and part of the reason we can provide a review of dairy store flavors.

Five members of The State News summer editorial board made their way over to the Anthony Hall Dairy Store and bought one kiddie scoop of each ice cream flavor available. Each scoop cost a total of $3.

There were currently 11 ice cream flavors for us to try: Buckeye Blitz, Chocolate, Cotton Candy, Double Fudge Fake, Izzo's Malted Madness, Mint Chip, Oreo Cheesecake, Spartan Swirl, Superman, Vanilla and What's The Scoop, Stanley?

Each member tasted all 11 flavors with one exception: one of our editorial board members has a nut allergy and was unable to try the Buckeye Blitz flavor, which is made with peanut butter ice cream.

So, did your favorite flavors make it into our top three?

Without further ado, here is our Dairy Store ice cream ranking:

The Bottom of the Tub (Barrel)

Eleventh place – Oreo Cheesecake

Sitting at the bottom is one of the worst flavors we tried: Oreo Cheesecake.

We had high hopes for this flavor with most of us being Oreo and cheesecake lovers. Sadly this flavor tasted more like pungent cheese than anything else.

It was the type of flavor that sat on your tongue no matter how many times you drank water to clear it out.

There was barely a hint of sweetness to this flavor and overall it left us disappointed and not going back for seconds.

Final ranking: 2/10

Tenth place – Superman

Consisting of a rainbow of flavors and colors, Superman is a well-known ice cream throughout the midwest.

Now don't get us wrong, this wasn't the most terrible Superman flavor we've all had. It was actually kind of OK aside from a slightly chalky taste.

Not the worst but far from the best, Superman has to take the tenth place spot on our Dairy Store tour.

Final ranking: 2.8/10

Ninth place – Cotton Candy

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Now maybe we just aren't big fans of super sweet flavors because this was a little too much for our taste buds.

It tasted exactly like cotton candy but without the sometimes off-putting texture. Perfect for a little kid, but not good enough to rank higher on our rankings.

The bright pink color is really pretty though.

Final ranking: 3/10

Not bad, but not great either

Eight place – Mint Chip

Nothing really stood out to us about this flavor.

It tasted like any basic mint chip ice cream you might encounter, nothing special. Then again, mint chocolate chip isn't anything special in itself, so this is why we put it at eighth.

Final ranking: 4.6/10

Seventh place – Vanilla

Now the vanilla was a pleasant surprise for us, tasting super rich and having a good consistency. One of the better-tasting vanilla scoops we've had in a while.

But it would be wrong to put vanilla above the more-interesting flavors of the Dairy Store, so it rests at seventh place.

Final ranking: 6.6/10

Sixth place – Chocolate

Now this chocolate was actually really good — and we mean really good.

Some of us don't typically like chocolate as an ice cream flavor but this one was out of the park. But like vanilla, it was just chocolate — a little plain and right in the middle of our list.

Final ranking: 7/10

Fifth place – Izzo's Malted Madness

Paying tribute to the one and only men's basketball coach Tom Izzo, this malt ice cream had malt balls mixed in. And just like Izzo, it came to win.

It gave a good run for its money but was overall a little too sweet to enter our Final Four.

Final ranking: 7.2/10

The Best of the Best

Third place – Spartan Swirl and Buckeye Blitz

We tried not to have a tie, we really did.

But both Spartan Swirl and Buckeye Blitz got the same exact ranking from us. Spartan Swirl is a cake batter ice cream with a green frosting swirl and green cake pieces, while Buckeye Blitz is peanut butter ice cream with buckeyes and a fudge swirl.

Just the right notes of sweet and Big Ten spirit, but still missed the top two spots by literally one point or less.

Final ranking: 7.3/10

Second place – What's The Scoop, Stanley?

Coming in at second place, this ice cream was actually a favorite with salted caramel ice cream, brownie chunks and a fudge swirl.

What's The Scoop, Stanley? had the perfect amount of sweetness with a hint of salty to balance it out. It was one of the few ice creams we completely finished easily and wanted more.

Plus, who doesn't like ice cream named after our university president?

Final ranking: 7.9/10

First place – Double Fudge Fake

While all the flavors fought for their spot, this one easily rose to its natural position as number one.

Double Fudge Fake is chocolate ice cream with brownies, chocolate footballs and a caramel swirl.

We really appreciated the attention to detail; the little footballs added a nice touch. This flavor also combined the chocolate ice cream — which we already mentioned we loved — with a little bit more kick to secure the top spot.

You can't go wrong if you get a scoop – or three – of this flavor at the Dairy Store.

Final ranking: 8.3/10

This story is part of our 2022 Welcome Week print issue. Read the entire issue here.

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