No One Seems To Know What The Flavor Of Blue Moon Ice Cream Actually Is

Blue moon is a classic Midwestern ice cream flavor beloved by children and adults for its marshmallowy sweet taste and for its electric blue color that turns everything it touches (including your mouth) tropical ocean blue. What could be better than that? But this delicious ice cream is hiding a few mysteries under its enticingly-colored exterior. The first mystery is why it is sold only in the Midwest and the second is — what does it taste like?

It seems that no one, not even Midwesterners, can really describe what the flavor of blue moon actually is. Many people have guessed that it is Froot Loop flavored while others say it tastes like cotton candy, vanilla and almond, or bubble gum. No matter where you look, while most agree it is deliciously sweet with a bit of tang, no one can really pin down what gives it that distinct flavor. So what is blue moon actually? Many homemade ice cream recipes include raspberry and lemon as the main flavors for blue moon, but that might not be the full story.

The sale of blue moon ice cream started somewhere in the upper Midwest in the 1950s. There are two major theories on how it was created and some people believe it was first invented in Milwaukee, while others argue it was first created in Michigan. But no matter where it began, today the patent for the flavor is held by the Milkwaukee-base company Weber Flavors.

Seeing as the flavor is patent-protected, it makes sense that it's hard to figure out what goes into blue moon, but that hasn't stopped people from trying. In an interview with Atlas Obscura, the current vice president of Weber Flavors was asked what ingredients were used in blue moon. while he couldn't disclose specifics, he said that the recipe included "citrus oils, spice oils, and pure vanilla extractives". So, blue moon definitely includes vanilla, but what about the citrus and spice? We can get more evidence for possible ingredients from Lorann Oils, a candy flavoring company that sells blue moon food flavoring made from raspberry, vanilla, and lemon. So, while lemon could be the citrus flavor, the spice flavoring still remains a mystery that may never be solved.

Blue moon ice cream is so widespread in the Midwest that, according to the Chicago Tribune, most Midwesterners are surprised (horrified) to discover that the flavor is not sold all over America. Some even pay the money to have tubs of blue moon shipped to them after moving to other regions and discovering the disappointing lack of such a quintessential ice cream.

But there is good news for Midwesterners everywhere, and that is that this classic ice cream is starting to spread. While it was once mostly sold in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan, according to the Star Tribune, it is slowly being introduced to Minnesotans by ice cream parlor owners who have moved to the state from Wisconsin. So even though blue moon may not appear on certain lists of the most popular ice cream flavors of America, as it continues its steady takeover of the Midwest there is still hope that one day everyone will have the chance to turn their mouths Smurf-blue all over the country.