The Ice Cream Flavor You Can (Almost) Only Find In Pennsylvania

It's a late summer's day and you're sweltering, what better way to cool down than to get some ice cream? Although there are many varieties, and the most popular ice cream flavor might surprise you, perhaps you want to enjoy a flavor you haven't tried before, such as one with a bright pink with a hue. If you happen to be in Pennsylvania, there's one ice cream flavor that might do the trick.

Teaberry ice cream is made from teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens) plants that are native to New England. According to New England Today, the plants are at their peak in mid-October, making this ice cream a seasonal and limited treat. Although its bubble-gum color makes you think it will be quite sweet, teaberry has a surprisingly spicy and minty flavor. Interestingly, Atlas Obscura reports that the plant was commonly used as a flavoring for chewing gum at the peak of its popularity in the 1960s, but more people called it "American Wintergreen" back then.

The popularity of teaberry might have waned through the years, but many Pennsylvanian ice cream shops are determined to make this almost-forgotten fruit and the delicious ice cream a prized specialty once again. Teaberry ice cream can be found at numerous smaller creameries in Pennsylvania (via Atlas Obscura). Still, there are also smaller limited-edition ice cream packs from brands such as Turkey Hill and Yuengling. 

This novelty ice cream may be the source of a friendly argument, and with its unusual and intense flavor, it's something that people can certainly bicker about. Some will love it and some will despise it but we doubt there are those that can take it or leave it.

According to Wisegeek, teaberry is a source of wintergreen essential oil, which has a distinctively sharp aroma and has been used for scenting incense and candles in the past. So, naturally, some people compare its flavor with Bengay, a pain reliever containing artificially-made wintergreen oil. With that comparison, it does make teaberry seem like a tough flavor to swallow, but it can't be worse than Kraft's mac-and-cheese-flavored ice cream.