Ice Cream

The Washington Post blind taste-tested 13 popular vanilla ice creams. A local favorite was the best.

It was also the most expensive.

Looking for a complement to your blueberry pie? Try Ben & Jerry's vanilla, according to The Washington Post. Jim Scherer, File

By John Waller

June 28, 2023

1 minute to read

No, it doesn’t have a wacky, memorable name. Or a plethora of sweet treats mixed in.

But Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream is still pretty darn good — actually, the best, according to a panel of Washington Post taste-testers.

The newspaper convened eight lucky staffers to blind test the 13 top-selling ice cream brands’ vanilla — or, “vanilla bean” if possible — offerings, and the Vermont-based company’s simply-put “Vanilla” came out on top.

The judges gave each sample a 1-10 score, and Ben & Jerry’s received a 54 out of a possible 80. Here’s what the newspaper had to say about the Vermont-made flavor:

Tasters found that it checked all the right boxes, earning comments like “sweet but not saccharine. Just the right amount of vanilla” and “nicely balanced.” It moved one taster to wax philosophical, dubbing it “a Platonic vanilla,” while another catalogued a more visceral reaction: “The sweet dissolves into vanilla and makes me smile.”

It’s probably only fair to note that Ben & Jerry’s vanilla was also the most expensive option tested, at 44 cents per ounce. Other than Häagen-Daz Vanilla Bean (No. 5, 43 cents per ounce) and Halo Top Vanilla Bean (No. 10, 34 cents per ounce), everything else was 15 cents per ounce or cheaper.

Also making the podium was Costco’s Kirkland Signature Super Premium Vanilla, with a score of 50, and Tillamook Vanilla Bean, 48.

Check out the full grocery-store vanilla ice cream rankings over at the Post.