the buzz log
Variations on a Cream
For years, vanilla has been the favored flavor. Now, during the 25th anniversary of National Ice Cream Month, a Harris poll dares to declare chocolate as the ice cream choice of the American people.
Scandal! Upset! Could that sensuous hussy truly usurp the pure, comforting simplicity of the vanilla bean? Countless sources beg to differ, among them the NPD Group and the International Ice Cream Association (although, OK, that second list dates back to 2006).
Flavor Explosion
The real story isn't the favorite, but how many flavors exist nowadays. According to Country Living, the best-sellers from top brands are: Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, Graeter's black raspberry chip, Baskin-Robbins Praline 'n' Cream, and Breyers vanilla.
Then you have taste-masters creating mixes like ginger wasabi (Cold Stone). In Boston, the trend includes bitter basil, salty caramel, spicy chocolate, and curried coconut. At the 2008 Yokohama Ice Cream Expo, where weird favors ruled, people couldn't get enough of the beef tongue. As if the milk from the cow wasn't enough.
Variations on a Cream
No bovine preferences among the ice cream flavors searched on Yahoo!, but trendy variations like basil did pop up, as did traditional standbys like butter brickle and oddities like Orange Crush. (Another soda maker, Dr. Pepper, appeared as among the topping choices, although peanut butter led the saucy searches.)
Other notable trends: People want their ice cream in cupcake form, homemade, or fried (especially Mexican style).
Below, in time for National Ice Cream Day (Sunday, July 19), the most popular flavors: At least online, vanilla's place is assured, just like it was in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Sample for yourself, and weigh in below on your preferred pleasure. Oh, and since it is the 25th anniversary, knock yourself out and get a silver spoon to celebrate.
A Buzz Ice Cream Sampler
Rising dairy prices, disappearing honey bees, and ice cream truck gas prices. These threats to America's favorite frozen dessert are enough to make you scream.
Grim news greets National Ice Cream Month. Most notable is the apiarian connection: The loss of bee hives means less workers to aid crops (and flavors) like almonds, cherries and strawberries. Haagen Dazs is raising research funds from proceeds of its honey vanilla edition, making ice cream consumption an environmental act.
And look on the bright side—all these obstacles simply means appreciating the dairy confection all the more. Save the honeybees, and enjoy this Buzz sampler of ice cream goodness.
Ice Cream Buzz
People get a cold chill searching on their adored ice cream brands. Cold Stone Creamery holds a solid lead over runner-ups Ben & Jerry's, Blue Bell, Dairy Queen and Bruster. Of course, nothing beats the neighborhood scoop.
• Step into America's best parlors... and feel free to add to the itinerary.
• Don't fret if your favorite flavor is among the six most fattening; lower-fat alternatives exists. (Find out your recommended fat intake here.)
• If you've longed for a precise scoop, consider the efficiency of the Cuisipro Ice Cream Scoop and Stack.
Churn It Up
Making your own batch is becoming more popular: Homemade ice cream searches are a third higher than last year. Among the Buzz recipe tips:
• A good pan, a nice scald, and an ice bath are among the musts in stirring up fresh ice cream.
• Tart up ice cream to keep down the fat, in this pastry recipe.
Luscious Trivia
• Exposed! The confection is really a foam. Find out what else lies within delicacy's inner workings.
• Ice cream may have come west via Marco Polo from China. Now the frozen dairy may be one of the few U.S. investments that China can make without stirring up national security protests.
• Ben & Jerry turned 30 on May 5, the same day that Baskin-Robbins co-founder Irv Robbins died.
Flavor Fever
Peach has dropped out of the top 5, making room for banana and green tea. Other trends since we last skimmed searches in 2007:
In: Oreo. Out: Ginger.
In: Cherry. Out: Pineapple.
In: Blackberry. Out: Mint.
Always in: Peanut Butter.
Top Ice Cream Flavors, Past 30 Days
| 1. | Vanilla | 7. | Coconut | |
| 2. | Chocolate | 8. | Oreo | |
| 3. | Strawberry | 9. | Ube | |
| 4. | Banana | 10. | Coffee (including espresso) | |
| 5. | Green Tea | 11. | Spumoni | |
| 6. | Peach | 12. | Cherry |
Buzzing with the Ace of Cakes
Did you know that there is a "bad boy of baking"? It may sound oxymoronic, but it's true. His name is Duff Goldman and he has his own reality series called "Ace of Cakes." It's been around for a few years, but it wasn't until the show spiked 94% following its season premiere that we finally dropped our spatulas and wrote a post.
Despite (or, more likely, because of) the show's "rebel without a recipe" star, 75% of queries come from the ladies. Lookups on "duff goldman ace of cakes" are rising like a souffle. Additionally, there are related searches on "Charm City Cakes" (Duff's bakery) and "theme cakes," those outrageous confections baked by Duff and his true crew.
Not surprisingly, several of Duff's wildest cakes appear in Search, including "harry potter ace of cakes" and "aircraft carrier cake." Clearly folks love the wild and crazy, so in honor of the bad boy baker, we rounded up the other bizarre and extreme cakes that were big in Search this past week. Here they are, in no particular order of insanity...
Filed under: Reality TV, Desserts
Ice Cream of the Crop
Warm up the metal scoopers. July is doubly delightful thanks to National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day on July 15. President Ronald Reagan thought the sweet occasion needed the double scoop of emphasis.
Rising dairy prices haven't deterred the buzz on the frozen confection. As for the flavas of love, the International Dairy Foods Association dishes up vanilla, chocolate, neapolitan, strawberry and cookies 'n' cream as the top five.
Searchers crave vanilla, scooping up that flavor at double the rate of chocolate. The cream of the Search crop also includes fresh fruits, rich flavors, and exotic tastes: Since last summer, old-school fruit like pineapple and apple have moved up in our estimation, as have butter pecan and peanut butter. Some regional tastes are acquired, but infusions from other cultures have made coconut, green tea, and ginger must-haves in the parlors.
Other ins and outs since we checked last summer:
- Out: Pumpkin. In: Cinnamon.
- Out: Mint chocolate chip. In: Mint.
- Out: Orange Crush. Yes, Orange Crush. In: Oreo.
Craving more? Satiate yourself with the 25 most-searched flavors this summer.
Pinkberry is Cold Chilling
Trend watchers and hipsters on the left coast have been loving Pinkberry for a couple of years. The addictive frozen yogurt shop didn't start swirling around in the Buzz until late last year—around the time that influential gossip-monger Perez Hilton ditched his traditional beat to rave about the fro-yo delight. Many long lines and thousands of parking tickets after the chain launched in 2005, it looks like Pinkberry is cold-chilling in Search.
What makes for some of the world's hottest frozen yogurt? Ditch a dazzling array of tasty choices and serve two simple flavors of "original" (vanilla) and green tea. Sprinkle in a lip-smacking selection of toppings. For the pièce de résistance, charge a good five bucks for a small serving. Instant buzz.
Even though Pinkberry buzz has been sweeping the coasts like a cold front, we see other shops and chains like TCBY, Red Mango, and Golden Spoon taking a bite out of frozen yogurt searches. Where the scoop lands is up to you.
Are Brownies Warming Up?
"What is a brownie? Certainly it’s one of the few truly American baking creations to enter the canon — like the blueberry muffin and the chocolate chip cookie"
—Julia Moskin, "Simple Pleasure, American Style," New York Times, April 11, 2007
The recent Times article about the delicious joys of the humble brownie caused our mouths to water and our minds to race. Could the brownie be the new cupcake? The article prompted a chocolaty ripple among amateur chefs, but cupcake searches still outnumber brownie queries by a ratio of 3 to 1. That said, we're not here to diminish the brilliance of the brownie. The delectable treat is up 21% over the last month, so perhaps Ms. Moskin has spotted a tasty trend.
With our tastebuds thoroughly engaged, we had no alternative but to research the top brownie searches. Quite a few queries were of an illicit bent, with curious folks looking to ingest cannabis along with their chocolate. Needless to say, we excluded those shameful sweets from our list of the top 10 brownie searches...
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford 400 | Breakout! |
| 2 | Indonesia Ferry | Breakout! |
| 3 | Jordan Chandler | 3481% |
| 4 | Evan Chandler | 2322% |
| 5 | American Music Awards | 1841% |
| 6 | John F. Kennedy | 1529% |
| 7 | Turkey Stuffing Recipes | 1361% |
| 8 | Liam Hemsworth | 1172% |
| 9 | Lou Dobbs | 1142% |
| 10 | Hendrick Motorsports | 888% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Friday | +340 | 1290 |
| 2 | NFL | +489 | 670 |
| 3 | Jennifer Lopez | +451 | 515 |
| 4 | New Moon | -67 | 250 |
| 5 | American Music Awards | +236 | 249 |
| 6 | UFC | -36 | 239 |
| 7 | Miley Cyrus | +66 | 169 |
| 8 | Hulu | -11 | 154 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.