"Intrigued." "Horrified." "Skeptical." "Tried it. Loved it. Confused by it."
Threats to call the police. Offers to trade their first-born child. Accusations of God abandoning us all to unabashed praise simply for existing. Reactions of "pretty damn good" to "not at all gross." "The worst thing I have seen in my life" to "[it] solved a problem I never knew existed."
Anyone cruising the social media space in late January 2021 had a tough time avoiding whiplash as the opinion pendulum swung swiftly from good to bad to undecided and back again. Like watching an Olympic-level ping pong match, the zingers just kept flying.
This was not caused by politics. Or religion. Or celebrity.
No. The triggering topic at the center of this great debate, the thing that threw a corner of the internet into a full-on Ross vs. Rachel, The Dress is (definitely) blue, polarizing back-and-forth: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams creation of an Everything Bagel ice cream.
It's time to sound the opening bell for round two. Jeni's is embracing the discourse by re-releasing its wildly popular, hotly discussed flavor. The ice cream that divided the internet makes its return on March 21. (Stay up-to-date on Everything Bagel's comeback by signing up here.)
It's perhaps a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence that any dish, let alone an ice cream, creates such a stir. Even rarer still is a flavor that shocks-and-awes AND delivers on its promise to be delicious. Because you can argue the merits of whether or not this flavor should exist—actually, Jeni's is hoping that you do! But no one can—or did—dispute that the ice cream tastes exactly like an everything bagel with cream cheese. And that it's delicious (or, worst case, not at all an unpleasant experience).
The cream cheese ice cream with a sesame, poppy seed, onion, and garlic streusel deftly tiptoes that tightrope balance between savory and sweet. A testament to founder Jeni Britton's prowess when it comes to creating memorable flavors people want to share and talk about.
Perhaps what's most surprising in the whole Everything Bagel ice cream discussion is that the flavor wasn't created to shock. The marriage of everything bagel flavors and ice cream isn't new to the company—it's actually been in Jeni's repertoire since 2014, when the recipe for an everything bagel ice cream topping appeared in Jeni's cookbook. A few opinionated reactions were anticipated—but not as strong or as quickly as they happened (the flavor sold out nationwide in less than nine days).
Everything Bagel will be available in Jeni's scoop shops and on jenis.com. In the meantime, head to Jeni's social channels to watch the next round of Everything Bagel discourse happen live. (And while you're there, don't forget to share an opinion.)
