Blue moon is an

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

flavor with bright blue coloring, available in the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

of the United States. Multiple cities in the region claim to be the originator, with the popular theories including

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

and

Ludington, Michigan Ludington ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Mason County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,076. Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette Rive ...

. The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' has described the ice cream as "

Smurf ''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and int ...

-blue,

marshmallow Marshmallow (, ) is a type of confectionery that is typically made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or normally molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. The sugar c ...

-sweet". Blue moon ice cream is one of the flavors that make up

Superman ice cream Superman ice cream is a three-flavor ice cream that usually appears in red, blue, and yellow. Although it originated in the Midwestern United States, particularly Michigan and Wisconsin, it can also be found in various ice cream parlors such as P ...

in certain states. Blue moon is found mainly in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

—

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

in particular. It is found less frequently in other U.S. states.

Kilwins Kilwins, also known as Kilwins Chocolates, is an American company, specializing in confectioneries such as candy, ice cream, and fudge. In 1947, Katy and Don Kilwin opened the first location in Petoskey, Michigan and the company is still headquar ...

also provides this flavor in various states. __TOC__

Characteristics

The varieties of blue moon vary in both color and flavor. Many aficionados of each variety of blue moon claim that their variety is the "real one", the "original", etc. Some dairies that make Blue Moon keep their ingredients a secret, adding to the mystique. Varieties that have distinct berry or vanilla flavor notes are sometimes theorized to have been originally flavored with

castoreum Castoreum is a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers. Beavers use castoreum in combination with urine to scent mark their territory. Both beaver sexes have a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands, located in two cavities ...

Similar international flavors

A similar flavor has been sold in both Italy and Malta under the name , which is Italian for 'Smurf', as well as in Germany under the names and , which translate to 'Smurf' and 'angel blue', respectively. In France, it is called ('Smurf'), in Slovenia ('blue sky'), and in Argentina as ('sky cream'). In Poland, this variety of ice cream is called ('Smurf-like') and is usually bubble-gum flavored.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Moon (Ice Cream) Flavors of ice cream Food and drink in Michigan Cuisine of Minnesota Wisconsin culture Cuisine of the Midwestern United States