The Key Ingredient That Breyer's Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Is Missing

From topping a warm, fudgy brownie to setting aside a slice of homemade apple pie or pumpkin gingersnap cheesecake, vanilla ice cream is one of the most loved dessert pairings. But have you ever stopped and wondered what ingredients might be included (or excluded) from some of your favorite vanilla ice creams? Breyer's, a popular grocery-store ice cream brand, uses the classic culprits in its Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream: milk, sugar, cream ... the list goes on. But by the time you reach the bottom of the ingredients, you might notice one key ingredient missing: vanilla.

Instead of using real vanilla, Breyer's creates its Homemade Vanilla flavor using a mix of other ingredients, including milk, sugar, cream, corn syrup, whey, egg yolks, vegetable gums, and salt. The ingredients also list "natural flavor," which can be derived from any naturally occurring food product. Could it be from a real vanilla bean? Possibly ... but there's no way of knowing for sure. Also included in the ingredients is annatto, a food coloring made from the coatings of seeds of the achiote tree. The annatto is responsible for giving Breyer's Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream its creamy, lightly yellow hue, throwing ice cream lovers off the scent that there might not actually be real vanilla in their cold treat.

Don't let the name of the ice cream fool you. Homemade Vanilla isn't the only of Breyer's ice creams that is missing its namesake ingredient.

Another well-loved ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip, which you would hope would have mint and, well, chocolate chips. Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, however, has no mint listed and uses Dutched cocoa — chocolate processed with an alkaline solution — for its chocolate chips. Where does the mint flavor come from then? It's safe to assume it comes from the "natural flavor" that is also listed for the Homemade Vanilla. Again, it's possible the flavor comes from mint leaves, but it is not definite.

Breyer's Pistachio Almond Ice Cream is also missing one out of two of its key ingredients. While roasted almonds are the third listed ingredient, there is nothing pistachio-related in the ice cream besides (again) natural flavor and green food coloring to resemble the nut's green color.

When planning your next dessert a-la-mode, do your research for store-bought ice creams with the highest and lowest quality ingredients. Or, if you have some time on your hands, have a crack at making your own homemade vanilla ice cream (this time with real vanilla bean).