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French Pot Ice Cream

Graeter's ice cream is made in by a French pot ice cream process. The ice cream mix is placed into a chilled, for spinning French pot. As the liquid freezes, the worker scrapes down the sides of the pot with the blade. For flavors that include chocolate chips, liquid chocolate is poured into the pot, and freezes into the thin shell on top of the French ice cream. A worker uses a blade to get break up this shell and mix it into the available ice cream, resulting in Graeter's' famous huge dark chocolate chips.

Despite being labor-intensive, each batch of the ice cream was only about two gallons. The resulting ice cream was so thick that it must be hand-packed into the pints. The pints are sold at all Graeter's stores, and at grocery stores of the Kroger, also a Cincinnati-based company. Because of the small batches and very high amount of labor involved, Graeter's pints were even more expensive than other brands of any premium ice cream, such as Ben & Jerry's and Haagen-Dazs.

The New York Times had run an article a few years ago on this ice cream industry. It pointed out that for reasons of the chemistry, not yet been understood, ice cream bar made in small batches is very superior in taste to factory-made premium brands like Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's. This article went on the say that “...the ice cream most connoisseurs feel to be the most best in the world, Graeter’s of ice cream recipes Cincinnati, is made in two gallon batches." The same article pointed out that Graeter’s has less butter fat than others. Mr. Graeter was quoted as saying “Butter fat just makes it greasy and is used to compensate for air content.” On her show in July, year 2002, Oprah Winfrey said: "You haven't had ice cream till you've had Graeter's. The butter pecan is Stedman's favorite, and mine, too." The company were then overwhelmed with phone and Internet orders.

Graeter's stores had also received full two-gallon tubs of any ice cream, which they scoop to make this ice cream cones, ice cream sodas, and also milkshakes. Usually, ice cream sold in the stores will be in a few hours old. Graeter's also sells its ice cream for those who do not live in the Greater Cincinnati area.

Cincinnatians have long known for about Graeter’s fresh baked-goods and also hand-dipped chocolate, which they claim are "the best on the planet". Their brownies are only available on Thursdays, the day they are baked.