These Blue Bell Flavors Are Almost Back

One of the country's favorite ice cream brands is back, rejoice! It's been a rough four months without it, but Texas-based Blue Bell ice cream will soon be back on the market. What better way to celebrate the end of the summer than with a heaping scoop of ice cream on a hot afternoon? Well, mark your calendars, because select areas will be offering Blue Bell ice cream on Aug. 31, and Blue Bell has announced the first flavors for release: vanilla and chocolate, of course.

After being absent from grocery stores for months, the company tweeted earlier in August that their trucks were back on the road, and then a video broke the news that the ice cream was really coming back, slowly at first, though, and only to select states. As for the flavors, Blue Bell tweeted Monday that the first to hit stores will be their "top-selling Homemade Vanilla." The next day, they revealed their second flavor in the line-up as "Dutch chocolate."

According to its video statement, the company cannot come back to every location at once — they currently have just one production facility open, making it difficult to supply every location with ice cream.

So, where can you get that chocolate or vanilla treat? According to KERA News, a North Texas station, that the birthplace of the brand — Brenham, Texas — is first in line for Blue Bell, along with Houston and Austin. The ice cream will then be sent (in this order) to Alabama, north Texas, southern Oklahoma, southwest Texas and central Oklahoma, soon reentering 15 states.

It might be slow and steady, but vanilla and chocolate Blue Bell ice cream's comeback follows a dramatic recall. In March, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that there were five cases of listeria potentially related to Blue Bell ice cream. Listeria is pretty serious — the CDC warns that consumption of food with Listeria monocytogenes (aka Listeria bacteria) can lead to a serious infection, listeriosis. After a total of 10 people were infected, in April the company voluntarily recalled all their products.

For months, people speculated about when the famed ice cream would return, and its finally here. Best prediction for the next flavors returning to market? KHOU, a CBS affiliate in Houston, Texas, surveyed people on what flavors they wanted to back. Vanilla came in with 31 percent of the vote, 13 percent Buttered Pecan, 11 percent Dutch Chocolate, 5 percent Strawberries & Vanilla, and a whopping 40 percent of people said a new flavor. Judging by customer demands, my best prediction is Buttered Pecan, or a brand new flavor.

It's still a mystery what the next flavors will be, but for now you've got Homemade Vanilla and Dutch Chocolate. Sometimes classic is the way to go.

Image: Jess/Flickr