southern hospitality
A few days ago while we were at the grocery store picking out a tub of ice cream, we spotted an unfamiliar blue tub of Blue Bell ice-cream.
(The husband will be so proud of how shiny our granite countertop is!)
I think the name of the flavor is so charming. Southern Hospitality. It’s “Homemade Vanilla with Chunks of Pineapples, Roasted Pecans and a Strawberry Sauce Swirl.” I think I might like it better than Moo-llinium Crunch. That’s a bold statement, I know.
So basically they had this “Taste of the Country Flavor Contest” awhile back and this 71 year old lady (she might be 72 now) named Mary Jane Hegley won by submitting this flavor! The crazy thing is that she thought it up in her head and had never tried it before.
(I like how she’s photographed as if she’s eating straight from the ice cream tub.)
“Mary Jane Hegley’s ice cream memories stretch back to her childhood when she and her family made hand-cranked ice cream as a special treat for birthday celebrations. One night this past spring, Jane and her daughter Amy were enjoying some Blue Bell Ice Cream and decided to go online and find out what other flavors Blue Bell makes. They found information about the “Taste of the Country” contest on the Blue Bell website. Jane began to research the Charleston symbol of the pineapple and there she found the inspiration for her grand-prize winning contest entry.
Each contestant who entered the “Taste of the Country” contest was asked to propose an ice cream flavor name that represents his/her state and possibly its dessert traditions. Mary Jane Hegley chose to use pineapple in her flavor concept because, as she said in her contest entry, “South Carolina has a tradition of displaying the pineapple as a symbol of hospitality, welcome, friendliness, conviviality and warmth. The pineapple was a rare delicacy in Colonial times when they were shipped on long voyages from the Caribbean. Pineapples were used as centerpieces on the dining tables to welcome and impress guests.”
Jane’s entry also mentions the Pineapple Fountain, the centerpiece of Waterfront Park in Charleston. The symbol of the pineapple, which occurs frequently as a decorative motif in the beautiful old homes of Charleston, also appears on the columns of Jane’s much newer Charleston-area home. Jane says she added the pecans to give her imaginary flavor a little bit of “crunch,” and also because pecans are “Southern.” The “strawberry sundae swirl” she added for color.”
So what did she win? An ice-cream party (haha), a 3-day, all expenses paid trip to Brenham with her husband and daughter, and a year-long supply of ice-cream!
Click here to read the full article.
Her photo is also on side of the ice cream tub!
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