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The Graeter's could be considered the founding family of Ohio ice cream. This Cincinnati family has been dishing it out since 1870 which makes Graeter's the oldest continuous ice cream maker in the country. Although there have been many advances in ice cream manufacturing in the last two centuries, the Graeter's are sticking with tradition. Their favored French Pot process is considered archaic from a business and production viewpoint. This method requires large amounts of labor and time to make small (2 - 2 1/2 gallon) batches of ice cream. This is by choice, there is no need to mess with success.
The enemy of fine ice cream is air. The Graeter's have declared war against it. Less air in the finished flavor equals fewer ice crystals which leads to a better feel on the taste buds. The ice cream is paddled by hand instead of whipped by a machine. Hand paddling beats air out. Vertical batch freezers, a.k.a. French Pots, press the ice cream onto itself thus pushing more air out. Some air is needed to keep ice cream from becoming an icicle, so at the end of the process, Graeter's ice cream is about 5% air compared to some commercial ice cream which can be up to 50% air. You can taste the difference.
Other differences can be seen. Graeter's pours liquid chocolate into the ice cream which cools into large pieces. The chunks are then broken down into more manageable bites using the same paddles used to mix the ice cream. These are not chips off the block - they are blocks. When it is time for Peach ice cream, blanched peaches are prepared for mixing - not canned peaches or a flavor extract. Pieces of peach permeate through the scoop. When the fruit runs out for the season so does the flavor. All of the chocolate sauces, syrups, and toppings are made from scratch for pouring into and onto the ice cream. The waffle cones are made in house as well.
The Cincinnati stores also offer gourmet chocolates, bakery items, and other goodies, so the Graeter family have their hands full in the Queen city. Good word spreads around after a century or so. For decades, other Ohio cities screamed for Graeter's ice cream. The greatest cry came from the capital city. However, the Graeter's home is Cincinnati and they were not going to turn over their recipes and reputation to just anyone.
In 1989, Clay Cookery and Maury Levine, friends of the family, and Dick Graeter's fellow Alumni, opened the first Columbus area Graeter's in Upper Arlington. This location is just down the road from Ohio State University. There are now twelve parlors in the Columbus area. Today the two head dippers are Jim Cunningham and Greg Shafer.
If you want to learn about the Graeter's way of making ice cream head to the Bethel road store in Northwest Columbus - it features a mini Graeters museum, a viewing area of the production line, and a big, kid friendly play area.
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There used to be a large storefront location at the EVIL Easton Mega Mall and monument to consumerism (sorry about the editorial comment) but this has now been abandoned and replaced with a mini counter operation inside the mall. This is the only time I know of that a Graeter's has closed in Columbus.
Even though pints of Graeter's can be found for sale in grocery stores and on the Internet, lines of customers still gather at the parlors. This is no small operation but Graeter's still retains a family feel, in fact most customers have no idea how many Graeter's they have yet to visit.
Graeter's is my overall favorite in Ohio and (so far) the best I have had compared out the 26 states and 14 countries I have had ice cream in. My favorite flavors are Coconut Chip, Raspberry Chip, Buckeye Blitz as well as Chocolate Coconut Almond Fudge when available.
Locations: 12 in "Graeter" Cincinnati, 11 in Columbus, 4 in Dayton, and 1 in Indiana. Grab a local phone book, call 800/721-3323 or check the Graeters website for information.
Need additional history, the inside scoop or ordering information - see below.