Chocolate or Vanilla? by Anlin Charles

 Chocolate or Vanilla?

Both Chocolate and Vanilla are good basic staples, but it has been a battle of decades to ultimately decide which is the superior flavor. Vanilla is sweet and can be dressed more basic while chocolate is more flavored, more creamy and dressed less with toppings. 

Vanilla is a basic ice cream flavor that is loved by all. It is a sweet flavor made from milk and vanilla extract. It could be dressed up and down, eating it plain, or with gummy bears and chocolate syrup. It is a flavor that can be eaten in milkshakes, icecreams, cakes, cookies and more! This favor is known as the number 1 flavor in the US as said in the article America's Top 10 Favorite Ice Cream Flavors, Ice cream expert, Cary Frye has said, “Vanilla has long been the best-selling ice cream flavor not only because it is creamy and delicious, but also because of its ability to enhance so many other desserts and treats” (Frye). Vanilla ice cream could be eaten with brownies or even be a tiny sweet to eat. It is made with milk so it can boost your immune system, meaning it is healthy. The vanilla flavor and aroma itself is made from extracting vanilla beans. You could find vanilla for people that are lactose intolerant, there is an option of dairy-free vanilla ice cream, meaning everyone could enjoy this yummy treat. If you go onto youtube, pinterest or even tiktok, there is simple vanilla ice cream that you could make for yourself if you are craving vanilla ice cream. One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, is the person to have discovered vanilla ice cream, founding it in the 1780’s. It's a nostalgic flavor that everyone has tried, no matter from what decade you have been born. 

Who doesn’t love chocolate? Chocolate is a flavor that is most known for its chocolate bars. There are multiple flavors of chocolate, the three most popular being white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate. You can melt chocolate or even freeze chocolate, you can mold chocolate and you could even make art with chocolate, there are millions of possibilities to do with chocolate that, unlike vanilla, are easy to do. Eating chocolate also gives you a feeling of pleasure and happiness to your brain, making it loved by all. In the document Chocolate is better than Vanilla, by Jade Langlois, she writes how beneficial chocolate really is and how you could do anything with it. “Chocolate can go with all sorts of things including M&m’s, pretzels, and s’mores, unlike vanilla. Or you can just eat it plain” (Chocolate is better). For vanilla there is no vanilla sauce, no vanilla bars or such, because it will just taste like milk. But for chocolate, you can determine how sweet or bitter you want it to be based on your taste buds. Many people also just eat chocolate plain or put them in cookie dough to make scrumptious chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate is found in the cacao bean and was foundered around 1000 BC, much before vanilla, by the Olmec tribe, to use for drinking. The first chocolate bar was made in 1847, by Joseph Fry as he molded a chocolate bar. Chocolate is something we see everywhere in super markets, halloween candy, and in our own homes. It is a good dessert that is loved by all, since it is flavorful to eat and you could share it with friends. 

Even though vanilla is the better known flavor, it is only mostly known for its ice cream, even though its ice cream flavor is better, chocolate takes the cake for all the other dessert options. Since for desserts including vanilla there is most probably chocolate there to balance the flavor. There are also not a variety of options of vanilla unlike chocolate. Chocolate on the other hand, could be a chocolate bar just taken out of the package and eaten, could be split apart between friends and can help elevate a dessert to the next level. Overall, bringing chocolate to the win.

        Works Cited

API, Shopify. “Frozen Dessert Supplies.” Frozen Dessert Supplies, 16 Jan. 2024, frozendessertsupplies.com/blogs/news/new-america-s-top-10-favorite-ice-cream-flavors-and-the-best-toppings-to-go-with-them. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.

Langlois, Jade. “Chocolate Is Better than Vanilla.” The Greyhound, 15 Feb. 2017, thegreyhoundnews.com/1645/op-ed/chocolate-is-better-than-vanilla/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.