CuriosiD bonus: Who created Blue Moon ice cream?

WDET’s CuriosiD series answers your questions about everything Detroit. Subscribe to CuriosiD on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Blue Moon ice cream is a regional ice cream most commonly found in the Midwest. We know this because cartographer Daniel Huffman used menus on Yelp to create maps of the states where you’re most likely to find the “Smurf blue” dessert. But where precisely Blue Moon was created in the first place is more of a mystery.

Chicago Tribune Staff Reporter Nara Schoenberg looked into the dessert’s origins, exploring two theories; one tied to Michigan, the other to Wisconsin.

As part of the latest episode of CuriosiD, a podcast where reporters answer listener’s questions about Detroit, WDET’s Laura Herberg talks to Schoenberg about her research and what might be the oldest Blue Moon ad on record.

Isaly’s, a dairy company started in Monroe County, Ohio, promoted Blue Moon ice cream in an advertisement in The Marion Star newspaper on September 26, 1931. The ad says the flavor is “heavily fruited with delicious ripe fruit.”

In this episode:

• Hear Schoenberg’s conversation with Herberg about the origin of Blue Moon ice cream, starting 8 minutes into the podcast.
• Also, WDET’s Eli Newman explores questions about the flavors and history of another regional frozen treat, Superman ice cream, of which Blue Moon is typically a part of. Newman answers the questions “What is Superman ice cream? And where does it come from?” Spoiler Alert: The red, yellow and blue dessert does not hail from planet Krypton.

More from CuriosiD:

• What is Superman ice cream? And where does it come from?
• What’s the origin of the Boston Cooler?
• Who made Detroit-style pizza first?