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Food

Does Texas favorite Blue Bell ice cream hold up in a blind taste test?

I scream, you scream. Sunday, July 15 is National Ice Cream Day, and we're all screamin' for the good stuff.

Stacy Fernandez went back for a second scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.
Stacy Fernandez went back for a second scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.(Jae S. Lee / Staff Photographer)

So we decided to test six people on their ice cream skillz. We challenged: If you tasted a scoop of vanilla ice cream -- and didn't see the label -- would you be able to guess the ice cream brand?

The brands we picked were Dreyer's Slow Churned Classic Vanilla; Haagen-Dazs Vanilla; Nada Moo Vanilla...Ahh (a vegan option, gasp!); and Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla.

Our team of ice cream enthusiasts were shockingly savvy.

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In fact, Blue Bell won in every instance of the blind taste test -- even with Stacy Fernandez, a New Yorker who moved to Texas just a few weeks ago.

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Watch this clip of our ice cream taste test:

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Our taste-testers are serious about ice cream. Nanette Light and her family recently did a blind-folded taste test to pick their favorite flavor of mint chocolate chip after a light-hearted family dispute. "We are always debating ice cream," Light says. We like her style.

Every taster loved Ice Cream Scoop No. 4, which was Blue Bell. And most of the tasters knew it: by sight and by taste.

Your esteemed tasters, from left: Britton Peele, Stacy Fernandez, Stephanie Lamm, moderator...
Your esteemed tasters, from left: Britton Peele, Stacy Fernandez, Stephanie Lamm, moderator Sarah Blaskovich, Dawn M. Burkes, Nanette Light and Sara Burgos(Jae S. Lee / Staff Photographer)

Nobody enjoyed Ice Cream Scoop No. 3, our curve-ball: a scoop of ice cream made with dairy-free ingredients including coconut milk. And taster Stephanie Lamm nailed it: "It tastes almost they used coconut milk instead of real milk," she says. Then she noted the difference in it from the others: Though its white color made it look "the most real," the taste was decidedly sour. Correct again!

Sara Burgos was more forthcoming: "No. 3 is abomination." Sorry not sorry.

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The scoop of Haagen-Dazs got no love from the panel, and Fernandez in fact picked it as the worst-tasting ice cream. And the Dreyer's, though well liked, was overshadowed by the Blue Bell every time.

In summary: Blue Bell is the best.Happy National Ice Cream Day!