By Baskin-Robbins
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I’ve written before about foods that were no longer made, such as Regal Crown Sours and Screaming Yellow Zonkers.* Usually, it was because the manufacturer was out of business and the recipe lost. Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet was made by Baskin-Robbins, which is still in business and presumably knows the recipe. Yet as far as I can see, it hasn’t been made in years.
It’s a shame. The flavor has never been seen elsewhere. It’s a dark chocolate sherbet with just a hint of orange, that you don’t notice until you swallow. Despite the fact it’s somewhat light – sherbet instead of ice cream – there was a rich, dark chocolate taste that melts on the tongue.
There were many fans. It was named the best Baskin-Robbins ice cream by Paul Passell and Leonard Ross and it deserves to be. Yet even though it was discontinued years ago, there was no sign of them being willing to bring it back.
Which is a shame. There was no other ice cream like it.
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*Both have come back, if only for a short time. I’d like to think this blog had something to do with it.
90 comments:
I used to work there when it was out and we fondly referred to it as Shit Sherbet. Only a few people actually liked it. We used to have competitions to see how many samples we could get people to try. Most people thought it was disgusting. There was one sweet old lady who loved it though, and I convinced her to buy a whole three-gallon tub of it. She came back a week later for another one. Other than her though, very few people liked it in our area. It appeared to be that way all over the place since they discontinued it shortly after that release in 2000/2001.
It was delicious. I got it every time I went to B&R. Perhaps people weren't used to the then-uncommon-in-America combination of orange and chocolate. Elephant's
I loved it. I got it every time I went to the mall.
I love orange and dark chocolate, and always have.
I wonder if the fact that it was sherbet and not ice cream had something to do with it. Perhaps people did not think the texture was right for chocolate?
Whatever.
I think the lower fat content made the dark chocolate seem darker.
If I am in the minority, so be it. It doesn't make me wrong, just unusual! I'm used to that by now.
The flavour was very intense and totally unforgettable. It was definitely an adult flavour. I remember standing at the counter alongside another woman and mouthing the words like zombies. One small scoop made your day. It wasn't a particularly calorie intense formula, but you couldn't eat a lot of it. My evil twin wants to believe that the ingredients were too expensive to mass produce.
This was one of the most delectable frozen treats ever made. Why doesn't B&R just promote it by advertising that it is dairy and gluten free? That should get sales going.
I loved it. It was my favorite flavor back in my college days in the late 1960's. Wish it would come back for good.
For those o0f us who love it, wish we could get the recipe!!
It was my absolutely favorite BR flavor and I miss it dearly. If only BR would bring it back!!
I have not seen it in years but it was my favorite ice cream of all time. It would likely go over much better today if they would begin to make it again. I would definitely buy it.
Please bring it back! I haven't tasted it in 30 years. I would buy it by the gallon if it were available.
My all time favorite B&R flavor. It was the only one I'd order as a kid back in the 60s. I can still remember that wonderful taste...
I was so excited to see other people searching for Mandarin Chocolate sherbet from BR! It was my all time favorite flavor when I lived in Tempe, AZ in the late 60's and early 70's and I ordered it every visit! I hope the bring it back again. Now I live in Tulsa, OK! Please BR, bring Mandarin Chocolate sherbet back!
BR was my first job in the mid ‘70’s. A fantastically beautiful yet misunderstood item.
Yup, my all time favorite! I wonder if today's market would like it better.
Marian/Californit
Please, please, please bring this flavor back. It was the best ever and my whole family loved it. I think that today would be a good timed to see it in your stores. I would come every day for a double cone. Again, I say please bring it back.
I have a blog that reviews every episode of The Brady Bunch in order. While reviewing this week's show, I noticed a sign for Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet in the ice cream shop Marcia works at. I'd never heard of it until today. Sounds like it was a love it or hate it ice cream; kind of like daiquiri ice.
http://bradybunchreviewed.wordpress.com
Like most of the other reviewers here, MCS was my favorite flavor. I've obsessed about the loss of this flavor for decades. When I eventually came across Terry's Chocolate Orange, I was hopeful that it would assuage the sting, but it just served as a reminder of how sublime MCS really was.
Another flavor I enjoyed was Red Applejack Ice. It seems more obscure. I think it was around for a shorter time. It was a second scoop choice more often than not, but was unique enough that it beckoned.
MCS was the second discontinued food that I remember lamenting. The first was Cadbury Shortcake.
Heaven will be filled with Mandarin Chocolate. If not, I’ll take the other place.
my all time favorite. it was only out down here very briefly in the 70s.
it was almost as black as tar. I've never seen another chocolate ice cream or sherbert as dark.
As a kid in the 60's MCS was more than just my favorite, it was and still is an obsession. Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet ... The name still rolls off my tongue. If BR brings it back, I will buy it by the 5 gallon bucket ... Please?
I would but it every week other than Jamoca Almond Fudge n Chocolate Mint Chip There Isn't A Single Flavor That I Would Even Try Let Alone Buy. 1964 Denver Co I First Tried BR I've Stayed Loyal But Long For Mandarin Chocolate Shebert Dam Dam Dam
It was delicious! The last time I had it was at a Baskin Robbins on 380 in Denton, Texas. When the company asked what flavor you'd like to bring back, that flavor wasn't even listed as a choice. Why? Makes me sad. These days, I have Blue Bell Orange Sherbet with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup in a vain attempt to replicate the flavor.
Here's my Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet hack:
Baskin Robbins Chocolate Fudge (nearly dark enough)
Chobani Creamy Orange Dreamy Gimmies Yogurt Tube (https://www.chobani.com/products/gimmies/tube--multi/creamy-orange-dreamy/)
Squeeze just a little of the yogurt from the tube. Don't need to mix it much, just get the flavors together. Tastes like I remember the Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet flavor.
Miss it. Wish they would bring it back
PLEASE bring back MCS! Last devoured in Knoxville, TN in the early 80s. It is my favorite BR flavor of all time!
My favorite ice cream of all time and combine it with Daquari Ice and it was unbeatable.
I pine for Mandarin Chocolate Sherbert at B & R.
1,047,490 people can't be wrong, van they? That's how many views this thread has, because over a million people, like you and me, googled "Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet" thinking that nothing would come up at all.
B&R, are you paying attention?
I loved it! It was so rich and delish! I have been keeping my eye out for decades but still have not seen it brought back.
Loved it soooo much. I want it back BR. Peet's Coffee has a dark chocolate orange mocha latte that comes pretty close to the BR flavor and that's where I'm getting my fix at the moment.
It sure would be nice to get the texture and the flavor of the ice cream back in my system and hopefully not have it highjacking to go on for decades more.
Yep, I'm still dreaming of that flavor! Used to love it in the early 80's! Worked at BR in the late 80's and don't ever remember it after that!
I'd be happy if a different ice cream company made it if BR won't!
Here is what you can do (requires Ice-Cream Maker): make a normal Sherbet recipe [found with all ice-cream machines]; use ice and Hershey's dark chocolate syrup (you can use the sugar-free variety if you like, but a better bet is the Torani sugar-free chocolate syrup available on Amazon); add [preferably] Grand Marnier or Triple Sec, and perhaps some ground Orange Zest (available pre-ground in shaker jars in the Spice section of any supermarket - this last is a personal taste; I like more orange-y flavour); voila! It can be done as an Ice Cream recipe as well, and you can even make it with Soy/Almond milk if you can't tolerate Dairy. Bon Apetit!
This was a family favorite dating back to 1970s. It managed to be light but with a rich flavor and nice mouth-feel. Swensen's used to make a flavor called Swiss Orange Chip that had the same flavors but Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet was the GOAT.
A dangerous sherbet.
Went to the store for more when we ran out at my son's fourth birthday party. I'd smoked a few joints and when I got to BR I couldn't imagine why a 3 gallon tub wouldn't be sufficient. It wasn't.
Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet!
As a kid in the 1960's it was my favorite flavor. I bought it every week when I got my allowance. Had to vacuum and dust the entire 3 story house, plus do dishes for a week to get mt tiny allowance and it was inevitably spent on 2 scoops of Mandarin Chocolate sherbet. That's how good it is. Please bring it back, BR, or at least share that intense chocolate and sharp orange recipe to those of us who adore it.
BOTH of which I loved from there! Those were my go-tos!!
The early 1970s were pre-gelato, pre-sorbet; and no sherbet I'd had before resembled the texture of BR Mandarin Orange Sherbet. Was it called sherbet, even? So it was a novel texture, taste and color. Had to be dutched cocoa to be that dark. It was a marvel to me even then that I liked it. Fruit ices never compared to smooth and rich ice cream, so why the draw? Had to be a product of the dark arts, never to be duplicated; perpetually craved.
My former neighbor introduced me to Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet when I was in my teens. I am 71 now and have yet to find another flavor to replace it.
Very unusual gourmet flavor sorely missed by those with adult tastes. Very sad BR31 can't find room for it amongst bubble gum and Super hero flavors.
MCS was my favorite BR treat from the early 70s. I found this page when I decided to research a home made version.
Someone must have pissed off someone for them not to bring back the MCS!
Since the early 60s, MANDARIN CHOCOLATE SHERBET was my whole family's all time favorite ice cream. We ate ice cream daily. We were (and are still) heartbroken when Baskin Robbins discontinued it. I did stumble across it (& buy it) at the end of November about 10 or so years ago when Baskin Robbins brought it back for that month's special. About 20 years after they stopped carrying it, I wrote to them. I said that since they no longer made it, please, give me the recipe. They wrote back that they wouldn't share the recipe, but gave me a hint... Orange Juice Concentrate. One of these days I'm going to attempt to duplicate it! (I still need to buy an ice cream maker.)
BR's Mandarin Orange sherbet - what a beautiful memory - a little bit of heaven's bliss on earth! Was a college student in Cambridge during the 1970's. Can vividly remember the Baskin-Robbins shop at the intersection of Harvard St, Mass Ave & Bow, a couple doors down from Bartley's Burgers. That ice-cream was in a class all its own - a deep rich intensely dark chocolate with a distinct orange under-taste in a velvety smooth sherbet. Loved the taste of dark chocolate with orange well before it became so overwhelmingly popular. To enhance the orange taste and offset the intensity of the dark chocolate I would sometimes add additional orange sherbet to the mix - which was also a great creamy flavorful BR sherbet. Never had any ice cream so excessively rich and sublime before or since. Was crushed when it became unavailable. Still think about it. And feel privileged to have had the experience before it was discontinued. Thank you and curse you Baskin-Robbins!
I used to LOVE LOVE Baskin Robbins Mandarin Chocolate Sherbert!! I was so sad when they stopped selling it!! I STILL am and it's 2021!! I miss that flavor so much and WISH they would bring it BACK!!
It was and still is my favorite ice cream ever. Wish it would return, or they could give me the recipe 😀
Oh, my. Mandarin. Chocolate. Sherbet. (Or was it "Sherbert?") I haven't had it since the '60s. It was intense, with a fudgy texture that wasn't the least bit icy. My three favorite flavors back then were it, Chocolate Cheesecake, and Lemon Custard. I'd give a lot to taste any of them again. (I wish I'd tried Vanilla Burnt Almond, too.)
Did anyone ever figure out a recipe? Or might they bring it back again?
i'm a fool for mandarin chocolate sherbert. so intense you didn't need a big scoop.
What a fun post to come across! I was actually searching to see if i could find a recipe when I came across it. My grandmother introduced me to this ice cream in the 60’s! I was crushed when it disappeared.
I Serve it at my ice cream shop (kind of). We have the Swenson's version. My store originally was a Swenson's 30 years ago. Our's is called Chocolate Orange Chip, but it's the same recipe as Swiss Orange Chip. It's ice cream, not Sherbet. Come on by if you're in the area. Hans' Homemade Ice Cream in Santa Ana California :)
And all this time I thought I was the only one who craved MCS. Late High School and into College.
C'mon Baskin Robbins...now is the time to bring MCS back. When I was a kid, I would get this every time. Super delicious!
There's a new chocolate company in Pittsburgh called Fat Cat Chocolates, and they just came out with a new bar called "Orange You Glad?" which reminds me of Mandarin Chocolate from Baskin Robbins. Wish BR would bring it back, my all time favorite flavor.
So sad dont have an ice cream maker. Came onto Pinterest to find a copycat recipe for Mandarin Choc Sherbet from Baskins. Read about all the people who loved it as much as I did. something strange and evil about BR refusing to resume selling it...strange behavior when so many like it. Sort of nasty, isn't it?
I buy Dreyers oramge sherbet and add dark chocolate syrup. A pale substitute. There was never a flavor as good as Mandarin Chocolate sherbet. FIE ON BR for being so stubborn & withholding..like I said, its a bit strange, isn't it?
Loved, loved this flavor in the late 60’s. Im surprised no one has come up with a recipe thats close enough.
I dream about Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet!! This flavor was amazing. I remember going to Baskin Robbins with my mother and father as a youngster and ordered it every time!! How I wish BR would bring back this flavor before I leave this earth..... Stephanie J. Holstein
The best BR ice cream. Legendary
Maybe it's us. Maybe we are the iconoclasts, the outlier subjects in not only chocolate sherbet, but life in general. Do you believe yourself to have unusual tastes? Do your friends hold their noses up when you order at a Chinese restaurant or buy an oddball call because it's quirky and doesn't conform to everyone else's standards for design, power and cute? I'll admit I like the Studebaker Avanti more than any car I've ever seen before or after. There now, if I can admit weirdness in my tastes you can, too.
Don't blame the victims, meaning us. Somewhere, sometime, someone(s) made a corporate decision, and that was that.
My absolute favorite from Baskin Robbins.
I have to concur. They're deliberately trying to withhold the recipe/ow returning ot to it's rightful place! I don't understand why they'd willfully refuse so many requests! Boycott, I say!!
The Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet and the Apricot Brandy Sherbet were the best from BK and Vala’s Coffee Cognac ice cream is dearly missed too.
Colour of Crosse and Blackwell’s Treacle Brittle, also long gone
I worked at BT when it came out in the 70s. I was one of the few that liked it. I was just eating and orange chocolate candy bar and ran across this post. One of my favorite combinations.
BR
Anonymous said: I was one of the few that liked it.
People that like Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet seem to all be crazy about it, myself included. Others either don't like or are indifferent to it. Makes me wonder if there's a chocolate / orange gene that determines your preference at birth.
OMG to this day, I miss MCS . I think in the ‘70’s it might have been ahead of it’s time. However, with dark chocolate this and that everywhere including chocolate orange candy, it seems so sophisticated now that MCS would fit right in.
Still looking for a recipe, it can't be THAT hard to make. I would point out, however, that the flavor existed in the sixties, because it was my favorite when I was in high school, and I graduated in '65.
I loved it! Wish they would bring it back!
Please bring back the chocolate orange sherbet. Best flavor ever!!!!! We remember it from over 30 years ago!! Never tasted anything else like it!! Bese flavor BR ever had. Haven't bought any BR ice cream since because you don't have the one we want!!!!!
Loved the Mandarin Chocolate. Always paired it with the Daiquiri Ice. The best ever! Would love for Baskin Robbins to make these old favorites new again!
I remember! Swiss orange chip, they called it!
It was my favorite too! My friends would not walk with me when I ordered it!! The color put they off! I used to tease them by making noises as I.ate it? Please bring it back!
Brilliant idea! Bring back BR Mandarin, Chocolate Sherbet.
It was my favorite flavor. I adored it! I SO wish BR would bring it back.
I loved this sherbet! I got it every time I went to BR! Was SO SAD when they d/c it. I think not that many people were into dark chocolate like they are now. Bet if they brought it back now, it would find a lot more support!
My all-time favorite hands down... although Italian sorbets I've tasted in Italy have rivaled it. In the 60s I always ordered MCS, while my sister always ordered Pink Daquiri Ice. They complemented each other marvelously, and we would often share.
But MCS had a foreboding look to it... too dark... looked like poop. Most people didn't want to try it.
I miss it so much! To was SOOOO Good! If that was the last thing I ever tasted, I'd die a happy death!
Oh yes, I remember to this day, with tears in my eyes, ‘the day the sherbet died’! It was the best of the best and I have never forgiven B & R for ‘putting it on holiday’. I say “Bring it back” Bring it back” Bring it back” Bring mandarin chocolate sherbet back! I guess you don’t know what ‘cha got ‘till it’s gone.
I loved the Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet and miss it still. Bring it back. I good for 3 gallons a month
Best flavor ever. From a BR employee at the time: The MCS's components made it unusually soft, it couldn't be stacked in a multi-scoop cone unless it was the top scoop. They had many "returns" due to containment failure of a stack.
Me too! I would buy 3 gallons every month!
I'm with y'all!! Maybe we should start a petition to BR for our delicious & beloved GOAT Chocolate Mandarin Sherbet! I know I'm down for it!!
I would buy a 1,000 Gallons!!!! I have no doubt that it would not last a month between those I know that would want this flavor back.
Best flavor ever! I’m going to try to make it this summer, but I’d much rather buy it. Please,BR, bring it back.
Dear Anonymous,
If you're planning to make Mandarin Chocolate Sherbet, make a lot of it 'cause we're coming over.
It was the best ice cream ever!
I see I’m not alone! Best flavor ever. Please bring it back!
Was my absolute favorite flavor back in the past.
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