The Award-Winning Chain Ice Cream Shop Known For Its French Pot Method Since 1870

The industrial revolution, and each wave of technology that followed it, brought about the idea that whatever your company produced, machinery could help you make it faster, cheaper, and therefore better. Some companies rejected that idea, however, and a few are still leaders in their industries because of that decision. One such company is Graeter's Ice Cream, which still makes its ice cream using the small-batch French pot method it used when it began in the 19th-century streets of Cincinnati.

In 1870, Louis Charles Graeter made ice cream by blending fresh ingredients in a French pot mixer. After loading the ice cream into two carts, Graeter would hit the road and sell the ice cream around town. After getting married, he and his wife Regina sold ice cream from the first floor of their home. In 1919, Louis died after getting hit by a streetcar and Regina took over the business at a time when women didn't have many rights, let alone much support around holding leadership roles. Even as other ice cream makers switched to automated methods of processing and packing ice cream, Regina continued using the French pot method, adding more pots and more people to account for demand rather than giving into automation.

Using French pots yields a dense, flavorful ice cream. And because the process is manual, Graeter's can use real fruit and massive chocolate chunks instead of tiny chocolate chips. Graeter's ice cream begins with egg custard freshly made in a 260-gallon pasteurizer (much more than what you'd make at home). The custard is then blended with the natural flavor mixture and poured in 2-gallon batches into French pot mixers. If the flavor of ice cream calls for chocolate "chips," a 10-pound bar of dark chocolate is melted down and poured into the French pot, where the operator uses a paddle to break up the refrozen chocolate into irregularly-shaped pieces that range from small to massive chunks that can't be eaten in one bite. When the ice cream is ready, the same paddle is used to collect it from the walls of the French pot and packed by hand, as the ice cream is too dense and chunky for packing machinery.

In fact, the only automated part of Graeter's process is topping and sealing the pint cup. It's thanks to this process that Graeter's continues to win awards like the 2025 Dairy Foods Magazine's Product of the Year and is often ranked number one when compared to other brands. Available at scoop shops in the Midwest (including this Art Deco ice cream parlor in Ohio), online orders through the company's website, and select grocery stores across the nation, Graeter's now moves 25,600 pints per day (Cincinnati Magazine). Graeter's makes its own fresh custard, uses all-natural flavors, and features giant mix-in chunks, all combined in small batches. Nothing about Graeter's is fast and cheap, and that's what makes it better.