Which Came First: The McFlurry Or The Blizzard?

It's odd, isn't it? When you get right down to it, a McFlurry (and its cousin, the Blizzard) is just soft serve ice cream with various bits and bobs stirred in that you eat with a spoon. And yet you never say that you just had some ice cream when you have one, do you? You say "I had a McFlurry" or "I had a Blizzard". Maybe it's because it comes in one of those cups that's taller than it is wide, as opposed to a typical ice cream cup that's wider than it is tall. Or maybe it's just the power of branding. Either way, it's become a dessert of its own: not ice cream, not a milkshake, but a secret third thing.

But which was it that came first? Did McDonald's use its corporate might to forge a new path in the sweet treat industry, or did it come from the (relatively) humble kitchen of a Dairy Queen? 

Dairy Queen was one of the first major franchises in the initial fast food boom. Founded in 1940 by Sherb Noble of Joliet, Illinois, Dairy Queen became a national chain with over a thousand locations by 1950 — five years before Ray Kroc joined McDonald's. Known for both its hot and its cold food, the chain takes its name from its soft serve products, which are delicious whether or not they can be legally called ice cream. (The FDA requires a minimum 10% butterfat in order to officially be called ice cream; and while DQ's doesn't qualify, neither does McD's).

In 1985, Dairy Queen introduced the Blizzard, so named because of how thick and icy it is. It's so thick, in fact, that if you turn a Blizzard's container upside down nothing will fall out, which employees are encouraged to demonstrate to their customers. The Blizzard popped off immediately, with 100 million being sold in 1985 alone, and it remains a beloved staple of the franchise to this day.

Surprisingly, McDonald's response to the Blizzard wasn't concocted in some high-tech food lab by their R&D department, but by a franchisee from Canada. In 1995, Ron McLellan of Bathurst, New Brunswick took soft serve from the McDonald's ice cream machine (which was, by some miracle, working that day) and stirred in some Oreo pieces. It caught on quickly, and soon enough the dessert traveled down to Toronto – and from there to the rest of Canada and the United States in 1997.

In terms of flavors, the McFlurry ranges from basics which are also covered by the Blizzard (Oreos, Butterfingers, Reese's, etc.) to the more esoteric. As a global enterprise, McDonald's caters to many different markets with many different tastes, which is how we get flavors like stroopwafel (the Netherlands), banana caramel pie (Australia), and even durian (Hong Kong). It may not stay still if you flip it upside down, but in terms of sheer variety, it's impressive all the same.