Jeni's Releases Acorn Ice Cream for Fall Season

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 1, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Jeni's Ice Creams, a company founded in 2002 by James Beard Award-winning ice cream maker Jeni Britton, has recently introduced Appalachian Acorn Pie, a limited-edition fall flavor that has been five years in the making. The ice cream, crafted with flour milled from foraged Ohio oak acorns, is a testament to the lengths Jeni's will go when they get curious about something. The company has built an entirely new supply chain from the ground up to produce this unique flavor, which is now available online and in Jeni's scoop shops.

The team was intrigued by the potential of acorns, which are abundant in the United States and have historically been a food source for indigenous Americans. However, acorns are not commercially regulated or distributed, making it challenging to source them.

To address this challenge, Jeni's partnered with Route 9 Action Network, an agricultural cooperative based in Carroll County, Ohio. Route 9's main crop is chestnuts, but they were interested in expanding their offerings. Jeni's provided multiple grant letters to help Route 9 grow their business so that they could forage and process the acorns needed for the ice cream. This included washing and leaching the tannins from the acorns to make them safe for consumption.

From there, the acorns were sent to a nearby Amish farm to be milled into flour. This required a few extra layers of communication, as Jeni's had to use snail mail, a community phone, and in-person visits to stay in contact with the Amish farm. All of these efforts led to the creation of beautiful, fragrant, Appalachian grown and milled acorn flour that Jeni's could then fold into cream.

After five years of foraging, milling, and testing, Jeni's is now releasing a very limited supply of Appalachian Acorn Pie, an acorn ice cream with a graham cracker swirl. The flavor is nutty and sweet, with notes of hazelnut, coconut, and chestnut. The limited-time flavor will launch on October 1 at Jeni's.com and in Jeni's scoop shops nationwide, while supplies last.

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, a Certified B Corporation known for its social, environmental, and business leadership, continues to make one-of-a-kind flavors with Direct Trade ingredients and super fresh milk from family dairy farms. The company has more than 90 scoop shops, an online shop at Jeni's.com, and distribution in top grocery stores across the country.