The Froze Bros

The Bros celebrate their second Frozaversary with Shaun. This week: Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Fudge Stripe Layer Cake . The story: Margaret Rudkin started Pepperidge Farm in 1937 out of her Connecticut kitchen, baking preservative-free bread because her son had allergies. A decade later, she opened a real bakery. Campbell Soup bought the company in 1961, and Margaret became Campbell's first female board member. Layer cakes have been part of the lineup since 1963. Plus: Candle wax disappearances. The difference between an eighth and a ninth. Sponge cake versus sponge, the British way. Tupelo trees. Visits from neighbors and grandkids. Chocolate: can there be too much of it? In the closing segment: it's the Bros' second Frozaversary, which means prizes, pixels, and a very serious competition. Frozen food mascots. A five-round showdown. And by the end of it, someone walks away with a title. WATCH THIS EPISODE FROST BITES Roots of the Brand . " Pepperidge Farm " isn...

What’s in a name? If that name is Häagen-Dazs, then there’s over sixty years of misrepresentation. But will we give them a pass? This week: Häagen-Dazs ice cream . The story: Reuben Mattus, born Nifka Matus in Eastern Europe, immigrated to the Bronx in 1921. In 1960, he and his wife Rose invented an ice cream brand that they wanted to sound fancy. From there, the brand passes to Pillsbury, Nestlé, General Mills, and even Goldman Sachs. Plus: Outback steaks mate, how to do a Danish accent, a garden outhouse and a farm in Africa, Danish horror-puppet film, and a melting experiment that gets less scientific by the minute. In the closing segment: Froze or Fake. Max tries to tell the difference between real old-timey frozen food products and ones that Darren made up.  watch this episode FROST BITES It came from where? That weird puppet movie Max described is 100% real. It’s called ZombieWestern: It Came from the West (2007)—a Danish short film that holds the title of the world’s first...

It's Pride Month and the Bros are reviewing JonnyPops Organic Rainbow Fruit Stacks while Darren sips The Pride & Joy—a bourbon Old Fashioned made with a melting rainbow popsicle instead of ice and simple syrup. The story: In 2012, college freshman Erik Brust and his cousin Jonathan dreamed up organic pops. Tragically, Jonathan died before launch. Erik and his college friends pooled their money, developed the recipe in their dorm room, and named the pops for Jonny. They also suggest a kind deed printed on every stick. But here's the kicker: JonnyPops makes pops in pride and trans flag colors, but they stay totally quiet about supporting LGBTQ+ rights. Darren calls them out: if you're going to market pride and trans flag popsicles, commit to the message and say it out loud! Plus: Frozen deodorant. Grilled PB&J. Sugar Factory launches rainbow sliders . Max’s earlobes. Max’s earlobes? The Bros collect popsicle sticks for rewards—only 984 more to score a JonnyPops freeze...

Three episodes. Three courses. One spring picnic. Dessert is served. This week: Ice Cream for Bears Mint to Bee — eaten on the same imaginary picnic blanket as the last two weeks. And yes, one of us is still sipping Noble Mick's Meyer Lemon Fizz . It's that good. Before the ice cream: a quick Hot Pocket postmortem. Darren microwaved one between recordings. The Redditors were right . Then: Ice Cream for Bears is a 2022 startup founded by an outdoorsman who developed the recipe while earning his MBA. Their philosophy: eat ancient, live wild. No refined sugars, no factory-farmed dairy, no gut-disrupting gums. Sweetened with raw honey, thickened with egg yolks, and finished with pure peppermint oil. The chocolate chips are sweetened with dates. In the closing segment: Murder on the Mountain concludes. The snow has stopped. Harvest Lowe is almost ready to make his accusation. But there’s a twist that nobody saw coming — including Darren and Max. Stick around after the mystery for ...

New guest alert! This week we welcome Kenzie to the pod—friend of Max, first-time podcaster, and possible blood relation to the Sara Lee family. (We're still looking into it.) Together we dug into a frozen institution that has been made virtually unchanged since 1951. This is Sara Lee's Classic Pound Cake . Showing off the cake’s versatility, we test how far this dessert (does it have to be dessert?) can go. (Spoiler: it can go pretty far.) And showing off the cake's signature baking pan, just what is that schmutz on the outside? And will anyone taste it? (Spoiler: oh, we're not spoiling that.) In the closer, it's Ice Cold Draft: Spring Break Edition. We each build our ideal frozen food travel squad. Darren heads to Cancun with buddies and a literal wingman. Max takes a ferry and disconnects from reality. And Kenzie has some strong opinions about who doesn't get an invite. Plus: Smucker's owns Hostess and penetrates American homes. The correct pronunciation...