One of the most famous ice creams in the world was made by a man that couldn’t smell and could hardly taste.
Ben Cohen decided to go into the food business with his old friend Jerry Greenfield in 1977. Initially, they decided to go into the bagel making business. But when they found out how costly the equipment was to make bagels, they decided to switch gears and go with ice cream instead. They chose Burlington, Vermont for the location of their first shop because the town was severely lacking in an ice cream shop.
The chunky additions that Ben and Jerry’s is famous for in their ice cream are no accident. In reality, it was to compensate for Ben’s anosmia. Anosmia is a condition that causes the inability to detect odor. Meaning you can’t smell a thing! This can also severely affect your taste as well due to the fact that smell and taste are closely linked together. Anosmia can be a temporary condition, but traumatic anosmia can be a permanent condition. That didn’t stop Cohen from forging ahead to make some of the most delicious ice cream the world has seen!
The people of Burlington couldn’t get enough of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Ben and Jerry used local milk, which really appealed to everyone, and whatever random ingredients they felt they wanted to use that day. The reason Cohen added the big chunks in his ice cream was his need for texture in foods, and it became a huge hit.
Cohen’s inability to smell would usually deter someone from entering into the food business. But his determination to overcome this hurdle helped him turn this possible failure into a success!