Most of us can remember our favourite childhood ice lollies, ice creams or even choc ices, whether they were dished out from the home freezer, bought from a shop or purchased from a tinkling ice cream van. While many popular varieties are still around for a nostalgic treat, others have been put on ice forever. Here are some of the best frozen treats that have been discontinued – and that we wish would make a comeback.

Dairy Queen is known for its frozen desserts but this particular treat was something completely different – from another planet, perhaps. The Strato-Liner Sundae, sold in the US fast-food chain in the late 1950s, consisted of a frozen banana dipped in chocolate, placed on a bed of ice cream “clouds” and topped with wafer “wings”, so it looked like it was going to take off if diners didn’t get their spoon in quick enough.

This orange-flavoured ice lolly had a contrasting ice milk centre, which sounds pretty delightful – dreamy, in fact. But of all the Popsicle products featured in this 1961 ad, the Dreamsicle is the only one that’s no longer around. Perhaps because it was pretty similar to the Creamsicle, which had ice cream at its core. Sadly, Popsicle Pete – the mascot for the American brand from 1939 – has also long-since departed.

So many of Ben & Jerry’s discontinued ice cream flavours are mourned by fans that the Vermont-based company has a dedicated “Flavor Graveyard” commemorating each and every one. Wavy Gravy, launched in 1993 and named after a peace activist and Woodstock emcee, was around from 1993 to 2001 and was briefly resurrected in 2005 after customers voted for its comeback. It was sadly brief, though, despite fans still begging for the permanent return of this delicious combo of caramel, cashew and Brazil nut ice cream with chocolate, fudge and hazelnut swirls.

Three different flavours made up the layers of these rocket-shaped lollies, launched in the UK by Lyons Maid back in the 1960s. They were a much-loved kids’ favourite for decades, but disappeared at the end of the 20th century. There are online campaigns focused on bringing them back but, aside from a brief return in 2019, they remain absent from freezer sections and ice cream vans – along with Orbit, a similarly shaped lolly based on TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.

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Another rocket-shaped and TV series–inspired ice lolly was the Sea Jet, launched by Lyons Maid in the UK off the back of popular kids’ show Stingray, which featured marionettes in submarines policing the oceans. In flavours including chocolate, vanilla, raspberry and orange, they were lapped up in the 1960s by fans of the show, who even had the chance to send off wrappers to claim their very own model Stingray. They've long since been discontinued though. 

Launched in the 1960s when Batman was all cartoonish battles, “pow!” captions and costumes in pastels and primary colours, this ice cream took full advantage of the TV show’s popularity in America. It was short-lived but sounds delicious, with banana marshmallows woven through classic vanilla ice cream. And, of course, the box was emblazoned with comic strips featuring the dynamic duo, Batman and Robin.

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The so-called “cream of the stars” hit shelves in the US in the 1950s, when Bing Crosby was at the peak of his popularity. The White Christmas crooner had his familiar face plastered on boxes of ice cream in flavours including vanilla and banana. It didn’t last long but the vintage boxes are now sold online as collectors’ items.

Tears are still wept at the demise of General Foods' Jell-O Pudding Pops, creamy “pudding on a stick” treats that were a popular freezer standby treat from the late 1970s. Sold in the US, they were discontinued in the 1990s and made a brief return only to be scrapped again in 2011, as people complained they just didn’t taste the same. Today, Jell-O sells moulds so people can try making their own at home.

We wish these summer treats still existed

Before fancy ice cream makers came along, Jell-O offered families the chance to whip up their own frozen goodies without the need for churning. The powder was sold in the US from around the early 20th century and magically turned milk into ice cream when mixed in and frozen on trays. It came in five flavours including maple walnut and tutti-frutti, or people could buy the unflavoured version and experiment with their own recipes.

Lyons Maid’s Fruit Parfait cups were dubbed the “cinema ice cream”, with adverts starring On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Bond star George Lazenby. They were a popular intermission treat in the UK in the 1960s, when servers wandering the aisles with trays of ice cream around their necks was still very much a thing. Tangy cubes of fruit salad were encased by softly whipped vanilla ice cream and topped with a cherry.

Carnation’s Condensed Milk makes wonderful (and wonderfully easy) ice cream, cheesecakes and countless other desserts. But back in the 1950s – when this photo of a group posing in front of a billboard in Los Angeles, California was taken – people didn’t need to make their own. Carnation sold ice cream, already perfectly churned and frozen, in tubs and even had a Carnation Ice Cream Parlor at Disneyland, California serving up scoops and sundaes. Both the product and the parlour, now renamed Carnation Café, were phased out in the 1990s.

These pots of frozen mousse are as “growing up in the UK in the 1980s” as Neighbours, arctic roll and Roland Rat. And, as it happens, the aforementioned TV rodent was chosen to front a relaunch of the freezer treat in 2009. Sadly, its return didn’t last and the pots – in flavours like chocolate and strawberry, with swirls of sticky sauce – are relegated to the icy annals of the past.

Remember when you could buy ice cream in big creamy slabs, or bricks, rather than only in tubs? If you grew up between the 1950s and 1970s, then the answer may well be yes. As this cute and colourful 1955 magazine ad shows, Wall’s ice cream blocks – sold in the UK – came in various flavours including vanilla, chocolate and strawberry – and in packages big enough to slice up and share.

The iconic Hershey’s candy was transformed into a frozen dessert sold in the US in 2012. Taking the same flavours as the original Mounds chocolate bars, the choc-ice-style treats had coconut-flavoured ice cream and coconut flakes coated in dark chocolate, and were also launched in limited-edition “egg” shapes. Despite several other classics being brought back by Good Humor – including the much-loved and long-bereaved Viennetta – these delicious bars are yet to return.

You can still buy Wall’s ice cream in all the classic varieties but the UK company has had some fabulous flavours in the past that, sadly, haven’t stood the test of time. Specials have included banana, pineapple, cherry pie and – as delightfully displayed in this 1950s ad – “real” honey. We’re not sure exactly how people were supposed to eat those slices but, otherwise, it sounds delicious.

York Peppermint Patties, now produced by Hershey’s, have been around since 1940 and are a classic confectionary favourite. The mint fondant rounds, coated in dark chocolate, sound like the perfect inspiration for a refreshing ice cream and parent company Good Humor agreed when they launched a frozen version in the US in 2012. Somehow, they failed to fully take off and have since disappeared from freezer sections.

These colourful blocks of ice cream were the initial cornerstone of Canada’s Neilson Dairy, which started in the late 19th century when William Neilson invested all his money in dairy cows and hand-cranked ice cream makers. Their quality product proved hugely popular but, with sales concentrated in summer, the company turned to other products including chocolates and now focuses largely on milk.

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These ice pops were just the tip of the marketing iceberg – merchandise off the back of the popular US TV show Howdy Doody ranged from toys with moveable mouths to cravats and lunchboxes. There were even restaurants inspired by the kids’ show. Among the frozen treats were these Twin Pops, ice cream and a Fudge Bar, all of which disappeared after the show ended in 1960.