What Are Eskimo Pies Now Called?

An ice-cream-treat classic has gotten a new look and name as the ice-cream bars once known as Eskimo Pies will now be known as Edy's Pies. Dreyer's, the company that makes the bars, cited the product's "derogatory" nickname as the reason for the switch.

It's not the first name change for this temptation. It was introduced in 1921 as the I-Scream Bar by Christian K. Nelson, a Danish immigrant partnered with soon-to-be-famed chocolatier Russell C. Stover. The bars were renamed "Eskimo Pies" in '22 at Stover's suggestion.

The new name was meant to conjure images of the frigid weather of the Arctic, including Alaska. While is origins aren't clear, it's thought to come from a Montagnais word "ayas̆kimew," or "netter of snowshoes." It appears as early as 1584 when Richard Hakluyt used "Esquimawes" in a report to Queen Elizabeth I. While the word has now become derogatory, the ice-cream bar was a hit upon launch and frequently used images of a cartoon Inuit boy in advertisements.

The treats now honor candymaker Joseph Edy — yes, he's also the namesake of Edy's brand ice cream, and co-founder of Dreyer's, too. In the 1920s, Edy, who ran several successful candy shops in California, partnered with William Dreyer to make ice cream, including the original Rocky Road, Toasted Almond, and Peppermint Stick. The company now uses the Dreyer's name in the American West and the Edy's brand in the rest of the country.

The change from "Eskimo Pie" to "Edy's Pie" was part of a trend following the 2020 George Floyd protests in which brands changed names and logos thought to be racist, including those of Uncle Ben's (now Ben's Original) and Aunt Jemima (now Pearl Milling Company). The treat officially became "Edy's Pie" in 2021.

The chocolate-coated vanilla-ice cream Edy Pie was a revolution when it was introduced to the public in 1921 (and patented in 1922). As the first chocolate-coated ice-cream treat, it meant that children no longer had to choose between buying an ice-cream bar or a chocolate bar with their pocket money.

Nelson worked diligently to perfect a way to adhere melting chocolate to ice cream to form a chocolate shell. It hit the market a year before the Klondike Bar and was marketed in a radio commercial as "more fun than a flight to the sky."

In a land of multiple ice cream sandwiches, Popsicles, and other frozen treats, Edy's Pie continues to endure as a classic American frozen treat still enjoyed by millions of Americans each year, no matter what names it's gone by through the years.