Why is vanilla ice cream really plain ice cream?

I like vanilla. I like how it tastes and smells, and think it definitely has a strong, distinctive taste which is far from plain. However, for some unknown reason, vanilla ice cream usually tastes NOTHING like vanilla. It just tastes like sugary milk. Certainly there are some good vanilla ice creams, but they are few and far between. In the mean time, vanilla must be associated with plainness and vanilla-lameness.

I think the government or someone should require that vanilla ice cream really taste like vanilla. It's false advertizing to call something vanilla when it tastes like cold whip cream.

Actually it isn't.

If you think that vanilla ice cream equals "plain" ice cream, then you've been eating cheap ice cream that is made with cheap vanilla. Try looking for a more premium brand next time you're in the ice cream aisle of your supermarket. Breyer's has a French Vanilla flavor that is more vanilla-y than their regular offering.

Or you could make your own—which if you're going to go through the trouble of making your own vanilla ice cream, you may as well go all out and make your own vanilla extract. Vanilla extract may be made by steeping vanilla root in vodka for a few months.

Plain ice cream is ice cream minus any flavor additives and is sometimes sold as "sweet cream" at ice cream shops that make their own stock. Sweet cream ice cream is made by pouring the ice cream mix into the ice cream maker and adding nothing. Standard issue ice cream mix, available wholesale from many dairies, consists of milk, cream, sugar (and/or High Fructose Corn Syrup), a modicum of salt and a few other additives for texture.

And in case you were curious as to what constitutes the difference between French Vanilla Ice Cream and plain Vanilla Ice Cream—the difference is egg yolks. Plain Vanilla doesn't have 'em.