** Ice Cream Eating Now Official Thread **

[Robboe]

[img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8079/8433277059_3ecca8a94c.jpg[img]

Gelati-da Coffe Fudge Latte B The texture was a little icy but that's to be expected with a low fat product. There was plenty of fudge swirl in this and it tasted a lot better than I thought it would, especially considering the macros (2f/24c/4p).

I agree, not a bad offering at all for the calories. However, maybe I am just being too much of a purist here but there was no coffee in the product. Or at least coffee is not listed in the ingredients so I assume the "natural flavor" is a coffee flavoring.

[img]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8374/8441668967_07b224a6b1.jpg[img]

Cedar Crest's Pirate Booty C Meh. Bland caramel ice cream with sparse pieces of M&Ms and Oreos. It reminded me a low-tier Blue Bell flavor. Would not eat again.

^^I guess you cant judge a book by its cover bc that looks 10/10

Agreed. Looks very good.

I thought it was epic. I am interested in trying their other stuff because of it, and would recommend anyone with access to their products give them a try (or give this one a try at the very least).

[Robboe]

One more from the weekend, HD limoncello. This stuff is unbelievably soft, likely because of the sugar and the fact that there is vodka in the recipe keeping it that way. It melts as fast as the other HD gelatos do that I've tried to date. The other ingredients claim a lemon juice concentrate and a lemon extract to contribute to the flavor, but it looks like relying on the juice concentrate as the primary spine for the flavor was a mistake. The flavor is just too weak IMO. I don't want something so tart that it makes my lips twist inwards, but I need that little bit of bite. This just lacks body. If they were prepared to use vodka in this then I wonder why they didn't instead use legitimate limoncello for the flavor.



Only the cappuccino and vanilla flavors to try for this range of products. The cappuccino is in my freezer right now, the vanilla I'll have to grab at a later date and compare it to Talenti's.

[Robboe]

Here's something for the vanilla purists (and for Chad's blog): http://www.examiner.com/article/whol...illa-ice-cream

In a taste test of 13 different brands of vanilla whole foods' own brand finished with top marks. I've never tried the brand and might have considered hunting it out to see if I can validate their claims. However I have two major grievances with their list. First, they chose Breyer's in second place. I've only ever tried Breyer's Blasts! and other frozen dairy desserts, so their actual ice cream products may be great. But I somehow doubt it. There is a lot of heritage in this brand's name and I wonder if that helped carry it to this position.

The other grievance I have is not the low placing of SoCo's offering, being a SoCo fanboi, but the placing of Graeter's at #7 behind B&J's, HD and TH.

Thoughts?

[Robboe]

The blueberry lavender swirls look super minimal.



http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/0...ek-yogurt.html

[ThousandEyes]

The blueberry lavender swirls look super minimal.


http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/0...ek-yogurt.html

Lavender doesn't need much its pretty strong IIRC

[Chadillac2000]

Here's something for the vanilla purists (and for Chad's blog): http://www.examiner.com/article/whol...illa-ice-cream

In a taste test of 13 different brands of vanilla whole foods' own brand finished with top marks. I've never tried the brand and might have considered hunting it out to see if I can validate their claims. However I have two major grievances with their list. First, they chose Breyer's in second place. I've only ever tried Breyer's Blasts! and other frozen dairy desserts, so their actual ice cream products may be great. But I somehow doubt it. There is a lot of heritage in this brand's name and I wonder if that helped carry it to this position.

The other grievance I have is not the low placing of SoCo's offering, being a SoCo fanboi, but the placing of Graeter's at #7 behind B&J's, HD and TH.

Thoughts?

Interesting article. I bet the majority of us would be surprised what we'd prefer in a blind taste test.

I'll definitely throw that up on the blog soon though, that's cool stuff!

[anuragp122195]

Interesting article. I bet the majority of us would be surprised what we'd prefer in a blind taste test.

I'll definitely throw that up on the blog soon though, that's cool stuff!

I recommend many of the Whole Foods 365 Brand ice creams. They may seem generic because they are store brand, but trust me some of them are quite high quality. Examples are the vanilla as Rob mentioned, Peppermint (which I linked a review to a while ago in this thread and is better than Edy's Peppermint + w/ a nice mix-in), Pumpkin (which is better than Edy's Pumpkin), and Summer Peach, which I remember to be pretty good. There are more that I cant name right off my tongue.

Also, I know not many care about this, but 365 brand uses pretty high quality ingredients.

[23Akers]

Pirate's booty looks great

[Chadillac2000]

I recommend many of the Whole Foods 365 Brand ice creams. They may seem generic because they are store brand, but trust me some of them are quite high quality. Examples are the vanilla as Rob mentioned and the Peppermint that I linked a review to earlier in this thread.

Definitely need to try some. Looking swole in the new avi bud! Keep it up!

NEWS: So who has the best vanilla ice cream?

http://www.theicecreaminformant.com/...ice-cream.html

[DaBubzy]

got trapped by talenti being a caramel addict by this:





very disappointed. loved the caramel, but the base was boring and the cookie pieces were small and shytty. waste of cals

stepped up to an old favorite





legit might be better than SSC IMO. caramel swirl is my crack

[chillaxbroseph]

While shopping for ice cream this weekend, I found myself almost going through the motions. I've sampled all of the offerings of Ben & Jerry's and Haagen Dazs that I have access to, and picking out a flavor to re-scoop seemed more like a chore than a cause for excitement. For that reason, I decided to change things up and sample a local premium brand of ice cream called Batch, which is only sold here in the great state of Massachusetts. Many months ago, I sampled a pint of their Salted Caramel ice cream, which resonated very well with me, given that it was almost entirely indistinguishable from Haagen Dazs' Salted Caramel Truffle. The problem is that the rest of their lineup consists of fairly mundane, monochromatic offerings. Seeing as I had a slight craving for cinnamon, I decided to overcome my reservations and try their cinnamon-based offering: Cinnamon and Chocolate Bits. This is commonly talked about as the signature flavor of the brand, so I had fairly high hopes going in.

A quick glance at the ingredients list reveals that the folks at Batch pride themselves on; namely, simplicity. Similar to the Haagen Dazs Five line, these offerings only utilize the basic ingredients necessary to make ice cream.

Opening the pint, both of the components of the ice cream were on display. True to its namesake, this pint includes your basic cinnamon ice cream and chocolate chips, in the absence of any swirl or other flourishes. Sometimes simplicity is best, so I held out hope that my first scoops would light up my taste buds. As I scooped the base of the ice cream, I noticed that it had a slightly peculiar texture. It's not the velvety base you would find in Haagen Dazs, but rather it was dense and fairly resistant. The taste of the base was, unfortunately, as offsetting as my initial scoops. Similar to Talenti's Caramel Cookie Crunch, the ice cream had a muddled, milky taste to it. Instead of the cinnamon flavor shining through, it tasted almost as if I was consuming a spoonful of milk from a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. While present, the cinnamon was just along for the ride in this disappointing, milky concoction.

Hoping that the mix-ins would prove to be the sole, redeeming factor in the pint, I scooped a few of them with haste. Once again, I was left confused and disappointed. These were, without a doubt, the most flavorless chocolate chips I've ever had in my lifetime. Whether I ate them along with the base or in isolation, it was almost impossible to even detect the slightest note of chocolate. It was almost remarkable, because even the cheapest chocolate tends to leave some residual taste on the palate . As I worked my way through the pint, they became more of an obstacle than anything else. The rock hard chips make you nearly come to a halt while consuming the ice cream, almost as if you were driving down a road that had a stop sign every 20 feet. Every time I tried to gain some momentum and work my way through the pint, I had to pause. Amazingly, I feel the pint would have worked best with just the base, despite how incredibly bland it was.
All in all, it's a real shame. I wanted to love this product and offer some kind words to a group of local producers, but I can't do so in good conscience. The truth is that this was a disastrous product in all phases, and a complete waste of calories. I honestly would have rather had a bowl of some low-fat, mainstream ice cream in its place. I hate to say that this experience has left me jaundiced, but the next time I'm contemplating being adventurous, I will certainly think twice. To think, I could have satisfied my cravings with a pint of Cinnamon Buns instead...

Score: 3.0/10
Bought at: Stop n' Shop
Price: $6.49 (Thankfully I got it for $4 on sale, or that ridiculous price point really would have added insult to injury)

[MITCHAPAL00ZA]

Yoplait mixed berry froyo

Best of the non greek froyo line imo. they are all great though.

[chillaxbroseph]

I'll post my review of Magnum's double caramel bar when I get a bit more time (hopefully tonight, yet). At the very least I'll put up the pictures. Suffice it to say that it was light years beyond the Batch offering.

[lunchboy]

Breyers has some legit ice cream, but from what I hear the frozen dairy desert is not good in a lot of situations. In the Ice cream they use minimal ingredients and it has a good vanilla flavor. I can't comment on their frozen dairy deserts since I've never had any of them. Their mint chocolate chip is solid I'd give it a B but I think the B&J Mint Cookie is my current Top mint ice cream though. Though for the cals the mint chip is a standby when I'm deeper into a cut. Their vanilla is also very good, at least a B+, but seeing as most of us like mix-ins it is just plain vanilla ice cream so take that for what it's worth.

[Crucifist]

Breyers has some legit ice cream

x2. They don't have a terribly wide or elaborate selection of flavors, but their actual ice cream is of a pretty good quality. The "natural" flavors are especially note-worthy if you're an ingredient snob or are especially sensitive to artificial flavors. There are six ingredients in their Natural Strawberry, and Strawberries are number two just before sugar.

[JOSEF RAKICH]

Sorbet ice-crea every single day.

3 tubs back to back on my re-feed day.



Protein = 4g

Carbohydrates = 87g

Fats = 0g

[Robboe]

Breyers has some legit ice cream, but from what I hear the frozen dairy desert is not good in a lot of situations. In the Ice cream they use minimal ingredients and it has a good vanilla flavor. I can't comment on their frozen dairy deserts since I've never had any of them. Their mint chocolate chip is solid I'd give it a B but I think the B&J Mint Cookie is my current Top mint ice cream though. Though for the cals the mint chip is a standby when I'm deeper into a cut. Their vanilla is also very good, at least a B+, but seeing as most of us like mix-ins it is just plain vanilla ice cream so take that for what it's worth.

If you're a mint ice cream fan, you might wanna consider making the drive to Marblehead to pick up some Steve's mint cacao chip.

Shubies
16 Atlantic Avenue
Marblehead, MA 01945

[Robboe]

Speaking of Steve's, I re-purchased their cinnamon cold-brewed coffee to remind myself how awesome it is. This is a dairy-free formula, so uses coconut milk as the base, and the coconut notes do come through a little. Overall, it contributes to the final flavor, working supremely with the coffee and the cinnamon. Creamy as hell, and no bitterness from the coffee at all.

I probably shouldn't try and compare this to Jeni's Black Coffee given that this has cinnamon and the non-cream base, but I think I am willing to say that this is my favorite coffee-based frozen dessert product there is.

[Dupes4242]

Choc Chip FTW

[lunchboy]

What is Steve's? As in where does it come from? Is it a NYC based ice cream or a marblehead based company? That is definitely in an annoying location to get to, but if there is some legendary ice cream in that store I just might make a field trip one day to marblehead and stop at the grocery store before I leave.

[Chadillac2000]

Monster Cookie from Blue Bunny secures their highest score yet.

http://www.theicecreaminformant.com/...er-cookie.html

[fldhkybnva]

Breyers has some legit ice cream, but from what I hear the frozen dairy desert is not good in a lot of situations. In the Ice cream they use minimal ingredients and it has a good vanilla flavor. I can't comment on their frozen dairy deserts since I've never had any of them. Their mint chocolate chip is solid I'd give it a B but I think the B&J Mint Cookie is my current Top mint ice cream though. Though for the cals the mint chip is a standby when I'm deeper into a cut. Their vanilla is also very good, at least a B+, but seeing as most of us like mix-ins it is just plain vanilla ice cream so take that for what it's worth.

The texture of the frozen dairy dessert is quite awful IMO. The regular ice cream flavors are still pretty good but suffer somewhat from the addition of guar gum. They are still my go to for mint chocolate chip, natural vanilla and creamy chocolate.

[Robboe]

What is Steve's? As in where does it come from? Is it a NYC based ice cream or a marblehead based company? That is definitely in an annoying location to get to, but if there is some legendary ice cream in that store I just might make a field trip one day to marblehead and stop at the grocery store before I leave.

Steve's is the Brooklyn re-launch of the original Steve's from the 70's in MA. Steve Herrell went on to open Herrell's, his two interns went on to open Amy's in Texas,and re-launch the Steve's brand in Brooklyn. They are one of my favorite brands.

[tden99]

Ben and Jerry's new Candy Bar Pie
The flavor was lacking mixins with only chocolate chunks, however the peanut butter and what I believe to be caramel ice cream mix, with a peanut butter swirl (smoother than the semi-hard one in WAC) is a real winning combination. For those that love PB and caramel it is definitely a good choice.
There was no description for the flavor at the scoop shop so I can't be sure but that was what I picked up.
This is a solid addition IMO, and much better than spumoni or butterscotch.

[fldhkybnva]

Sorbet ice-crea every single day.

3 tubs back to back on my re-feed day.

I have recently become a big fan of sorbet. My favorite brands so far are Ciao Bella, Sharon's and Talenti

[ErickStevens]

Ben and Jerry's new Candy Bar Pie

[ErickStevens]

Boulder Ice Cream Espresso Chocolate Chip B Awesome espresso base with some decent chocolate chips swirled throughout. I guess I'm spoiled by Graeter's, I wanted more mix-ins!

[Chadillac2000]

NEWS: Blue Bell releases their February rotational flavors, as well as a Florida only exclusive.

http://www.theicecreaminformant.com/...-february.html

[ErickStevens]

I might be down for a Rum Raisin review...

[Robboe]