Tag: Ben & Jerry’s

Ben & Jerry’s new Boots on the Moooo’n Ice Cream is another collaboration with Netflix, but this time it’s inspired by the streaming service’s new series, Space Force.

Why is it called Boots on the Moooo’n?

Well, let’s just say if you’re playing a drinking game while watching Space Force’s first episode and you have to take a shot every time the words “boots on the moon” are said, you will probably not remember how the episode ended.

According to its container, the flavor is “a universe of milk chocolate ice cream with fudge cows & toffee meteor clusters orbiting a sugar cookie dough core.”

Here’s the thing about the universe; it’s vast and dwarfs anything in it, making everything else inconsequential. And that is also an appropriate way to describe the presence of the milk chocolate ice cream in this pint.

While the sugar cookie dough core has a nice gritty texture and a pleasant, sweet flavor on its own, it gets lost in my mouth when combined with the chocolate ice cream. I guess one could say, if they were reaching for a space reference, that the chocolate base is like a black hole that absorbs the flavor of the cookie dough core.

Yes, your spoon will be in the same orbit as a fudge cow or toffee meteor once in a while, but the fudge just amps up the choco flavor. As for the toffee meteors, while they do add a nuttiness and wonderful crunch that contrast the creamy chocolate base, they’re like major meteors showers in that they only show up every so often.

If I’m comparing Boots on the Moooo’n to the other Netflix and Ben & Jerry’s collaborations, this is the least impressive of them.

With that said, I have to say I like this pint as much as I like watching Space Force. They’re both interesting enough that I’ll finish them because it’s hard to go too wrong with either Ben & Jerry’s chocolate ice cream or Steve Carell.

Also, I need something to watch because I’ve already gone through all the new episodes of Queer Eye and The Big Flower Fight.

But the show and ice cream aren’t must-binges.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product from Ben & Jerry’s. Doing so did not influence my review in any way.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Received from Ben & Jerry’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 420 calories, 26 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 34 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.

What is Ben & Jerry’s Berry Sweet Mascarpone Ice Cream?

While it’s commonplace for Target, Walmart, Safeway, and even 7-Eleven to have their own exclusive Ben & Jerry’s flavors, the now Amazon-owned Whole Foods enter spring 2020 with its first special pint. Berry Sweet Mascarpone combines blackberry and mascarpone ice creams with shortbread cookies and fudge-covered almonds.

How is it?

I love blackberry ice cream, and sadly, this one really misses the mark. I get virtually no berry flavor at all from the pleasantly light purple base, and its blandness completely confuses my mind while I eat. It looks so pretty but tastes like nothing. On the plus side, the mascarpone ice cream is the same one used in the recently revived Cannoli, and it has a solid creamy and cheesy flavor with a sweet frosting finish.

The mix-ins here are good but not good enough to offset the bland berry base. The shortbread is soft and sweet with a vanilla flavor and a texture that reminds me more of cake than cookies, akin to a madeleine soaked in milk. Tasty.

I love chocolate covered nuts in ice cream, and these are the same almonds that absolutely sing in Target’s exclusive Glampfire Trail Mix. But here, without any salty component to balance out their crunch, they aren’t nearly as good and generally feel out of place.

Anything else you need to know?

As is the case with most Ben & Jerry’s pints, if there isn’t a gooey swirl of some sort to tie things together, I always wish there was. And this is no exception. Something sweeter or saltier than the other elements could elevate this mishmash of flavors. But as it stands, it just feels flat.

Conclusion:

While it’s far from inedible and far from the floppiest of Ben & Jerry’s flops, this springy pint is lacking the tart berry punch I had hoped for and is simply a franken-flavor that just doesn’t deliver.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Whole Foods (Exclusive Flavor)
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 350 calories, 22 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 27 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

Way back in 2011, before The Tonight Dough, Ben & Jerry’s and Jimmy Fallon collaborated for Late Night Snack, which threw clusters of chocolate-covered potato chips into vanilla bean ice cream with swirls of salted caramel. It was a great flavor that I regrettably only scooped once until it disappeared in 2015.

In 2020, appearing right around the annual 4/20 festivities, Ben & Jerry’s has a new collaboration with another TV giant, streaming content king Netflix, that also also features potato chips.

Chip Happens, inspired by the baking competition show Nailed It, combines “a cold mess of chocolate ice cream with fudge chips & crunchy potato chip swirls.”

The chocolate ice cream isn’t listed on the container as anything unique or new for B&J’s, but it looks lighter in color than what I’m used to in classics like Phish Food.

The initial flavor also tastes slightly different. It’s milkier and lighter with an almost malty undertone. It has a lightness to it that reminds me of vintage malt cups, but in the best possible way. Is this an altered base, or has the salty swirl seeped so much into the chocolate that it modifies it by accident? Either way, it works well as a base for this flavor.

The fudge chips are nothing to write home about, just a smaller, more palatable version of B&J’s oft-used fudge flakes. Even though they’re unremarkable in flavor, I appreciate their smaller size, which leads to a softer texture. Not like actual fudge or ganache, but meltier and darker than the milk chocolate-leaning base.

Where this pint shines, and no doubt had to shine to be anything close to a stand out scoop, is the potato chip swirl. It’s thick, crunchy, and salty in a way that I can’t really wrap my head around.

The only times chips, pretzels, or cereals have been successful in ice cream is when they’re coated in chocolate or a thick glaze, and as far as I can tell, this is pure chip. It tastes like someone took a handful of Lay’s and tossed them right on top of the ice cream, maintaining all of the texture and fried potato flavor like they came straight from the bag.

I’ll admit I wasn’t too excited when I found this limited release Netflix flavor at Target before the first one, Netflix & Chill’d. It’s chocolate chocolate chip ice cream with some potato chips. How good could it be?! Turns out a lot better than I thought, and oddly addictive.

If this also had a caramel swirl, it would’ve ranked among my favorite Ben & Jerry’s of all time. But even without it, if you’re a fan of sweet and salty or not-too-sweet chocolate indulgences, this one’s for you. A simple textural treat that I will be happily buying again.

Purchased Price: $5.49
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 390 calories, 24 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 31 grams of total sugars, 6 grams of protein.

What is Ben & Jerry’s Exclusive Flavor Chocolate Peanut Butter Split Ice Cream?

This exclusive flavor that can only be purchased from the Albertsons family of grocery stores features chocolate and banana ice creams with mini peanut butter cups.

How is it?

It has the creaminess that should be expected with any Ben & Jerry’s ice cream product. True to the name, all three flavors make an appearance but don’t share the stage equally. When I first opened the lid, I noticed the predominant brown (i.e., chocolate) ice cream. I love chocolate, but I’m also a banana fan, so I definitely wanted the “split” represented.

Thankfully, the ice cream distribution quickly evens itself out as you dig in, and you taste both chocolate and banana. Chocolate is, in general, a stronger flavor and was also more present with the peanut butter cups, so I would have been open to slightly more banana ice cream.

Now you might be wondering about the peanut butter part – don’t worry, there’s an ample supply of mini peanut butter cups! Unlike other ice creams where you have to dig around for the mix-ins, that’s thankfully not the case here.

Is there anything else you need to know?

The description on the pint is pretty accurate: “We’ve loaded our banana and chocolate ice creams with a chocolatey lot of bite-size PB surprises, so if you find your chocolate-covered, peanut-buttered banana fantasies aren’t fulfilled in every spoonful, we suggest a bigger spoon.”

Nearly every spoonful (or maybe it was every spoonful) did have peanut butter cups. But, my fantasy may have a little more banana in it.

Conclusion:

Overall, it’s worth a try if you like chocolate, peanut butter, and banana…which I do!

Purchased Price: $3.50
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Albertsons (Exclusive)
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 390 calories, 24 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 75 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 38 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 35 grams of total sugars, 29 grams of added sugars, 7 grams of protein