Tag: Breyers

What is Breyers Limited Edition Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate Ice Cream?

‘Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the store
No one craved ice cream, and even Dubba Scoops did not want any more;
The freezers were stocked to the brim with care
In hopes for warmer weather to soon be there;

But the folks at Breyers had all these ideas dancing through their heads
With visions of mint and frozen cocoa leading their team through winter’s dread;
Combining dark chocolate and peppermint ice creams, throwing in chocolatey chips, and everything else in sight
They thought, what more could one want to cap off a perfect Christmas night?

How is it?

Very chocolatey!

Alright, maybe that’s something to be expected of a treat modeled after hot cocoa, but let me be clear, this stuff is way more cocoa-forward than I was expecting. I couldn’t even see the peppermint ice cream when I lifted the lid off this sucker, and it took a few inches of hardcore chiseling with a heavy-duty spoon to even find a thin seam of peppermint buried within all the chocolate slag.

The ice cream’s flavor is similarly disproportionate. Although the chocolate ice cream is good, it covers up what little presence the peppermint has in this tub. Eating slowly and intentionally, I could barely taste it, but, I mean, who usually eats ice cream mindfully and methodically? I’ll bet most people will plow through this container without ever noticing any peppermint.

As for the chocolatey chips, they’re abundant and yummy, but I can’t help but feel as though they’re a bit misplaced. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t typically have solid chunks of chocolate in my hot cocoa. Instead of doubling down on the chocolate, Breyer’s could have brought this limited edition flavor home by mixing in miniature marshmallows or even crushed peppermint bits. Anything that could have helped the mint stand up to the chocolate’s overwhelming presence.

Is there anything else you should know?

For the Frozen Dairy Dessert haters out there, never fear, because this is actual ice cream. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, this flavor isn’t too different from Breyers’ 2017 Chocolate Mint ice cream. Oh well, at least this version has festive packaging.

Conclusion:

I wish this had had more peppermint to balance out all the chocolate, but, overall, it’s a decent ice cream. If you like your hot cocoa frozen, and you don’t mind crumbling a few candy canes on top, I’d say this is a solid choice if you’re looking for holiday-themed ice cream.

Purchased Price: $3.98
Size: 1.5-quart container
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 of a cup) 200 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 21 grams of total sugars, 16 grams of added sugars, and 3 grams of protein.

“Gelato.” It’s a fun word to say. Go ahead, say it out loud. I don’t care if you’re at work. Everyone already thinks you’re a weirdo. Yep, that’s right, your paranoia is not unfounded. You know the way everyone stops talking when you enter the break room? That’s because they’re talking about you.

“Gelato” also sounds super fancy, like maybe I should put some pants on before I start eating this Breyers Gelato Indulgences Raspberry Cheesecake. In reality, though, gelato is just the Italian word for ice cream. It’s generally softer than your normal ice cream and, according to Wikipedia, “contains a relatively small amount of air. By statute, gelato in Italy must have at least 3.5% butterfat, with no upper limit established.”

No upper limit established, eh? I’m pretty sure 99 percent butterfat gelato wouldn’t go over so well with the general population, even in Italy. In fact, I’m grossing myself out just thinking about it, so let’s move on.

The lineup of Breyers new Gelato Indulgences includes Triple Chocolate, Vanilla Caramel and Tiramasu as well as my choice, Raspberry Cheesecake. I’m fond of all of these flavors, but there’s a special place in my heart for cheesecake, and an extra special place in my heart for cheesecake drizzled with berry-flavored syrup.

Given this, at least I didn’t have to stand in the frozen treats aisle for ten minutes trying to decide which flavor I wanted, which happens far more often than it should for the normal human being.

Breyers describes this flavor as “Cheesecake gelato with luscious raspberry sauce & gourmet graham crumble.” You do know how to make ice cream sound sexy, Breyers.

I love that Breyers went through the trouble of making Raspberry Cheesecake look like an Indulgence even when I took the lid off. I’ve never seen an ice cream make an effort to look fancy when you take the lid off, as opposed to just the container. Just look at those swirls and crumbles. Beautiful.

Appearances can be deceiving, however. Fortunately, that was not the case here. The gelato was super smooth straight out of the freezer, which I love. I hate when I have to chip away at ice cream until it melts enough to get half a spoonful out, which has sometimes resulted in my spoon acting as a lever that flings a bit of ice cream halfway across the room.

The gelato also captured an authentic cheesecake flavor. It would have felt like something was missing without the raspberry swirls, though. The swirls of sauce were evenly spaced and ran right down to the bottom of the carton. The thick sauce had a delicious, rich raspberry taste that complimented the gelato perfectly. It reminded me of Knott’s Berry Farm syrup.

The one part where this Raspberry Cheesecake Gelato failed was in the graham cracker crumbles. They were rather definitively not gourmet. Unlike a good cheesecake, the crumbles were soggy, which makes sense given that they’d been sitting on top of ice cream, but still took away from the authentic cheesecake experience.

Furthermore, the crumbles you see are the crumbles you get – they look nice on top, but that’s the only place they are, so you’re not going to wind up with some in every bite. While they had a so-so graham cracker crust taste, they didn’t add much flavor or texture.

For Breyers Gelato Indulgences Raspberry Cheesecake, the real stars are the cheesecake gelato and the raspberry sauce swirls, which, frankly are the most important parts. The smooth texture of the gelato and the rich sauce that was there in every bite without being overwhelming complimented each other perfectly.

I can forgive the way the graham cracker crumbles pretty much disappeared, but the $5.49 retail price seems a bit steep to me. If I see it on sale in the future, however, I’ll definitely be picking this up again.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – 170 calories, 45 calories from fat, 5 grams of total fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 22 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein, 6% vitamin A, and 8% calcium.)

Item: Breyers Gelato Indulgences Raspberry Cheesecake
Purchased Price: $4.49 (on sale)
Size: 28.5 oz. carton
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Gelato has smooth texture right out of the freezer. Saying the word “gelato.” Raspberry swirls are rich and in every spoonful. Breyers took the time to make it look nice in the carton.
Cons: Graham cracker crumbles are soggy and only on top. Being right about your co-workers talking about you behind your back. Price is a little steep. Thinking about 99 percent butterfat gelato.

It seems like many longstanding companies don’t know quite how to feel about their own longevity.  Staying in business for a long time is, of course, something to celebrate — the company I work for recently hit a major milestone and celebrated with both a family picnic and a black-tie dinner, which was cool.  But a lot of companies seem to want to downplay their past in an effort to appear cutting-edge and in touch with today’s consumers.  You understandably see it a lot with tech companies, but also in some industries you wouldn’t expect.  DC Comics has the richest history of any comic company on Earth, but when it comes to their original characters from the 1940s, the powers that be generally alternate between killing them off, writing them out of stories, and pretending they don’t exist.  (Because characters created in the ’50s and ’60s are so much more relevant, presumably.)

The food industry seems to play both sides of the fence.  You’ll see plenty of brands where the companies seem to constantly try new flavors or fillings or variations on the original — coat it in chocolate, fill it with berries, age it ten years and throw some parsley on top — but at the same time, there are a number of products that have really stood the test of time, and their makers rarely miss an opportunity to point that out.  The fact that they often do so while simultaneously introducing the “new and improved version!” of the product that’s lasted forever in its original form is an irony not lost on me, and Nabisco provides us with a fantastic example of what we’re talking about.  As you probably know, Oreos are celebrating their 100th anniversary in 2012, and I’ll bet you cash money Nabisco has rolled out more variants on the Oreo in the past ten years than they did in the ninety preceding it — Double Stufs, Triple Doubles, Neapolitan flavor, Berry Burst, Strawberry Milkshake Creme, Cakesters… the list is endless.  Celebrate the past, just so long as no one thinks you’re afraid to make changes to keep with the times appears to be the credo.

Be that as it may, part of any good birthday celebration is ice cream, so Nabisco has teamed up with Breyer’s to bring us… almost ice cream.  “Frozen dairy dessert,” if you want to get technical.  I don’t tend to notice the difference until it’s pointed out to me, but I know some of you (like my wife) do, and once she mentioned it, I definitely could detect the slight aftertaste that smacks of “almost but not quite ice cream.”  Like blinking your eyes or breathing, it’s the sort of thing you don’t consciously think about, but then once it’s brought to your attention, you can’t stop noticing it.  It didn’t totally ruin my enjoyment, but it definitely diminished it slightly; naturally, your mileage may vary.

Oreos, of course, have a proud tradition of partnering with ice cream as the classic cookies n’ cream flavor, or the slightly less classic “creme (with cookie chunks)” by stores afraid of violating copyright laws.  By appearances, the anniversary ice cream looked to be exactly that, just with rainbow sprinkles added, so that’s what I was expecting.  It’s also basically what I got, so here’s to judging a book by its cover!  But I was pleasantly surprised to note that along with the rainbow sprinkles came a bit of cake batter flavor too.  It’s not overwhelming, but it pairs with the Oreo cookie chunks pretty well.  The dessert is fairly creamy — not Ben & Jerry’s quality, but still, not bad.

Overall, you pretty much know what to expect from this frozen dairy dessert if you’ve had cookies n’ cream before, as that’s the dominant base.  I’d love to tell you it’s more exciting than that, but this is just a decent but not outstanding flavor that loses a point or two for the aftertaste.  It’s not bad by any stretch, but it doesn’t really live up to the monumental milestone it was designed to commemorate either.  As it stands, I don’t think you’d find anyone arguing Oreo Birthday Blast was worth waiting 100 years for.

(Nutrition Facts — 1/2 cup — 130 calories, 40 calories from fat, 4.5 grams of total fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 13 grams of sugars, and 2 grams of protein.)

Item: Breyers Blasts! Limited Edition Oreo Birthday Blast!
Price: $3.79
Size: 1.5 quarts
Purchased at: Giant
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Visually appealing rainbow sprinkles.  Most Oreos don’t look a day over 70.  Tasty cookie chunks.  Hard to be TOO disappointed with what is, essentially, cookies n’ cream.  Certainly not healthy, but could be a lot worse.  If you make a wish before digging in your spoon, it stands as good a chance of coming true as if you were wishing on a candle.
Cons: Can’t un-notice the aftertaste after it’s been pointed out to you.  (Sorry.)  Not real ice cream.  Companies that want to celebrate their longevity when convenient while ignoring it the other 99% of the time.  Not exactly overflowing in creativity.  Could be slightly creamier.

[Apologies if this review is a little disjointed, I’m writing it in the throes of a nasty head cold.  It’s progressed to the point where my white blood cells are marshaling their forces, drawing troops away from unessential functions like “breathing” and “not feeling like shit” to prepare for the final engagement.  If you see another review from me in 10 days or so, they were victorious.  If not, tell all of their mothers that their sons died like men.  Cowardly, impotent men.]
 
A request was made in the comments section of my last review that I tackle some Ben & Jerry’s.  There actually is a new B&J flavor out that I’d love to subject to either a blistering tongue-lashing or an exquisite tongue-… something else; but as I took the liberty of pointing out, Ben & Jerry’s has a billion flavors but never the one you need.  That’s okay, though, because in the midst of my search, I came across this little gem: Breyer’s Blasts! Chips Ahoy! Chocolate Chip Cookies.  (The extra exclamation points stand for flavor and copyright protection, respectively.)  It seems like both a simple and a delicious concept, if not a little derivative.  I picked it up, but couldn’t help wondering if there would really be anything to set it apart from chocolate chip cookie dough.
 
You can call me finicky or demanding or unfathomably sexy or stubborn if you like, but there are certain things I expect from a frozen dairy dessert bearing the name of a popular cookie company, and that’s that it A) be good, and B) taste like cookies, ideally chocolate chip, and even more ideally chocolate chip that won’t make me fat.  Since Chips Ahoy! delivers on nearly all of that (operating under the Schrödinger’s Diet theory that if I don’t step on a scale, I both will and will not have gained any weight), I think we can call it an unqualified success.  But succinct crib notes aren’t why you come to the food blog dubbed “Best Punctuated” by Consumer Reports, so allow me to expand on why this should be your next dessert purchase.

On first glance, Chips Ahoy! looks a lot like Moose Tracks or any other fudge-based frozen dairy dessert you can imagine.  The first bite, however, is enough to tell you that it’s much more than that, as you get hold of a chocolate chip or two.  And those are good, nicely complementing the fudge stripes and giving you a little bit of texture variety.  But what’s even better is when you also get some cookie in there as well.  You won’t in every bite, at least not in equal degrees; some bites will feel like you’re actually eating a soft Chipwich, while others will just have a little hint of cookie dough.  But it’s never completely missing, and that’s what’s important.  Nearly as critical is the fact that the fudge makes its presence known without overwhelming any of the other tastes.
 
You might have noticed that I used the word “soft.”  One thing I worried about with this flavor was that it would have hard chunks of cookies you could practically break your teeth on.  After all, they’re surrounded by freezing cold dairy dessert, not exactly conducive to softness.  But somehow, those sonsabitches down at the Breyers factory made the cookie chunks stay remarkably soft, possibly through the use of chemicals or dark sorcery.  It’s crazy how soft they are, and I’ve read comics where a 5th dimensional imp rides a dog with a mask on its face accompanied by a teenage girl in a red and green dress whose sole function is to prove that Robin isn’t gay.  So I know from crazy.
 
But in the end I don’t particularly care how they do it, just that the cookie veins are both rich and tender.  Like Elvis.  That’s very much the case, and it comes in conjunction with smooth, tasty frozen dairy dessert and fudge that distinguishes itself instead of fading into the background like that kid from Family Matters who vanished between seasons and was never heard from again, unless you watch porn.  (Which I don’t, Mom.)  Man, I need to stop watching so much TV.  My foibles aside, this is some mighty delicious frozen dairy dessert whose sole negative is that it’s, uh, not especially good for you.  Portion control is strongly recommended, but if you’ve got the calories to spare, give this flavor a try.

(Nutrition Facts — 1/2 cup — 140 calories, 45 calories from fat, 5 grams of total fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.)

Other Breyers Blasts! Chips Ahoy! reviews:
On Second Scoop

Item: Breyers Blasts! Chips Ahoy! Chocolate Chip Cookies
Price: $4.59
Size: 1.5 quart
Purchased at: Giant
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Surviving the common cold.  Multiple exclamation points.  If you don’t step on the scale, you haven’t gained any weight.  Discernible but not overwhelming fudge.  Surprisingly soft cookies.  Rich frozen dairy dessert.  Most bites have at least some cookie in them.
Cons: Not finding the flavor you need.  Gaining weight if you eventually do step on the scale.  Not exactly a “light” dessert.  A little expensive.  Forgotten child stars.  Bat-Mite, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Girl.