Ice Cream – Page 21 – The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Blue Bell Peachy Peach Ice Cream

Denis / March 25, 2022 / Reviews / 12 Comments

What is Blue Bell Peachy Peach Ice Cream?

It’s not the most creatively named ice cream, but it certainly has an accurate moniker. This newest flavor from Texas-based Blue Bell is described as “creamy peach ice cream with chunks of sweetened peaches.”

How is it?

Well, it’s peachy, as advertised, both literally and figuratively. There are no bells and whistles with this ice cream — those wouldn’t taste very good anyway — but it delivers on its promise. It’s a tasty peach ice cream base, and the peach chunks give it a pleasant boost and some extra texture. I generally find Blue Bell ice creams to be creamier than the average store brand. However, this one seemed to be a bit lacking in the creaminess department. Even so, that’s about the only mark I have against this. The ice cream flavor is pleasant with the perfect amount of peachiness while not being overpowering.

The peach chunks, which are quite large, dial up the peach flavor and the sweetness a few notches, but again, not to the extreme. I wouldn’t say you get a fresh peach flavor from the chunks but rather more of a candied peach taste. It’s hard for a somewhat basic ice cream product to be spectacular, and this one isn’t, but I did like it better than the average single-flavor ice cream.

Anything else you need to know?

You don’t need to know this in any way whatsoever, but apparently, the world record for the largest peach is 1 pound 12 ounces, and not surprisingly, it was grown in Georgia. I have to say I’m not that impressed. I don’t know what weight would sufficiently impress me — maybe if it was as big as my head — but I thought the record peach would be bigger for some reason. See, you didn’t need to know any of this, but since it’s a section of the review, I feel compelled to fill this space.

Conclusion:

For a straightforward ice cream flavor like this, your level of enjoyment will be closely tied to your affinity for peaches. For me, peaches land about in the middle of the fruit spectrum. So I’ll happily finish this pint but probably won’t buy another one. If you are a peach fanatic, this might turn into one of your favorite ice creams.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: H-E-B
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 210 calories, 9 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 26 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Dublin Mudslide (2022)

Sean / March 18, 2022 / Reviews / 1 Comment

Following 2020’s “Fan Favorite” resurrection of Gimme S’more, Peanut Butter Half Baked, and Cannoli, Ben & Jerry’s has once again taken a trip to its Flavor Graveyard and used ice cream voodoo to summon a heralded classic from the dead. Previously RIP’d in 2012, Dublin Mudslide is Irish cream ice cream with chocolate chocolate chip cookies and a coffee fudge swirl.

Irish cream is one of those flavors that seems to have been around my entire life in various forms, from Milano cookies to (more recently) Starbucks drinks, but I’ve never fully understood what it’s supposed to taste like. In its purest form, it’s a mixture of whiskey and milk, but I’ve had iterations that taste more like vanilla, coffee, or even chocolate. So I went into this pint not knowing what to expect.

The base tastes like a really rich sweet cream with a hint of whiskey. The booziness is mild but it’s definitely there, and adds a faint smoky oak note that brings a little depth and intrigue to the otherwise good but tame ice cream. Its main strength is its silky smooth and dense texture, a result of the mere presence of alcohol in the mixture, and it’s fantastic. I wouldn’t mind more punchiness like I’m taking a straight liqueur swig but I can’t deny the velvety richness of the mouthfeel.

For this reinvented version, Ben & Jerry’s teamed up with Wheyward Spirit, a new liquor derived from whey, the liquid co-product of cheese and other dairy products. By partnering with domestic dairy producers they’re able to reduce waste and lower the environmental footprint of production while simultaneously creating a unique and sip-able booze. The Wheyward’s flavor is like a slightly fruity cross between sake and tequila, but in Dublin Mudslide it does a solid job of conjuring mild whiskey.

The mix-in density is excellent, and I’m really happy with the quality control compared to this year’s Chewy Gooey Cookie. The cookies add a rich chocolate flavor with hints of butter and a perfectly soft chew, accented by the crunchiness of harder chocolate chips.

Bringing some sauciness to the equation, the coffee fudge swirl is abundant and tasty with a 60/40 split of chocolate to coffee that does well to add a touch of bitterness to the succulently smooth and mild ice cream. The two components work well in a coffee-meets-chocolate mocha tandem that tastes perfectly familiar and comfortable next to the alcohol-tinged base.

It became clear to me while scooping this pint that the confusion around what an Irish cream flavored product tastes like stems from the fact that something like Baileys is often mixed with other components. You can drink Irish cream straight, but it feels so much more common in an Irish coffee, White Russian cocktail, or even hot chocolate, so this Ben & Jerry’s creation kind of taps into all the components that could be found with Irish cream and brings them together as one.

This is a well executed flavor that does everything it tries to do as quietly but effectively as possible. There’s a little bit of whiskey, a little bit of coffee, and a little bit more chocolate. I can see why this would be considered a fan favorite, and kudos to Ben & Jerry’s for the excellent quality control. I would personally enjoy a stronger handed boozy flourish but I can’t deny how lovely this one is to scoop.

DISCLOSURE: I originally purchased a pint, but also received a free product sample from Ben & Jerry’s and attended a virtual tasting hosted by the company. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup, 134g) 340 calories, 18 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 170 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 34 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

REVIEW: Magnum Duet Ice Cream Bars

Erin / March 8, 2022 / Reviews / 1 Comment

Who’s ready for a bit of Magnum math? Magnum’s new Duet bars come in a trio of flavors. Each package contains three ice cream bars, and each bar is dipped in two different kinds of chocolate. Two flavors are fully dipped in white chocolate and half dipped in milk chocolate, while the third is fully dipped in milk chocolate and half dipped in dark chocolate. One flavor also contains a chocolate ganache swirl and dark chocolate cookie pieces. If you eat one of each flavor bar and white chocolate isn’t actually chocolate, how many different types of chocolate did you just consume? The answer is…four? Oh, I thought that would be more impressive. Let’s forget the math and focus on the ice cream.

Magnum is known for its high quality Belgian chocolate and the signature cracking layer/shell on its pints and novelties. According to Magnum, Duets are the first ice cream bars to be dipped in two different kinds of chocolate. I accept this as truth because I can’t recall having one that was twice dipped, and I applaud Magnum for taking ice cream bar dipping to new heights. The double-coated bars come in Cookie Duet, Chocolate Duet, and Almond Duet varieties. This was my first experience with any Magnum products, and I began my journey with Cookie Duet.

Emerging from its swanky brown and gold wrapper, the bar looks just like the picture on the box. This one is fully dipped in white chocolate that’s studded with dark chocolate cookie pieces, half dipped in milk chocolate and features vanilla ice cream with a chocolate ganache swirl. I was pleasantly surprised to find the swirl more prominent than expected. Both coating layers have a nice thickness, and they do taste like a better quality chocolate than you’re used to finding on an ice cream bar. The bottom portion has a cookies ‘n cream vibe, and the cookie nuggets have stayed crunchy, which gives some textural interest. The ice cream itself is rich and creamy.

If I had any complaint, it would be that biting through the chocolate, while not challenging, resulted in pieces breaking off and sometimes falling. As a subscriber to the five-second rule (or more accurately, just someone who doesn’t care if their food falls on the floor as long as it didn’t fall in anything gross), this wasn’t really an issue, and I just started to pull off and eat the pieces I knew were likely to drop. I enjoyed everything about Cookie Duet, and it set the bar high for the rest.

Next up, Chocolate Duet. It also features vanilla ice cream enrobed fully in white chocolate and half dipped in milk chocolate. This time the ice cream contains a raspberry swirl. After experiencing the thicker-than-pictured swirl in the Cookie Duet, I was hopeful that the raspberry would be the same and lend some welcome fruitiness. Unfortunately, I had to get several bites in before any berry stripes appeared, and while there’s a hint of raspberry flavor, it’s so slight that I almost wonder why they bothered.

In Magnum’s defense, the thin lines of berry swirl look like they do on the box, so it isn’t like they claimed to be bursting with berry, but I don’t understand the point. Raspberry doesn’t get mentioned in the flavor name and shouldn’t since it’s barely detectable. With a name like Chocolate Duet, I think they should have leaned into it and used chocolate ice cream or something to set this apart from the rest. It just seems like a more plain version of Cookie Duet.

The last of the group is Almond Duet which stands out for having almond ice cream, a full milk chocolate dip, and a half dark chocolate dip. The ice cream has a brown sugar almond butter swirl, and there are almond pieces in the coating. I enjoyed the dark chocolate dip and the almond ice cream but again was disappointed to find the brown sugar almond butter swirl (which sounds delicious!) to be almost nonexistent. At one point, I thought I was about to discover a bigger pocket of almond butter, but it sadly turned out to be just the wooden stick. The almond pieces are small and nice for texture but don’t add much almond flavor. This was the only bar for me where no coating pieces ended up on the ground.

Eating any of these bars is a pleasurable experience because it’s hard to argue with good quality ice cream and chocolate, but for me, the only Duet to really sing was Cookie. With more pronounced swirls, the other varieties could be something special, but in their current state, I don’t think they’re as exciting as some other options in the frozen novelty section. The bars do hit a nice sweet spot in serving size as they’re more substantial than something mini but having one or two doesn’t seem as heavy as a bowl of ice cream. I would purchase Cookie Duet again but pass on the rest.

Purchased Price: $4.79 each
Size: 3-pack box
Purchased at: Mariano’s
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Cookie Duet), 6 out of 10 (Chocolate Duet), 7 out of 10 (Almond Duet)
Nutrition Facts: (1 bar) Cookie Duet – 240 calories, 15 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 20 grams of total sugars includes 15 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein. Chocolate Duet – 230 calories, 15 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 19 grams of total sugars includes 14 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein. Almond Duet – 240 calories, 16 total grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 17 grams of total sugars includes 13 grams of added sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Ice Cream Magnum

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Topped Dirt Cake and Topped Chocolate Milk & Cookies

Marvo / March 4, 2022 / Reviews / 3 Comments

If you happen to be standing in front of the freezers at your local Safeway, see Ben & Jerry’s new Topped Dirt Cake and Topped Chocolate Milk & Cookies, and wonder which one you should get because you don’t want to buy both since a pint costs (checks receipt) $6.49 on sale, reach for the Dirt Cake.

Or wait for a better sale.

Dirt Cake features vanilla pudding ice cream with chocolate sandwich cookies and chocolate cookie swirls topped with milk chocolatey ganache and chocolate cookie crumbles.

To be honest, I kind of rolled my eyes at “vanilla pudding ice cream” because there are so many vanilla ice cream variations, and here we have one more. Does it taste like vanilla pudding? To be honest, it’s hard to isolate a decent spoonful of the base itself because there’s A LOT of chocolatey treasure within it. But from what my taste buds can pick out, I don’t recognize it as vanilla pudding, but it’s definitely a different shade of vanilla.

While I love the flavors from this pint, the most exciting part is the chocolate cookie crumble topping, but mainly because of its crunchiness and less so for its dark, slightly bitter Oreo-like chocolate flavor. The crumbles look, crunch, and can make a mess like dirt.

What? Noooo, I’ve never eaten dirt. What are you suggesting? I’m just relaying what I was told by, uh, my classmate in the third grade whose name I don’t remember, so you can’t ask him.

I also enjoy the dirt-like topping because it can be scraped down into the lower levels of the pint. With other Topped varieties, the ganache and whatever was on top of that would fuse, making it so that it couldn’t be experienced deeper into the pint. Being able to spread that crunch helps compensate for the not crunchy but tasty sandwich cookie chunks in the base. Overall, the pint was successful at reminding me of Dirt Cake, minus the gummy worms.

I thought about purchasing gummy worms, which would’ve completed the whole Dirt Cake experience, but I didn’t want to taint my opinion of the pint by adding some fruitiness and a texture that’s not even close to being like a real worm.

What? Noooo, I’ve never eaten actual worms. What are you even suggesting? I’m just sharing what, um, some kid who lived down the street from me when I was growing up said. And that person doesn’t live there anymore, so you can’t ask him.

As for Chocolate Milk & Cookies, it has chocolate ice cream with chocolate chip cookies and chocolate cookie swirls topped with milk chocolatey ganache and fudge chips.

I don’t know if being eaten after the wonderful Dirt Cake is responsible for my feelings about Chocolate Milk & Cookies, but it wasn’t as compelling. There’s nothing about it I can ramble about, like Dirt Cake’s cookie crumbles.

As you can probably guess by reading its description, it’s choco-heavy. But perhaps it’s TOO choco-heavy. Because there are so many choco-mponents, the cookies buried in the pint don’t stand out at all. But it doesn’t taste like straight-up chocolate ice cream because the base, swirls, ganache, and fudge chips bring their own chocolatey nuances and textures. So I guess it’s not one-note, but more like one-and-a-half-note.

Ben & Jerry’s Topped Chocolate Milk & Cookies a fine ice cream, but again, I’d easily pick Dirt Cake over it.

Purchased Price: $6.49* each
Size: 15.2 fl oz
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Dirt Cake), 6 out of 10 (Chocolate Milk & Cookies)
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) Dirt Cake 430 calories, 24 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 38 grams of sugar (33 grams of added sugar), and 6 grams of protein. Chocolate Milk & Cookies – 430 calories, 27 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 45 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 37 grams of sugar (31 grams of added sugar), and 6 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

REVIEW: Jeni’s Maple Soaked Pancakes Ice Cream

Tiffany / February 25, 2022 / Reviews / 17 Comments

What is Jeni’s Maple Soaked Pancakes Ice Cream?

Emulating a breakfast staple, it’s fluffy pancakes in salted butter and Vermont maple syrup ice creams.

The side of the pint shares a heartwarming blurb on her inspiration — Young Jeni enjoyed freshly tapped maple syrup, from her grandparents’ trees, with a triple stack of buttermilk pancakes. She soaked them until they became a syrupy, sweet mush.

How is it?

Buddy the Elf would approve and count this as part of his syrup food group!

After pulling back the lid, I could immediately see two swirl colors – a cream one and a light brown sugar-esque one.

From tasting it, the darker part was unmistakably the maple syrup ice cream. It had a light and caramel-like flavor. However, it wasn’t cloying like caramel can get sometimes. Could I tell that it was from Vermont? Nope, but I can appreciate Jeni’s attention to detail. What I can also appreciate is how one manages to freeze real maple syrup without it crystallizing or diminishing the flavor! Food magics.

By the process of elimination, I anticipated the lighter part to be the salted butter portion. It didn’t really have a pronounced taste, but my taste buds did pick up the saltiness.

The pancake was swirled throughout. But the adjective fluffy should really be in quotes because it creates unrealistic expectations! They were also more like pancake pieces, or in today’s snack vernacular, they could be considered pancake bites. The texture was fine. They were crumby, so they reminded me a bit of stale pancakes, but at least they weren’t frozen solid. I found myself hunting for them like cookie dough pieces in vanilla ice cream, but it was a lot more difficult because these were practically camouflaged.

Altogether, this was pretty good and unique from what’s in the ice cream aisle today! I also always appreciate creamy ice cream that’s easy to scoop, with a spoon, right out of the freezer.

Anything else you need to know?

Since day one, Jeni’s has been faithful to her philosophy of high-quality ingredients. All her cream comes from grass-fed cows from a local Ohio milk producer. None of her ice creams have stabilizers, emulsifiers, or corn syrup! Even for the color of this specific flavor, she used hibiscus, apple, and carrot to achieve it. We pay a pretty premium for this, but I think it’s worth it!

While Jeni’s is relatively new to grocery store shelves, she’s been rockin’ it since 2002. If you get a chance to visit one of her 40+ locations, there are scoop shop exclusives (shameless plug for the Pear Riesling Sorbet paired with the Darkest Chocolate ice cream)!

Conclusion:

I didn’t need a unique breakfast flavor analog like this to convince me to eat ice cream for breakfast, but I enjoyed the idea AND execution of this.

Purchased Price: $12
Size: 1 pint (473 mL)
Purchased at: Jeni’s Website
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 serving – 2/3 cup or 123g) 300 calories, 18 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 320 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 28 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.

Ice Cream Jeni's