Tag: Ice Cream

REVIEW: My/Mochi Classic Pickle Mochi Ice Cream

Marvo 1 Comment

I imagine some of you are mentally saying “ew,” like you just caught someone picking their nose as you looked at the photo above. But you should flip that “ew” around, add an H between the two letters, and stick a bunch of Es at the end because this flavor is surprisingly fun. Wheeeeeee!

Well, that is if you can get your hands on My/Mochi’s Classic Pickle Mochi Ice Cream because it’s only available at mymochi.com and select SoCal Bristol Farms locations. But if pickle-flavored things tickle you or you want some entertainment at a holiday gathering this year, I recommend spending the green for a box.

The soft mochi coating is only green in color and provides no additional taste, but the off-white ice cream filling is unmistakably pickle. I understand that might sound awful regarding ice cream, but think of it as a pickle that’s sweet but not salty. It has a noticeable dill flavor, but there’s no brine taste, and there’s a lot more sugar, milk, cream, and vanilla, which makes the ice cream taste surprisingly good. Every time I ate one, I thought the dill had sort of a holiday spice kind of vibe to it. I’ve enjoyed this more than any of the odd Van Leeuwen pints that have come out. Although, I have yet to try the recent Dill Pickle one.

Call me weird. Call me a picklehead. Call me pickleweirdhead. But I genuinely love eating these. My/Mochi sent two boxes, and I’ve eaten a whole box already. And this will sound even weirder, but I’ve been craving them. (Am I pregnant?) I’ve been looking forward to eating one every day. I also want to eat more than one of these creamy treats daily, but I’ve been holding back because I know I’ll never get to eat them again once they’re gone. Unless My/Mochi decides my words are powerful enough to warrant a nationwide release. But my words have never been that influential.

Yes, most of you have no desire to eat pickle ice cream, and that’s fine. I’m not going to convince you to take adventure bites and expand your palate with the one life you have. But if pickles tickle you, you should try to pickle these up.

DISCLOSURE: I received free product samples from My/Mochi. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6 pieces/box
Purchased at: Received samples from My/Mochi
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 piece) 80 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 14 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar (including 10 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Little Debbie Chocolate Christmas Tree Cakes Ice Cream

Mark

Back in 2021, I reviewed Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes Ice Cream. Two years later, Deborah hasn’t aged a day, but she has brought us an additional frozen flavor inspired by one of her yuletide treats: Chocolate Christmas Tree Cakes! (I’m tempted to spell “treat” as “treet” for this review, but I will forbear. You’re welcome.)

Besides the obvious flavor difference, there are some subtle differences between regular CTCs and chocolate CTCs. The regular ones feature a red icing drizzle with green sugar crystals, while the chocolate ones have a white icing drizzle with red and green sprinkles. Hudsonville, the maker of the ice cream, did not overlook these small details.

The regular CTC ice cream features vanilla ice cream with white cake bits and a red swirl with green crystal sprinkles. The chocolate version has a chocolate base with chocolate cake bits and red, green, and white sprinkles. White swirls were swapped out for the white sprinkles.

The chocolate base is wonderful. It’s not that exciting, but it’s a classic ice cream flavor for a reason. And I also really enjoy the cake bits. They almost have the consistency of brownie bits you find in ice cream, so they’re a textural delight.

And speaking of texture: I am so glad the chocolate variety uses sprinkles instead of sugar crystals! The crystals were my biggest complaint about the regular CTC ice cream. They had a gritty, sand-like texture that seemed out of place in the creamy treat.

The sprinkles in the chocolate version, however, have a slight crunch from the cold, but I don’t feel like I’m munching on quartz granules. They are a sensory pleasure. And, of course, we can’t overlook the festive appearance they give this dessert.

My other biggest complaint with the original CTC ice cream was that, although it was good, it was just kind of boring. And, I must admit, this one is also kind of boring. The color of the sprinkles is the only thing festive or seasonal. Chocolate ice cream and chocolate cake are nothing new.

But, you know what? I’m going to overlook the boringness because it’s still a delightful dessert that I will be more than happy to finish.

Purchased Price: $2.74
Size: One pint
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup/97 grams) 230 calories, 10 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 21 grams of sugar including 17 grams of added sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Little Debbie Cherry Cordials Ice Cream

Brandon 2 Comments

For better or worse, I have had every Little Debbie ice cream flavor since its partnership with Hudsonville took flight a couple of years ago. The most interesting part of the whole thing isn’t the novelty of turning America’s most beloved snack cakes into ice cream, though — at least not for me. It is that there is seemingly no correlation between my personal enjoyment of a snack cake flavor and its corresponding ice cream.

To wit, Fudge Rounds, my favorite Little Debbie, is one my least favorite of the ice creams. Ditto Oatmeal Creme Pie. Star Crunch, which I find okay but would never intentionally purchase a box of, has been my unparalleled ice cream favorite.

Another wrinkle to add to this already-too-complex equation: I have also tended to really enjoy ice creams stemming from snack cake varieties I’ve never eaten. This happened recently with the Apple Pie and Chocolate Chip Creme Pie offerings. The ice creams were stellar; the snack cakes from whence they sprung, however, remain unconsumed by me.

So, if I tell you that I’ve never had a Cherry Cordials snack cake, well, maybe you can guess where this is going.

Hudsonville’s website says the new Cherry Cordials Ice Cream is “Cherry flavored ice cream with cookie pieces, chocolatey flakes and a cherry variegate.” I had to look up “variegate,” by the way. To save you the same effort, should we be shipmates, here you go: “In the food industry, variegates (also referred t’o as ribbons, ribbonettes, swirls, spirals, revels, etc.), are textured flavor dimensions primarily used in ice cream and frozen desserts.” Okay, this is a cherry ice cream with cookie pieces, chocolatey flakes, and a cherry ribbon.

The ice cream base has a mild cherry flavor, like kissing your aunt who just had a Wild Cherry Halls cough drop. The “chocolatey” chips are your standard issue chocolate chips you’d get with any other kind of ice cream. There are many of them; they are of varying sizes and taste semi-sweet. The cookie pieces don’t have much of a standalone taste, but the crunchy texture provided a nice respite. And the textured flavor dimension, see, that’s where the magic happens. If you like hardcore artificial cherry flavor, you’ll be in heaven. My only complaint, as it is whenever there is an enjoyable component with these Little Debbie ice creams, is that I could have done with quite a bit more of the cherry variegate. I guess you could say it was varie-good?

I’ll show myself out.

Purchased Price: $2.74
Size: One Pint
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (97g) 230 calories, 11 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 mg of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 23 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Van Leeuwen Dill Pickle Ice Cream

Mark 6 Comments

Van Leeuwen famously offers totally bonkers ice cream flavors, like pizza, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and Hidden Valley Ranch.

Now it’s giving us dill pickle. It’s part of its 2023 Walmart fall/winter flavors. I guess because you have pickles at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner? Or because there’s that weird tradition about hanging a pickle on the Christmas tree? Whatever the reason, it’s here, and it’s real.

So…how does it taste?

It tastes like ice cream. And it tastes like pickles. It tastes like pickle ice cream. And it’s not gross!

I mean, I really don’t know how else to describe it other than it tastes like pickles. It’s sweet, like ice cream. It’s not as tart as actual pickles, but the flavor is there. The carton explains, “This tangy yet sweet pickle ice cream is more pickle-ized with a dill pickle swirl.” That swirl tastes more like bread-and-butter pickles to me, but it all melds together in a dill flavor.

I know the concept sounds weird, but as a fan of both pickles and unusual food combinations, I really enjoyed this ice cream. My mom was less keen on the idea, but even she admitted it tasted good.

And strangely, the ice cream gave me a craving for actual pickles. I had to go to the fridge and pull out the jar of pickles before I finished my ice cream. I really wanted the crunchiness and saltiness of the real deal. I mean, the rill dill. (I think my body needed the electrolytes.)

Do you remember that I Love Lucy episode where pregnant Lucy dipped a pickle in her papaya milkshake? I had to do that here. It was OK; the actual pickle just overwhelmed the ice cream. It wasn’t bad, but I don’t feel a need to do it again.

I think Van Leeuwen is the Lady Gaga of ice cream. Early in her career, a meat dress and prosthetic shoulders screamed, “Notice me!” Now that she’s proved herself, that stuff is less important. (One of the best concerts I’ve been to, BTW.)

Similarly, when you strip away the weirdness, Van Leeuwen really is a wonderful ice cream company; I’ve loved their other flavors. And I certainly never paid attention to them until I heard about the mac & cheese flavor.

And speaking of meat, can we next expect hamburger, fried chicken, or turkey ice creams from Van Leeuwen?

Purchased Price: $4.98
Size: 14 fl oz (414 ml)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup/108 grams) 250 calories, 14 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 70 milligrams of cholesterol, 240 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 24 grams of sugar (including 20 grams of added sugar), and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie Blizzard

Denis

The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie Blizzard is the November Blizzard of the Month, but it is not really new. It appears to have been available in the U.S. back in 2014 and in Canada sometime last year, but I can’t remember what I ate yesterday, and I haven’t been to Canada lately, so this is new enough to warrant a review. And I’m glad to be the one doing the review.

The standard Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard has always been one of my favorites, and this version adds graham cracker pie crust and whipped topping. Neither the name of this one nor the added ingredients are particularly creative, but who cares if the results are tasty? And they are. The first bite instantly made me think I was eating a pie in ice cream form. It doesn’t taste radically different than the straight-up PB cup version, but it’s different enough to be a pleasant change, and it has a bit more texture and crunch with the pie crust pieces.

The whipped topping, however, did not add much other than a bit of drama when the DQ employee did the signature Blizzard flip before handing me the goods. I swear I saw the topping move a little, but it did manage to stay attached to its ice cream companion. That led me down the rabbit hole of what happens if a Blizzard — or some part of it — spills when it is flipped? The internet claims that you get a free Blizzard if any spillage occurs or if the employee doesn’t flip the Blizzard for you, although those rules seem to be loosely enforced. I spent more time than I care to admit doing “research” on this topic, and it’s safe to say that the new light figure I was planning to install is still sitting in its original box.

This Blizzard is quite good, but it’s akin to having your favorite burger with a pretzel bun instead of a standard roll. So there’s no need to drop everything and race over to your local DQ, but if you like the regular Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard, you are going to want to give this one a try.

Purchased Price: $4.69
Size: Small
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 820 calories, 40 grams of fat, 19 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 410 milligrams of sodium, 100 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 83 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.