Breyer's A&W Root Beer Float

UPDATE - June 2009 - Breyer's A&W Root Beer Float has been discontinued.

Breyer's A&W Root Beer Float

Vanilla ice cream with a A&W Root Beer flavored Sherbet Swirl

I hate to say it, but I knew this was a mistake from the very first taste. I like root beer (though it's been awhile), and I love ice cream, but this just doesn't work for me. You're probably asking why I bothered buying it in the first place. I was trying to be open minded when I picked this up, but I just can't get over that soda feel to the whole thing. Yes, I should have expected it, that's the whole point of this flavor. I just expected something more mellow I guess. Wow, am I making any sense whatsoever?

I actually tried to cover up the flavor with Nesquik, but it wasn't strong enough. I tried to add some more Nesquik, and a hint of strawberry, but that was even worse. Ya know, it almost had a coffee flavor to it after that. Yeah, into the sink it goes. Sorry. I'm sure this is good to float lovers, but it's just not for me.

Nutrition: 130/40/0/2

Walgreens Rocky Road Ice Cream

Wow, making a lunch run to Walgreens was a lot more dangerous than I imagined, and I'm not talking about the "foolish person" who stopped in the entrance to decide which side of the parking lot to park in.

Walgreens Rocky Road Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream with Mini Marshmallows and Almonds

Attempting Grape Sherbet

My daughter enjoyed the Hola Fruta! so she thought we should try making our own sherbet this week. We went to Walmart to pick a juice concentrate to mix with the milk for the sherbet. I should know better by now, but she went by color, so we wound up going with Welch's concord grape concentrate = the purple container.

Dubba's Grape Sherbet

The base was originally 1 cup of grape concentrate, 2.5 cups of 2% milk, and 1/2 cup of half & half to make up for the missing fat from the 2% milk. The flavor was very strong, so the list went on: 2 tablespoons of sugar, another cup of 2% (with a bit of half & half), couple more table spoons of sugar. Still strong, but we dumped most of the mix into the Ice-20 anyway (it wouldn't all fit).

The finished product is decent, but still potent. My daughter's first comment was "it's not bad, but it's not good either". Oh man, that's something I would say. As always, her opinion was quickly changed as she dug in. She went with a second dixie cup of taste testing by the time all was said and done. My wife also enjoyed it, definitely different than our past experiments.

On Second Scoop: The flavor has mellowed a bit, basically tastes like a grape popsicle now ...well, a milky grape popsicle anyway. You know, store sherbet often uses skim milk, so maybe I could try taking it down a notch sometime and see what happens (a nice ultra pasteurized 1% milk might work)

Hola Fruta! Raspberry Sherbet

The freezer is very full, but I wandered through the ice cream section anyway. I saw a couple of sale containers I wanted to pick up, but then I spied Hola Fruta! I do get a sherbet craving now and then, and so I somehow I convinced myself to spend $5.49 for a quart of this "All Natural" sherbet. Dinner was going to take a while to cook, so I went in for the sampling.

It's good! I like it. It does have a smidge of that salty flavor that hits you with some sherbets, but overall is it well made. I enjoyed it so much, I had some more after dinner as well. I like the texture too, kind of reminds me of the time when I mixed some vanilla ice cream with my cheap sherbet. It's funny, because if I had to describe it after my first serving, I'd say the aftertaste was like eating a Raspberry Tootsie Roll. On second scoop, I realized just how natural the flavor was. If you let it melt just a bit, you really are hit with that real raspberry flavor. I was really impressed at how it hits you more like fruit than as a frozen treat.

If you don't mind spending a bit extra on sherbet, and you want something a bit more real, give it a try! --Nice: there website shows their sherbet with a slice of Angel food, oh I bet that's good.

Nutrition: 140/10/0/1

Topping of the Week: Frosted Rice Krispies

Ok, don't ask me how I thought of this on the way home. It was a long day and I was headed home one and a half hours later than I usually leave. I was trying to decide what to grab for food on the way home when I started to think about Ice Cream instead. I could crack have some Edy's or maybe crack open the Breyer's Cookie Dough, but then it hit me. I bet frosted rice krispies would taste great on the right ice cream. Hmmm, sounds like a job for Turkey Hill's Chocolate Pretzel Ice cream.

I got home, put my things down, and reached for a big bowl (didn't want to make too big a mess). I decided to do a quick one spoon taste test and I realized this idea had potential. I scooped out a respectable serving and doused on the rice krispies. It was a bit cold so I let it warm up for a few minutes, and then I dug in. And guess what? I like it! I don't think it would work on just any flavor, but it's working now. Plus, the crunchiness of the krispies totally distracts from the fact the pretzels aren't always crunchy. This totally works. I don't know if it would work with a strong chocolate, but it totally works with the mild chocolate flavor (delivered by the vanilla and fudge) and works great with the chocolate covered pretzels.

Moral of the story: don't be afraid! Worse case scenario: I would have had to scrape off the krispies. Best case: I made myself a no-fuss, no cooking, dinner. Yeehaa!

Breyer's Mrs. Fields Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

Update: These have moved from Breyers to Klondike (see the updated review)

long story short: I am an ice cream reviewer who has had a very rough day, though I need to remind myself it could have been worse. I would have loved to crash on the couch, but the cabinets were in need of restocking, so I headed to super walmart.

Breyers Mrs. Fields Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches

light vanilla ice cream between two mrs. fields chocolate chip cookies

Breyer's Chocolate Cookies & Cream A Fat Free Ice Cream Review

RESCOOPED! --Also, this flavor has been discontinued

So, a container of Breyer's Double Churn Fat Free Cookies & Creme makes up the last part of my first ever foray into sampling free ice cream. Unfortunately, it didn't end well. The chocolate ice cream isn't bad at all, though it is a bit too chocolaty, maybe 10-15% too much cocoa. Sure the texture wasn't perfect, but considering there is no fat, it's pretty good. Plus, there's no strange aftertaste.

No, the real problem is the cookie bits, but in Breyer's defense, I'm wondering if this came about because how the ice cream was shipped. There are no giant cookie pieces in this ice cream, instead, they've been through a heavy duty blender which results in tiny cookie slices that are scattered throughout the ice cream. Unfortunately, many of these tiny pieces are quite hard and unpleasant to bite into.

To be fair, I'm not going to pick on Breyer's just yet. A normal freezer sits around 0 degrees, while dry ice the ice cream shipped with is at a much lower at -100 degrees (both Fahrenheit). I think there is a real possibility that the dry ice damaged the cookies, because they aren't all bad.

If anyone has tried this ice cream, post a comment and let us know how it was.

Nutrition: 110/0/3/3 (whoa, 3g of fiber is a lot!)

I survived Maine....

This is one of those days that I'm glad to be an ice cream reviewer...well, more so than usual anyway. An old friend invited us up to York beach, and after spending some quality time with the sand, we got a quick tour of the town. We hadn't had lunch, so it was time for an early afternoon ice cream break to tide us over until dinner.

Being a beach, there are several local ice cream hot spots, but since it is Sunday and post-Labor day, half the places we're closed. What was open, is the well known Brown's Old Fashioned Ice Cream. Brown's started serving home made ice cream in 1967, but after years of satisfied customers, the owner decided to shut down. Luckily, Steve Dunne decided to keep things going in 1991 and leases the stand to this day. The only real difference is they now serve Shain's of Maine ice cream. I've heard very good things about Shain's and now I know why.

I was looking over the menu trying to find something different, something new, and boy did I. They had a flavor called "Maine Survivor" billed as a vanilla ice cream with a fudge swirl, chocolate chip cookie pieces and peanuts. Now, think about what that might look like. I was picturing a thin fudge swirl and maybe some cookie pieces that were the same size as the peanuts. Boy was I wrong!

What was handed to me was the largest "small" I had ever seen. It was enormous. Plus, there were no little cookie chunks. No No No. They shove gigantic chocolate chip cookies into this ice cream plus giant slices of fudge. Oh, I so regret not taking a picture. It was absolutely fantastic. The ice cream to cookie ratio was probably 1:1, maybe even lower. Fantastic. I thought about it the whole way home it was so good.

I give Shain's major points for originality on this one. I would never have thought to shove a super fresh, giant cookie into the ice cream mixer. Oh, it came together great. Mmmmmm. I know my trusted adviser picks up containers of Shain's now and then, and if I ever see it in a store, I know which one I'm getting. I forgot how much I love cookies and ice cream together.

Side note: My daughter wanted blue ice cream (Cotton Candy from two weeks ago), but settled for Chocolate. My wife tried Razzle Dazzle. It's a vanilla ice cream with a raspberry swirl and raspberry filled chocolate pieces. She liked it, but she wasn't dazzled.

2015 Update: Brown's is being sold. The person who was leasing the facility has opened up Dunne's Ice Cream just down the road. I'm guessing they'll still be serving Shain's ice cream.

Just another day playing with my food...

It was bad enough that the FedEx guy didn't ring the door bell so my wife knew he was here, meaning I had to take the long way home to get the goods (waiting for Monday delivery wasn't going to cut it), but the worst thing was the Popsicle Ice Cream Shots container busted open and went everywhere, plus there was only a little bit of dry ice left to play with, so I was going to have to get creative if I was going to salvage some fun out of the whole mess.

First try, VROOM VROOM

Second try...ok, I may have tried a little too hard, feelin' a smidge silly....

The bears go marching one by one, hoorah, hoorah...



Ok, that's enough, the fumes from the styrofoam container are rotting my brain...

Dubba's Note: I never actually saw Popsicle Ice Cream Shots make it to the store shelves.

Turkey Hill Light Ice Cream Snyder's Chocolate Pretzel

[Discontinued] I needed some extra energy to mow, so I took out the fresh container of Turkey Hill's Synder's Chocolate Pretzel Ice Cream and dug in. The first thing that hit me was a very pleasant vanilla. Next was an ok fudge. And then, buried just below the surface, was a treasure trove of chocolate covered pretzels. Oh, the excitement! Oh ...oh ...oh, bummer, not quite as fresh as I had hoped. Synder's makes great pretzels, but these little buggers do not taste fresh. They do use a nice chocolate on the pretzels, so at least you are left with a very pleasant aftertaste. Ben & Jerry pulled off crisp pretzels in Chubby Hubby, so I bet Turkey Hill to could to if they just approached it a little different (unless I got a bum container).

Cookie Dough Ice Cream from Uhlman's

No leftovers today, and you know what that means ...Uhlman's! Actually, I almost went their hot dog special, but decided to stick with discovering their take on Cookie Dough Ice Cream. As usual, they did a good job. I did realize why I couldn't quiet describe M&M Ice Cream from last week, it's because Uhlman's vanilla is very mild. It must be by choice so as not to mess with the add-ins. I really appreciate the fact that the ice cream was blended in such a way as to break up some of the cookie dough pieces. This really spreads the flavor out. The cookie dough pieces are plentiful enough, and there are chocolate chips, but they are sparse (which is fine by me).

This has been my 11th trip to Uhlman's. Can't believe summer is over! It's was pretty breezy out there today. I tried, but it was hard to ignore the breeze while eating ice cream. No worries though, the blog will continue through the winter, I'll just need to use my imagination (also known as the grocery store down the street)

Beware of the Sale

In particular, be aware of the double sale. Since switching to the rewards card system (you only get the sale price if you have the store's rewards card with you), Shaw's has the habit of putting one brand of ice cream on sale each week. Occasionally they skip a week, but this holds true for the most part.

Have you ever noticed that the ice cream on sale seems to be the one with all the frost on it? Not every time, but take a look next time. Maybe it's from all the restocking, but I've always been a little bothered by this. You know you are really in trouble when you pick up the container and it squishes in your hand.

A double sale is when there are two brands on sale instead of the usual one. Sure, it could just be a fluke, but I can't help but think it's a little more sinister than that. Case in point: I went to Shaw's last night and picked up some Turkey Hill that was on sale for $2.99. I then went further down the aisle where people were crowding around 'buy one, get one free' Edy's (so, $2.75 a pop). I figured why not get more ice cream, but every single container I picked up had ice cream spilled out from under the lid. That's right, every single container was sticky. I put down the containers and went to finish my shopping. As I went past more Edy's containers, I noticed several other flavors covered with ice cream. Apparently the last pallet of Edy's fell over ...in the hot sun ...during lunch break.

Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I've seen this happen multiple times over the years. Any grocery store workers want to back up my theory? (sorry, i was a burger flipper, not a stock boy, so I have no proof)

Walgreens Crème de Menthe Andes Ice Cream Review

In the previous post I mentioned that I went out on a limb and picked up Walgreen's Crème de Menthe Premium ice cream, which is based on Andes Candies Crème de Menthe Thin mints. I must have been feeling awful bold on Friday because:

1. I never eat mint chocolate chip ice cream
2. I prefer York Peppermint patties
3. technically, I rarely eat chocolate mints in general

Walgreens Andes Ice Cream : Creme de Menthe

I decided to go for the initial taste test last night. The exact description is "Refreshing Crème de Menthe Ice Cream with Delicious Fudge and Real Andes Creme de Menthe Chips". Crack open the container and you find yourself presented with a light green ice cream, a fudge swirl, and little chunks of Crème de Menthe. You know, I'm getting a little tired of typing that, let's go see what it means: Ahhh, a sweet, mint-flavored liquer. Well, now I know.

Walgreens Makes Ice Cream?

Did you know Walgreens makes their own ice cream? They do! Started waaaaaaaaay back in 1912 actually! How's that for history?

I got a long distance request that my next purchase should be from Walgreens, so I headed on over after work on Friday. It's funny, because even though there are Walgreens everywhere, there isn't one by my house. So, I went prepared with a freezer pack and my lunch bag.

I went to the snack section and I was impressed, an entire section of the freezer was dedicated to Walgreens ice cream. The next section was dedicated to other ice creams (at very high prices mind you). Anyway, there are two choices to get you started. There is the standard ice cream in blue containers. I noted flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and cookies & creme. Your other option is to go with the dark containers that contain the "premium" ice creams which have a nice selection of unique flavors.

Unfortunately I can't seem to find a flavor list on their website, but this is what I remember (names may be slightly off): blueberry pie, New York cherry, moose tracks, bear claw, cookie dough, Andes, strawberry cheesecake, and a couple others. The first pick was obvious: cookie dough. I decided to try something very new to me for pick #2: Andes (I don't think I've ever tried mint ice cream).

The cookie dough didn't reside in the freezer very long, but I did manage to snag a half dozen bites to nail down my initial impression. It's a tasty treat that most closely resembles Turkey Hill's take on cookie dough. The base is a little different and Walgreens pulls out another trick: Rather than your standard chocolate chip, they go with very thin chips which break up and go everywhere. A excellent touch in my opinion.

Oh yeah, forgot to talk about price: I think regular pints were $1.50 or so, and premium pints are $1.99. Thankfully, they were on sale at 2 for $3. Even at $2, you're still clocking in below the Ben & Jerry's price. You also have the option for going for 1.5 Quart containers at a decent price ($4.29 maybe, I forget)

Nutrition: 160/70/0/2

Junket Dutch CHOCOLATE ice cream mix

This week foray with the Ice-20 was a little different. Last time I went to Walmart, I spied Junket's with all the other ice cream toppings. I couldn't resist and decided to go with the chocolate (they also have vanilla and strawberry). All you need to do is add the milk and the cream, so preparation is very simple.

*side note: I don't know if it made a difference, but I shook the half and half for a good 90 seconds, I was trying to add air to the mixture, fluff it up...or something.

I did a sample after about 6-7 minutes and the first thing that came to my mind was chocolate cake mix. I did another sample at about 14 minutes at I realized it reminded me off the frosty shake from Friday. More specifically, it reminded me of chocolate pudding mix, but rather than a nice Jell-o pudding mix, it tasted more like the gummy generic version.

It was probably about twenty minutes or so when it was all done. The mixture is probably the most ice creamy looking concoction we've made to date. The flavor is ok, but the texture is very rubbery/gel-ish when it first comes out. We'll see how it looks after a night of freezing.

On a side note, if it freezes well, I may buy the vanilla but mix it with regular half and half. I used the last of the no-fat half & half so we wouldn't waste.

On Second Scoop: Well, it did freeze a lot like normal ice cream would, though the texture is a bit off. The most important thing is the flavor is still off, so I'm afraid I can't recommend it.

Ice Cream and Cake

I've mentioned before that I'm a huge fan of ice cream cake because all too often store bought cakes just aren't up to snuff. Well, today was one of those wonderful exceptions you hope for. We were at a birthday party today with a fantastically fresh cake from a local joint (Gerardo's Italian Bakery to be precise). It was a well made white cake with a layer of frosting and raspberry jelly in the middle. I plopped down two big scoops of Edy's Slow-churned Vanilla next to a big piece of cake and I was in dessert heaven. Oh man, so good!! I didn't even bother with the frosting on top because the cake was perfect with just the ice cream. Mmmm, so simple! so fantastic!

National Chocolate Milkshake Day

Fall 2014 Note: Frosty shakes are off the menu!

Yes, time for another wacky holiday that doesn't really have any proof of existence, yet can be found pretty much everywhere. Kinda funny how that works, but let's be honest, are you going to turn down an excuse to go stop for a Chocolate Milkshake? I think not.

Update: Ok, I know it's not a real milkshake, but I had to grab something from Staples and there is a Wendy's across the street, so I finally tried a Frosty Shake (chocolate ofcourse). It's still thick, but not quite as thick as a frosty. Be warned, this does not taste like a regular frosty. It took many sips to figure it out, but basically this thing tastes like a giant Jell-O pudding snack (the chocolate ones with the cream topping). I opted for the small but wound up finishing it it no time, guess I should have went large. So they are decent, but I can't imagine getting an urge to run out and buy one anytime soon.

Nutrition: 410/100/0/9

Treat of the Week: Blue Bunny Sherbet Cups

I know I said I would never buy anything from Blue Bunny again, but to be honest, I had no idea who made that which I was buying. My daughter's friends were taking turns bringing in "special snacks", usually something like Hoodsie Cups, but one friend brought in Sherbet Cups. So it was our time to pick a snack and she spied the sherbet cups, and so that is what we bought (why am I talking funny today?)

Now, on first scoop, you are going to be thrown off a bit. The first bite I took hit me as a bit salty, kind of like Good Humor Sherbet does. On second scoop, I started to get use to it and realized it actually wasn't that bad at all. Now, if you try to eat the individual flavors separately, you may be disappointed. What I do is just scoop all 3 at the same time, and you jut wind up with a decent generic sherbet taste. I actually ate the last one tonight, so I'm going to have to get another pack for the freezer. So they aren't fantastic by any means, but they do make a nice low cal, late night snack that seems to avoid the troubles of freezer burn.

as a side note, I despise Good Humor Sherbet. The salty nature of the beast disgusts me immensely, I wound up throwing out the last container. I do like Life Saver Sherbet, but I wind up only eating the cherry, raspberry and orange flavors and leaving the watermelon and pineapple.

Nutrition: 90/5/0/0

M&M Ice Cream from Uhlman's

Well, I have a few pieces of sad news to start off with. Uhlman's, my very favorite lunchtime hangout, closes for the season after Columbus Day. I've mentioned before that ice cream eaters must hibernate in New England since most local shops close for the winter.
The second piece of bad news is ....and I hate to admit it ....I didn't finish my ice cream. In fact, I didn't even come close. It's no knock on the ice cream, I just couldn't finish it. Off day I guess, it happens to the best of us.

Now originally I wanted to go chocolate-y, but after reviewing the flavor list, I decided to go with M&M. Let's be honest, this is one spiffy* looking ice cream cone with the way the colors have blended with the base. The question is: what is the base? It doesn't taste like vanilla, it's just so mild that I can't really place it. They also went with full size M&Ms mixed in, some whole, some split. They are very solid (they are frozen, but sometimes you have to state the obvious).
Anyway, i got through the top scoop and was about half way through the bottom scoop when I realized I was full. I went a little farther but it just wasn't meant to be. Overall, I'd say it's still a decent flavor, but I do feel a little silly reviewing it when I can't even describe the flavor.
*feel free to substitute the word spiffy with any positive word of your choice. I've tried about a dozen times and still can't pick the write, grrr, right, word.

Breyer's Chocolate Crackle An Ice Cream Review

2012 Update: While the review below is for an all natural ice cream, I just went to check on this flavor and realized it has been converted to a Frozen Dairy Dessert. Why would they ruin it like that? I think the idea is that this is now the base for the Klondike Krunch BLAST flavor.

2013 Update: And it's retired like so many other Breyers flavors

On tonight's agenda was to finally 'crack' open a container of Breyer's All Natural Chocolate Crackle. It's one of their newer flavors and it has been calling to me since it came out even though I wasn't really sure what to expect.

Guess what? I can sum up this flavor in 2 words

"Klondike Bar"

The first thing that struck me on the first couples bites was the Breyer's Vanilla flavor. If you ask my belly, it remembers a time when it was much more flavorful. Now the vanilla is very mild, almost as if frost burn has stolen it's bite (I noticed this on their cookie dough as well). I took a few more bites and started getting into the ripple. Memories were triggering and at first I was reminiscing about one of those Nestle Crunch Ice Cream bars, but the chocolate ripple is thinner than that. Then it hit me, this tastes just like a Klondike Bar (original flavor). It's uncanny.

I just checked their website, and Breyers and Klondike are both owned by Unilever. So we should definitely be talking about all the same ingredients in both treats.

Nutrition: 160 / 90-7 / 0 / 2

Cotton Candy Ice Cream? New Worst Flavor Ever*

All I can say is ...why would you do this to ice cream? We read the flavor list to my daughter and she wanted to try this as soon as she heard it. Just to make it extra special, it's BLUE! She also wanted rainbow sprinkles like the little boy who was eating one about 10 feet from this.

She dug in and was quite happy with her discovery. Being your faithful ice cream reviewer, I knew I couldn't pass up the chance to try it, even if it's just one bite...

Oh my word, this is disgusting! I found something that I despise more that Party Cake! I was very tempted to get back in line so I could buy something to wash down this monstrosity. Overall, I would say Cotton candy is a pretty rare flavor, and now I know why.

You know, for some strange reason, I swear I got a bit of a banana aftertaste among all the other nastiness. Sometimes one bite is all it takes....

*Note: This is a VERY OLD review. This or this is much more relevant.

Rocky Road from Elsie's Creamery

Well, we didn't score any good air show ice cream cones (because there were none), but we did spot Randall's Farm as we headed for the Pike. There was a good amount of people lined up for this Ludlow hotspot, so we patiently waited our turn to check out Elsie's Creamery.

They have a decent selection of homemade flavors, including one called Happyland (sorry, didn't get a chance to ask what was in it). For the adults out there, I even saw a flavor based on an certain adult beverage, but anyway. My wife spied Cherry Garcia, which they assured us was "Cherry Garcia" ...but afterwards she commented it was definitely not worthy of that name. I almost went with Caramel Almond swirl to be different, but instead I went with the gut, and the gut wanted chocolate: Rocky Road!

It was decent, nothing fantastic. The chocolate just wasn't that impressive, and you need to start with a good chocolate. There were some kind of nuts inside, but they didn't really come through. There where also shards of marshmallows, but again, not real noticeable. Hmmm, guess it all goes back to the chocolate, it overpowered everything and left me disappointed (but full).

So, Elsie's of Ludlow, I'll give you an OK review, but I won't be stopping by anytime soon ...well, it is an hour from my house, so it's not like I would be heading back anyway. On a side note though, they do also have a nice greenhouse which had some unique indoor plants plus a nice store with some local produce and half gallon's of Elsie's Ice Cream.

A Tale of Two Flavors

I wasn't sure which path to travel this weekend, so I let my daughter decide. I was sure she would go the Dutch Chocolate Mix or the candy bits, but instead, she wanted to take another crack at Marshmallow. So off we go!

Dubba's Fluffernutter Ice Cream

2 cups of half and half

1.5 cups of marshmallow

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

1/4 cup of peanut butter

tablespoon of sugar (for PB)

So, trying to learn from last week's mistake of too much sugar, I put the half and half in a pan, warmed it up, and mixed in a cup of marshmallow. I started with a bit less but the marshmallow flavor was losing it's potency. I chilled the mix just for a bit, and then threw it in the Ice-20. After about 10 minutes it was obvious that the flavor just wasn't potent enough, so after about 5 more minutes I added another 1/2 cup of marshmallow. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad either.

While that was going on, I experimented with liquifying the peanut butter. So i started with a sample of peanut butter and added in some water, and then some more water. It was working, but the flavor was a bit off, so I added a tablespoon of sugar followed by some more PB (about a 1/4 cup or so in total). I don't have an exact measurement on the water, but we're talking about a basic 1 to 1 ratio for what appeared to be a decent consistancy.

Before we proceed, let me note that you can by liquid PB for your sundaes, and this is what I should have done, but I wanted to see if I could do it myself.

After about 25 minutes, I turned off the Ice-20 and decided to pour in the PB. Now, the ice cream was still fairly loose, and the peanut butter went everyone. Hmmm, guess 1:1 wasn't quiet the right ratio, and so much for making a PB swirl. Oh well, marshmallow and PB kinda mix when you make a Fluffernutter anyway.

Overall, it came out decent. I wish the marshmallow taste was more potent, but on the flip side, the peanut butter comes across much more mild than when I made PB chocolate chip. Unfortunately I'm thinking it wont freeze well since the consistency isn't quite right, still too much sugar I guess.

Now, where does the two flavor part come in? well, I also toyed with adding in some chocolate graham cracker crust. In the samples I made, it was good, but it totally takes you away from the Fluffernutter feel of the whole thing. To be honest, I'm not sure which style I prefer.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip from Uhlman's

I am one very tired and worn out ice cream reviewer. I've been battling a cold since Tuesday, but I think I can manage to force myself over to Uhlman's. I'm thinking an icy cold chocolate pick me up will help me get through the final working hours of the day.

Wow, Uhlman's is pretty busy today, maybe it's a friday thing. I look over the menu and spy chocolate chocolate chip ice cream. Oh yeah, that sounds perfect. As always, I'm handed a very generous "small" and go find myself a nice spot in the shade. It's fantastic of course. The chocolate is great, and I'm revisited by a plentiful supply of the big chocolate chips that I saw in the black raspberry chip. Yet again, the flavor is spot on and I enjoyed every bite.

Now, for the big news!! I now know where Uhlman's gets all these great flavors come from: The Puritan Ice Cream Company, a family owned ice cream company for *FOUR* generations (1908 for those of you who like exact numbers). That's right, I apparently timed my trip just right and saw the delivery truck roll in. A very quick web search brings me to their website, including the flavor listing. Whoever designs the flavors over their is my new hero.

Now, Uhlman's carries most of the flavors listed, though right off the bat there is at least one notable exception in the form of Snickers. Their Milky Way is fantastic, so I'd love to see how they handle Snickers, my all time favorite candy bar. Every place has to carry ice cream from somewhere, and now I am honored to know where Uhlman's comes from.

The great news is, you may have a place serving Puritan Ice Cream near you, so go find it!

Eat an Extra Dessert Day!

So I have my nice Turkey Hill calendar at work, but at home in the cabinet I have this wacky calendar from HP. On it, every day is described as something, whether an important date in history, someone's birth (or death) day, or some crazy holiday. Today is "Eat an Extra Dessert Day"! This is not to be confused with national dessert day in October.

Wow, you can't even really google this supposed day, how strange. So, how will you celebrate a day that no one has ever heard of? Does this mean I can justify going to Uhlman's and DQ on the same day? No ...that would be wrong ...wrong-ish ...mmmm, now I'm hungry ...no, that's not true, I was hungry before I started drooling about a blizzard in one hand and a double scoop of Uhlman's in the other.

Update: Ok, I didn't go 2 desserts at the same time, but I did sneak in an extra one. I helped myself to a bit of Edy's apple pie when I got home, then for my evening dessert I dug into some sherbet.

It's all about the passion

First off, I'm honored that Turkey Hill has added On Second Scoop to their list of links on the mighty icecreamjournal.turkeyhill.com. Turkey Hill and Breyer's make excellent ice creams. I use to eat Turkey Hill as a kid but lost touch when I moved to New England. Thankfully, back in 1999 (I think), I remember the big advertising campaign announcing they were coming to the area and I was really excited. It's great to have another set of ice creams to pick from at the store. Actually, I also like to thank them for this post in particular. Sure you could claim it's just marketing, but I took it as a genuine post to the devoted lovers of Turkey Hill ice cream.

Ok, so, if you are new to this blog, then welcome! About a year ago, I started to realize just how much I love ice cream. Think about it? Stuck on a desert island, what one type of food would taste great? It keeps you cool, lots of variety, and it's decent for you (when it's not too fatty anyway). The only downside is that at some point you will reach the bottom of the bowl.

For whatever reason, back in May, it finally dawned on me that there are very few sites dedicated to ice cream. I remember trying to start a movie site in the 90s, but it never took off because they're are just too many and you get lost in the shuffle. However, I'm hoping to have better success with this blog. I know not everyone will agree will my opinions, but the idea is to get everyone to slow down just a bit and really enjoy their ice cream. You know, think about why it hits the spot or maybe think about trying a new flavor. Feeling flustered at work? Go take an ice cream break! Sitting on a bench enjoying an ice cream is way better than waiting in drive thru for a Big Mac made from Grade E beef (yeah, I flipped burgers as a kid).

So hopefully my posts about my passion for ice cream will help you realize your own passion for that tasty stuff that's calling to you from the freezer.

Edy's Limited Edition Apple Pie Ice Cream Review

I've been meaning to broaden my fruit-based horizons, and I finally got the chance as I spied a fresh batch of Edy's Apple Pie at the store yesterday. They looked like they might be freezer burned, but I knew I had to try it, so I picked the best looking one and headed home.

Since it's a frozen dairy dessert, and not true ice cream, it has trouble freezing and was still mushy when I tried it about an hour after getting home, but guess what? It's good! I really like it. It's a light apple ice cream with small chunks of apples and pie crust and it works! Not too sweet, not too bland. I think I might have to try some other fruit flavors now.

I actually like the warm mushy texture, it gives the whole thing a cool whip feeling. Mmmmm, bet this would taste great next to a slice of ice cold apple pie (sorry, I don't do warm pies, I like 'em icy cold, just like my ice cream). Make sure you give it a try since it has a limited fall run only.

On Second Scoop: Well, the ice cream has refrozen. While it still tastes pretty much the same, the consistency has gotten kind of rubbery. It's not awful, but it is a bit disappointing.

Nutrition: 120 / 35 / 0 / 1 (Available September to December)

Extras: Keebler Waffles Bowls

As you may have noticed, I don't pay a ton of attention to the whole store-bought cone scene (as mentioned in the sugar cone disaster). Ice cream in a bowl is just easier, what can I say. Well, during grocery shopping last week, Keebler cones were all on sale. In particular, I noticed Waffle Bowls, and to be honest, I don't think I've noticed them until now. So, I picked up a set knowing my daughter would be a big fan.

Yesterday was a beautiful day and a perfect opportunity to open up the waffle bowls. This is when I learned something new. I've seen the chocolate coated waffle bowls at DQ, but I never really stopped to think how I would eat one. I was totally expecting my daughter to eat out the ice cream and then finish off the bowl. Well, I was a wrong. After just a few bites, she picked up the bowl and ate it like a giant ice cream cone. Hey, whatever works right?

We actually had waffle bowls again today, though the experience wasn't as gratifying. The bowl in the bottom of the package has broken from being moved around, and my first attempt to scoop into a bowl has left me with a handful of waffle pieces. These things are really quite fragile. The second try went better, though I was much more careful. I made myself one and ate it just like my daughter did yesterday. It worked pretty well actually, though the flavor of the bowl wasn't quite as satisfying as I had hoped, instead it was kind of bland.

funny, I just did a super quick google search a reviewer who thinks the Joy waffle bowls are much better, so if I see them at the store, I'll grab a pack and we'll do a comparison.

Nutrition: 50/10/0/(less than 1)