Thursday, July 27, 2017

What do you think of Kroger ice cream?


While some mid Atlantic grocery stores are just continuations of my local stores, like their Food Lion is my Hannaford, there are two stores I wanted to check out in particular: Kroger and Harris Teeter. Nick has reviewed several pints from Kroger during his travels southwards, but this was the first time I got to walk their aisles. Here are some of the more interesting things that I found. It's a wide ranging selection as they have options in premium, regular, light, FDD and even gelato.

Kroger Deluxe Ice Cream

These four seemed the most unique out of my options at this particular Kroger. I think Sweet Cream Funnel Cake caught my eye more than anything but opinions on my instagram post were fairly negative. Apparently funnel cake pieces and a white icing swirl aren't enough to save this one. S'mores would be an easy pick as would Chocolate Pretzel Blitz. Blueberry pomegranate chocolate chunk light ice cream seems different if not possibly terrible.

Kroger Private Selection Ice Cream

Now they also had jammed (frozen dairy dessert) and churned (light) pints, but here are a few pints from their "Private Selection" line up. When's the last time you saw a Pistachio & Honey flavor? You rarely see either flavor and here they are together. It was also a little surprising to see the Matcha Green Tea flavor and the Chocolate Hazelnut Mascarpone ice cream.

(Note: I forgot to track down Kroger's new Simple Truth Low Cow ice cream. It's high in protein and meant to compete with Halo Top.)

Kroger HemisFares Gelato

These clear square pints were hard to ignore amongst all the ice cream containers. Kroger debuted HemisFares in 2015 and it is aimed at foodies and millennials (their words, not mine). The gelato in particular comes from Italy and is made with milk from grass-fed Sicilian cows. You know, it would be funny if it was from the people who use to make (Target) Archer Farms gelato. I spied the flavors Cappuccino, Stracciatella, and Pistachio, but there should also be chocolate, strawberry, and hazelnut flavors.

Ok, that's all I have for now. No reviews, instead, I open the floor to all of our friends who have a Kroger in their area. What do you think of their ice cream or gelato? Any recommendations?


72 comments:

  1. Copied from Facebook...

    I love Kroger. I'm not sure if their ice cream will be up to your standards, but in general Kroger brand stuff is pretty good. I really want to try that smores. The Blueberry Pomegranate Chocolate Chunk was one of my favorites, but I don't really get gallons anymore...

    Oh, and the private selection blueberry pomegranate sorbet IS the reincarnate of the lost version of the same flavor at Trader Joe's. LOVE.

    I had no idea that Hemisfares was Kroger. I did not like the hazelnut gelato, but the strawberry was really good and with real strawberries on top.

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    1. Please try it. Honestly Krogers Private Selection is the best ice cream I've ever eaten. So much better than some of the top brand names like Bryers and Blue Bell! We only buy Kroger ice cream.

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  2. The Kroger Deluxe is across the board lousy in my opinion. It always tastes like it has been refrozen. Private Selection pints always have a freezer burned taste. The bigger containers are good. There is a raspberry chocolate on is great. I haven't tried the gelato but the new low-cal halo knock off is really good. It's my new favorite vanilla bean. I didn't finish it in a sitting but I did drizzle chocolate fudge over it each time I ate it!

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    1. I just bought triple brownie and i am soooooo disappointed. Not much chocolate at all. It is not creamy and almost gritty. Smart and Final has their First Street brand that is excellent. Worth driving the extra few miles if I eant good ice cream for a great price.

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  3. Evokes too strong an association with Nickelback.

    0/10 would not buy

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  4. I think Kroger has decent ice cream. The honey pistachio is quite good. So is the hazelnut marscapone.

    I agree that funnel cake was disappointing - but they had a lemon sugar cookie flavor that was awesome.

    It's not super premium ice cream, and some of the flavors aren't my favorite, but that's true of most grocery store ice cream. I think they do a good job, overall.

    I have only tried the hazelnut gelato (and didn't love it). I'll have to try other flavors.

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  5. I think the Low Cow is no where near as good as halo top, unfortunately. Too artificially sweet tasting, and gave me a bad bloated feeling more than I've ever experienced from Halo Top.

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  6. Personally I don't buy Kroger ice cream, all of it to me is really low quality ice cream even their deluxe lines. I also dislike that a one of their lines is not ice cream (jammed I think) isn't actually ice cream, and I found that out at home when the texture was all wrong.

    I really only started trying them when Blue Bell was recalled and I have continued to try a flavor or two sometimes now that distribution no longer reaches all the way in Kentucky. Really I feel like there are worse store level brands out there, some of the flavors aren't terrible but I just find the texture lacking. I would much rather have walmart's brand than Kroger any day.

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    1. Oh Brother. Private selection is hand and shoulders above all others

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  7. Ooh. Something to try. Been expanding my horizons since now I'm Midwest middle of nowhere lol.
    But I've got a Dillion's I can get to ( Kroger family).
    Adding it to my look list. Ty

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  8. The mascarpone hazelnut is one of my favorite pints, from any company. I also had the hazelnut gelato, and I also did not care for it. Now I'll try the strawberry on Fritz's recommendation.

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  9. Replies
    1. Agree - love Publix ice cream and frozen yogurts!

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  10. funnel cake ice cream was disappointing... ice cream tasted weird to me... very artificial flavor tasting.... very sweet and can't describe the so called funnel cake...graham crackery??? blah

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    1. Eating it now it taste like nasty alcohol??? Strange chemical taste!!

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    2. I don’t like the light and that’s all they had in the gallons.

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    3. Same for me. Went to 2 krogers and all they had in the party pail was light. Does anyone know if they are doing away with regular?

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  11. blueberry pomegranate choc chunk sounds weird... but is Delicious

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  12. @laurahn: one word: VIRGINIA

    sorry, just having fun, but I was in eastern Virginia and it's my understanding that Publix has just recently invaded Virginia, in particular the Richmond area. I do hope to visit them at some point though.

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  13. Sascha Bartels, it might have just been the frozen strawberries on top that made it so good, I don't know, ha, which you could replicate on another strawberry ice cream / gelato, but I enjoyed it =) The hazelnut is still in my freezer unfinished ;-)

    I'll have to check out some of the new private selection pints...

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  14. Kroger brand Ice Cream is not terrible. Quite frankly, Vivid Vanilla, which my Wife and I lovingly call "Porn Star" vanilla is our favorite of the vanilla's offered. It's not bright like a Bean vanilla, it's more deeply flavored with a caramel note...without tasting like caramel. Hard to explain for me. NOW, let's talk funnel cake......Maybe one of the most dishonest labels available. But not more dishonest than Libbys 100% pure pumpkin, which contains ZERO pumpkin, but this is close. First, the base....it literally tastes like whisky and rum. Straight up, so much so that I taste and I'm waiting for the ethanol vapors to strike. Wow...TERRIBLE. The swirl is waxy and leaves a film and the bites of funnel cake are no terrible and they're plenty. But, can't save the base. Definitely not sweet cream. I liked the chocolate pretzel because the base had a malt flavor. The chocolate is not terrible and the pretzels where salty, fresh and crunchy. For me though, too much of a chocolate waves throughout that were fair in taste. Dubba, you know when someone says "ewe, this is gross....taste it" because it is funny. Review the funnel cake...i think it'd be funny...but it most certainly is a MUST TRY...for all the wrong , fun reasons!

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  15. Jeremy Scott, Vivid Vanilla is my favorite of the Kroger vanillas also! Lol. I just haven't had it in a while, because I don't buy gallons very much anymore, but now I'm in the mood to try it again. Maybe I'll check out their pint offerings to look for that one ;-)

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  16. I was shocked by how much I liked Low Cow Birthday Cake.

    The lack of egg yolks and inclusion of monkfruit extract had me alarmed, but it still managed to taste like cake. The sprinkles were a little too big and bothered my teeth, but still. It grew on me.

    I've tried Kroger's "Deluxe" Birthday Cake and Triple Brownie ice creams, and they both ended up in the garbage.

    The "Jammed" Cookie dough FDD, that I currently bought and tried today will not end up in the garbage, as it's actually not half bad at all. This is coming from someone who usually hates FDDs.

    I cookie dough blobs were real sweet and plentiful, and the base reminded me of Heath/toffee. So very sweet.

    At 1 dollar to 1.39 a pint it's great for low income families with small children they want to treat.

    I'm not sure I'd buy again though because there's much better.

    Maybe if I'm craving cookie dough ice cream and I'm broke...

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  17. The Hemis Fares gelato tastes good, except for the use of corn syrup which makes it gummy.

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  18. My mother and I enjoyed the Kroger Deluxe Butter Pecan Ice Cream. It had lots of pecan pieces in it and was very flavorful.

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  19. WHY did they discontinue the Private Selection Chocolate Hazelnut Mascarpone ice cream??? I vowed that when I die I was going to have a ladle of it in my mouth.

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  20. I like Matcha green tea and any dessert made with it. I am use to the Japanese made matcha green tea ice cream and I have matcha powder to make into shake or tea .So I am familiar with its taste and smell.
    I saw a Private selection Matcha Green tea at a Ralphs nearby and decided to try it.Its in 1 pint size.Unfortunately, this one hardly taste like matcha green tea powder nor smell like one.Even though the ingredient has it, the question is how much they put in it and the quality . There is a hint of a bitter green tea taste though and its too sweet. The color is more of a mint green .

    I don't recommend this flavor at all.

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  21. Local grocery store just made the switch from Roundy's ice cream to Kroger party pails. So far, my family is not impressed. 5 quarts usually lasts us roughly 1.5 weeks...one gallon of Kroger C&C is only half gone after 2 weeks.

    Flavor: cookies and cream party pail
    Tastes like: ground up ice cream sandwiches. No oreo-like flavor at all.
    Texture: grainy (scratches throat on the way down). No "creamy" sensation achieved.

    Kroger ruined a classic flavor. Bring back the Roundy's or I'm swithing to another store brand.

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  22. Return it to the store to get your money back, then try to grab a fresher pail (check dates) and let us know if it was any better :)

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  23. I actually googled the Kroger Funnel Cake flavor to see if anybody else thought it tasted like bourbon as well; I agree with Jeremy on the oddly potent tinge of alcohol. I bought it on a whim to eat with pecan pie, and the adults in the tasting like the pairing a lot. I would not eat Funnel Cake on its own, but as a boozy partner to pie or cake, thumbs up! The quality of the ice cream is typical for the price range.

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  24. This company needs to reconfigure their packaging for their gelato product. I have to use a pliers to get the top off EACH time. I cut open my thumb on the damn thing!

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  25. I tried the Hemisfares Cappuccino gelato and found it to be smooth not icy, with very good flavor, and more healthy with fewer calories than many other brands.The square container did catch my attention but made a bit difficult to open.

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  26. HEMISFARES GELATO- SICILIAN PISTACHIO

    I like this gelato, not nearly as sweet as other pistachio ice creams, and it has REAL PISTACHIO bits on the top. The packaging is weird and was confused on how to open it at first but it tastes pretty good (tastes more milky than regular ice cream to me). It caught my attention at Kroger because it was on sale for 2/$6 right next to the Talenti (that usually runs for $6). I love other pistachio ice creams that are really sweet, but this is a nice change (actually tastes like pistachio)

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  27. Omfg I can't believe anyone thinks the blueberry pomegranate chunk light ice cream is terrible. I have been a strictly chocolate girl my whole life. I am also someone who only likes ice cream. I don't care for cookies or pies or fruity desserts. My husband bought this ice cream for himself because it should have been safe from me as it was not Rite Aid Chocolate Brownie or Rocky Road. He fell in love with it. One day made the mistake of your insisting I tadte it. OMG this stuff is incredible. It's now the only ice cream I ever want. We laugh and call it my crack. I get cranky when we dontd have any. I'll dont care for many of Kroger's other brands. But this item is solid gold in our house. I'm so shocked to see someone feel so differently. I guess this is just a good reminder to always try things for yourself. What if I had read this review before trying it again might have cheated myself out of the very best ice cream I've ever had.

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  28. In general, I LOVE Private Selection ice cream but Kroger ticks me off the way they discontinue really good flavors (banana cream pie, huckleberry pie) and leave a lot of gross (cherry cordial, all of their sorbets) flavors and boring ones (chocolate ganache, vanilla, double vanilla ( I mean, REALLY! I ASK you?!)). I am expecting for Maine blueberry cheesecake and English toffee to be discontinued any day and I am really savoring Pistachio Honey for what is certain to be a short run!

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  29. After deciding a few years ago to never again buy Kroger pumped-full-of-air ice cream, I couldn't resist this weekend's 99¢/48 oz. sale. I had never tried Funnel Cake so I bought that & a couple vanillas. The Funnel Cake was awful. These days I can make homemade yogurt that is creamier, richer, smoother, & tastes better than Kroger Deluxe Ice Cream. I'm sure it's healthier too. No more Kroger Ice Cream no matter how good the sale!

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  30. I have been enjoying the Kroger Brand Ice Cream for several years. My favorite now is the Chocolate Covered Pretzel Blitz that has only been available in Richmond VA since early 2018, if not new altogether. Its been several months and not available on the shelf although they still have a labeled spot for it in every store I've checked. Not in stock and not available online. No one at customer service in or out of the store has a clue. I just hope they don't discontinue it. Very Good Ice Cream.

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  31. I adored the Private Selection “Chocolate Ganache” Literslly the only one I’ll purchase as I know it’ll be loved and eaten before freezer burned. I don’t really like Funnel Cake, the funnel cake involved is simply a sweet cookie cracker like those found in Ghardetto’s snack mixes! Same shape and color, just sweeter. I was wondering why it was so nauseatingly sweet, didn’t know about the so called “sweet cream icing” blegh! Total pass, hard pass! Pistachio and Honey sounds downright AMAZING to my tastebuds as we speak, yes I will be trying that one on this list! Also, there’s a triple brownie chocolate “deluxe” flavor that’s pretty good considering the rest are complete fails in my honest opinion. But please do try the chocolate ganache private selection ice cream as it’s such a deep chocolate flavor, most will love! You won’t be able to forget it, and if you know one similar from a different brand or company, please don’t hesitate to respond and let me know about it! I’ll adore you forever if so. Kind regards, Luna*

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  32. I just tried the Black Cherry Root Beer Float and it’s good but could use more root beer flavor because it’s pretty weak.

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  33. Just tried the pistachio w/ honey private selection tonight. It was beyond my expectations, and made a "this was a bad day" pint into one of the best pints of ice cream I've ever had period. It was richly flavorful pistachio ice cream with pistachio halves strewn about, with RIPPLES of honey all throughout the ice cream as you dug in. DECADENT. Really amazing, why isn't all pistachio ice cream served with ripples of honey?

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  34. I'm not a gourmand by any means but I have become enamored with the Private Selection Matcha Green Tea ice cream. Reminds me of Japan and of some intensely matcha flavored mochi I had a couple of trips ago. Totemo oishii deshita! Daniel

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  35. Folks it's the private select ice cream you got to have from Kroger it is fantastic

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  36. Went also to kroger to get some ice cream in the party pail. Everything was light. I will ask tomorrow if they can still stock the regular ice cream. I noticed the last couple pails were actually light with out the label. Could tell there was less cream in the mix. If they don't carry will need to shop elsewhere to get some real ice cream. Aldi only has a couple flavors but is pretty good. Walmart also has some flavors. I think if people start noticing that it is light they won't buy. Its no where as good as the old ice cream.

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  37. I wanted to check and see if Kroger's ice cream has carageenan in it because I have a problem digesting that particular ingredient and so does my cat. I was shocked to see that it contained something much worse for my cat (and for me) and that is PROPYLENE GLYCOL. Since a lot of people give a lick or two of their ice cream to their cat, they should be aware that this is an ingredient that is NOT ALLOWED in cat food because it causes a FATAL type of anemia in cats. I definitely think you should take this ingredient OUT (as well as the carageenan) and find another substitute that is healthier and less toxic or consider putting a disclaimer on the product "dangerous when consumed by cats." PLEASE FIX THIS PROBLEM. Thank you.

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  38. My thoughts: stop feeding cats (and dogs) ice cream. Boom. Problem solved.... never understand why people want animal germs on their spoons anyway.....

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  39. People usually drop the ice cream on a saucer and let the cats lick at it that way, and yes, it is expected that people will give their animals a touch of ice cream from time to time, so no, it's not something Kroger should be putting in it, and they should definitely know better!

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  40. I prefer Kroger Deluxe Mint Chocolate Chip to the others that I've tried. Never thought they were "lousy" even for the regular Chocolate and Vanilla varieties.

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  41. Loved it my favorite is the mint chocolate chip one been a fan of that brand and flavor ever since I was little

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  42. Perhaps other flavors are more tolerable, but their Granny Smith Apple is the closest to synthetic ice cream as I've ever tasted. It doesn't hold a candle to Blue Bell

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  43. If you've only ever tried one container from an ice cream brand and a bunch of people are saying it's good while your container was gritty and disappointing, it stands to reason that you had the unfortunate luck of grabbing a freezerburned container.

    If you can, check the date stamp on the package when trying a new brand to make sure you get something fresh. Also, look for signs that the ice cream may have been sitting out (melted ice cream on the side of the container)

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  44. I LOVE KROGERS FRENCH VANILLA
    Sometimes it does taste like spoiled milk but I think that's stores fault not freezing it well or freezer burnt etc.I HAVE A ALL NUT ALLERGY & Kroger French Vanilla is only brand that doesn't bother me at all with allergy. Thank you Kroger

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  45. i really like the Private Selection ice cream at Kroger, but not all flavors. the Caramel Sea Salt is awesome. Tried the Canoli today. uhhhh no. not good.

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  46. Private Selection Strawberry Champagne ice cream. Awful. Thick creamy slimy. No resemblance to strawberries. I do not recognize any flavors. Other flavors have been surprisingly good but this one I will return.

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  47. Private Selection Maine Blueberry Cheesecake would be perfection without the "waffle cone" pieces, which are way too sweet. Southern Butter Pecan is the lowest-sugar selection and is delicious; buttery, with many huge pecans. All the PS flavors are amazing, equal to premium ice cream, but could use less sugar. I also like the cheaper Deluxe in Caramel Praline and Mint Chocolate Chip flavors. Especially when it's on sale and I have a coupon!

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    1. If you snag the 1.5q it has gram cracker crust instead of the waffle cone. Dunno if that would suit you better..I love the stuff.

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  48. I am trying to eat less ice cream. My favorite, Mayfield’s chocolate stopped putting out in pint size. So I tried Kroger’s chocolate. It is horrible!
    Just thought you should know.

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  49. Hold me back Deluxe Death by Chocolate is brilliant 🔥

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  50. Private Selection’s Southern Butter Pecan has been my favorite ice cream for several years; however, recently the pecans taste really bad - like motor oil smells. I’m actually picking out the nuts in the gallon I am now eating.

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  51. Mt son and I love the Kroger 1.25 gallon Party Pail Vividly Vanilla, and the Chocolate Swirl flavors. I especially liked the Vividly Vanilla, because as it melts if you stir it up good then it is like having soft serve vanilla. However, in early 2022 they changed to a 1 gallon container with a slightly different formulation of the ice cream. It still taste good to us, but it seems to be slightly harder than before with a slightly different taste. I compared ingredients from the old formulation to the new one, and the main difference I saw in the vanilla is that their no longer is any buttermilk in it. That probably accounts for it being hard with a slightly different taste. The nutritional information the new one is nearly identical to the old one with only very slight differences.

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  52. I’ve only had their peppermint ice cream. It is the single worst peppermint ice cream I’ve ever had and I’ve tried many lol. It just really had no flavor. It didn’t taste like peppermint and it wasn’t a vanilla. I’m honestly not sure what it tastes like, it’s just kinda there. It had plenty of pieces of fairly crunchy “peppermint” but it had hardly any flavor and certainly not peppermint. I got this on my first Kroger delivery order and was pretty shocked by it tbh. It’s like ice cream that just tastes like ice cream, but minus flavor.

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  53. As a rule we have been very pleased with the Kroger ice cream products and then recently we picked up the Deluxe Chocolate Honey Nut Crunch ……3 out of 3 household members rated it as disgusting beyond belief. I have no words to describe how foul and nasty it is. I fed it to the garbage disposal!!!!!

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  54. Private Selection Ganache ice cream should be sold in the pint size. Too many versions of Denali chocolate ice cream are bad marketing when Ganache pints are lacking. And who outside of Constantinople likes HONEY in Pistachio ice cream (flavor or nuts)?

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  55. We have noticed a less creamy and flavorful vividly vanilla flavor recently. Looks like we will be buying another brand from now on. Been a fan for years but disappointed.

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  56. Private selection hot chocolate ice cream contains HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, be aware.

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  57. The black raspberry cookies and cream is SOOO GOOD the cookies in it r the right amount of sweet and the raspberry flavor is so refreshing 😋 👌 I ate bout 4 bowls of it in less than 2 hours, I love ice cream but this 1 I can eat a lot of and not get sick of it or cause of it

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  58. I would buy your private selection chocolate chip. The Gerbes I bought it at stop selling it. It had so much chips it was awesome! I tried this brand of chocolate chip and it hardly has any chips in it! It is like eating plain vanilla ice cream. I don’t like plain vanilla ice cream! It is called deluxe, but it IS NOT!

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  59. The best kroger flavor in my opinion is the private selection churro....it is delicious

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  60. Unless you want vanilla, Kroger ice cream blows. It all tastes like vanilla, with nominal additives to make the non vanilla garbage appear legit.

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