[New for Early 2024] There are three new Ben & Jerry's flavors on (some) shelves now. There is the fun sounding, limited batch Marshmallow Sky (not to be confused with Marshmallow Moon) and then at Hannaford, I found the tasty sounding PB S'mores and....
Ben & Jerry's Impretzively Fudged Ice Cream
chocolate ice cream with fudge-covered pretzel pieces & pretzel swirls
Ok, ok....
I see pretzel crumbs, but not necessarily a true swirl....
I take my first small bite and it seems like this could be an easy win for Ben & Jerry's. It's salty but also packs that rich chocolate flavor that goes really well with that saltiness. Chunks too? Yup! So, what's not too love?
Well, me personally, I don't love when flavors are this salty. It's 11% of your sodium per serving, and I start getting concerned around 6-7%. After that, you start to have to be careful with how everything comes across. I definitely feel like higher sodium flavors have become a thing. Like I really like Gimme S'more! but it's 8% per serving. Churray for Churros and Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake are both 7%. And it's not just Ben & Jerry's either. That delicious Cookie Butter flavor from Van Leeuwen is 9% daily sodium per serving! Granted, I get that I'm in the minority of people who worry about sodium in ice cream, but if you wonder why I hesitated to inhale half the pint, that's why.
Did I love the swirl? Well, I never got in to any substantial swirl sections on this first scooping. Basically there are just pretzel crumbs scattered everywhere. I'm certainly hoping for more pretzel flavor on the second try.
Anyway, I look forward to trying this one again.
On Second Scoop: I tried to analyze this one a bit better this time, but the problem is, I still never hit any significant swirl sections, which is a shame. I adore pretzels, and I really wanted this one to taste more like pretzels. It's definitely a salty chocolate flavor, with the salt being the most prevalent aspect, but why isn't there more of a pretzel factor? Let me know if your pint has more swirl than my pint! Oh, and for the record, it can be a little hard to stop eating this one despite me not completely loving how it's setup.
Verdict? Salty, Chocolatey, but not Pretzel-y
Buy Again? Iunno!
Buy Again? Iunno!
Thanks for the review as always! Is it the same chocolate as is standard for them? I assume my dreams of the "oops all chocolate pudding swirl" (the chocolate therapy one) will never come true but I've agreed with the sentiment that their base chocolate leaves a bit to be desired.
ReplyDeleteit's a pretty strong chocolate flavor, so it might be worth a shot if you thing the salt factor works for you too.
DeleteDuly noted and thank you for the reply!
Delete11%??? Are they out of their minds haha? I wonder if it would be less sodium to just add your own pretzels to a similar flavor. Glad they're still trying new things, though. Can't get to the great flavors without stumbling downhill on a salt mine.
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying about being mindful of sodium content, but to a certain extent, isn't higher sodium content to be expected in a pretzel-themed ice cream? Chubby Hubby appears to be 13% per serving! Netflix and Chilled is 13% as well. If anything, for a pretzel-themed ice cream this seems to be on the lower end (relatively speaking) of sodium content.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to guess the discontinued Late Night Snack (the one with potato chips) was also higher on the sodium content by virtue of its star ingredient.
That's a fair point! I certainly expected the sodium to be higher, but I feel like it's too much. I could have said it better this way: I think the product would be both safer/healthier and also taste better with a lower sodium content. I bet the salt factor would be less shocking at say 8 (or 9) percent. [I found an old picture of Late Night Snack, and it was 7% for a 1/2 cup serving, so about 9% for a modern 2/3 cup serving)
ReplyDeleteI tried the PB Smores last night and boy was I disappointed! All I tasted was a light marshmallow flavor with a few massive pb cups tossed in. It needed a pb and chocolate component to marry it into a smores flavor. Ever since B&J got bought out, I haven't loved any flavors. To say the least it was uninspired.
ReplyDeleteI heard from others that they weren't impressed either.
DeleteWhen you say you haven't loved any flavors since the acquisition, are you saying you haven't loved any flavors since Unilever bought them in 2000?
It's been a long time since I was wowed by their flavors, although I can't believe it's been that long! Late night snack, liberty mint, and lights camera action were pretty good.
DeleteThis is really solid, the salt really elevates the chocolate
ReplyDelete