The Good: Yummy, Reasonably priced, Nothing bad in it
The Bad: Not very flavorful or distinctive.
The Basics: Blue Bunny Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is a decent staple ice cream, especially for those who might be gluttons for ice cream toppings!
Recently, my wife and I decided that we wanted to try some (potentially) delightful ice cream toppings. I was absolutely astounded that she had never had Magic Shell ice cream toppings and I set out to help change that unfortunate trend in her life. However, this made me realize something else: the reason in the almost four years of our marriage until now that we had not had ice cream toppings around is because I tend to keep the freezer stocked with very flavorful ice creams. The ice creams I tend to like hold their own without any garnish. So, we decided that we needed a good baseline ice cream that would not interfere in the flavor of the toppings, but would not be unpleasant to finish after the toppings were gone.
For that, we chose the gallon and a pint plastic bucket of Blue Bunny Chocolate Chip ice cream. Not as potentially bland as any single flavor (or vanilla!) on its own and not at all overwhelming, we decided the Chocolate Chip ice cream would be ideal for our purposes. And it has been. A perfectly average, almost neutral, unobtrusive flavor of ice cream, the Chocolate Chip from Blue Bunny is not at all distracting for toppings . . . and not unenjoyable on its own.
It is worth reiterating at this point that in my world view, there is nothing wrong with “average.” In fact, sometimes one wants something that is inexpensive as opposed to otherwise superlative and there is not even the connotation of “bad” in my rating system for products that are average. The Blue Bunny Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is a simple ice cream with a single additive: broken up pieces of chocolate chips.
Basics
Blue Bunny ice cream comes in a bulk gallon and a pint (4.25 Liters) container. The Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is a mostly smooth ice cream: the basic ice cream has very finely shaved chocolate pieces throughout the vanilla base, almost like the way a cookies and cream ice cream usually is peppered with cookie crumbs throughout the entire ice cream. This is a white ice cream with brown or black Chocolate Chip shavings throughout it.
At (locally) $5.99 a gallon and a pint, the Blue Bunny ice cream is a very inexpensive ice cream that is ideal for those who need a lot of ice cream and are on a budget.
Ease Of Preparation
The Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is an ice cream. As an ice cream, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, though in its bulk container, it can be a real bear to try to wrestle out of the container!
Taste
The Chocolate Chip ice cream smells only slightly like vanilla and not at all like chocolate. Even as it warms, this is one of the least aromatic ice creams I have yet reviewed.
In the mouth, the Chocolate Chip ice cream is dominated by the vanilla ice cream base. The vanilla is subtle; nothing so strong as a vanilla bean flavor, though it is creamy and pleasant on the tongue. The chocolate chips add very minimal flavor, more of an aftertaste of chocolate in the mouth. The chocolate contributes more of a texture - cold flecks of resistance to the otherwise smooth vanilla ice cream – than a distinctive flavor. As, however, the ice cream warms up slightly, the vanilla flavor takes a secondary position to the flavor of the chocolate chips, which slowly assert themselves as having some actual chocolate flavor. The window for that level of flavor is fairly narrow, though: the temperature at which the chocolate chips reach an actual milk chocolate flavor is just shy of where the vanilla ice cream melts into a flavorless cream!
This Chocolate Chip ice cream has no aftertaste.
Nutrition
The Blue Bunny Chocolate Chip Ice Cream is a fairly light ice cream with a non-intrusive additive (the Chocolate Chip pieces are exceptionally mild in both flavor and texture). The gallon and a pint bulk tub represents thirty-six half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 140 calories, 60 of which are from fat. The seven grams of fat represent 11% of the RDA of fat, with 24% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 5 grams of saturated fat in this ice cream. One serving has 25 mg of cholesterol (that’s 8% of the RDA!) and a somewhat surprising 55 mg of Sodium (2% RDA). The only other real nutrient is two grams of protein, though there is also 8% of the RDA of Calcium and 4% RDA of Vitamin A in the Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
Blue Bunny Chocolate Chip has decent ingredients. Made primarily of Milk, cream, and buttermilk, the Chocolate Chip ice cream is an actual ice cream (compared to the many “frozen dairy desserts” that competitors are forced to admit their products are thanks to the Truth In Advertising Laws)! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Chocolate Chip Blue Bunny ice cream is not marked as Kosher or gluten free. There are no allergy warnings on the package, save for soy and milk ingredients.
Storage/Clean-Up
Blue Bunny ice cream is both a frozen and a dairy product, so it is pretty obvious that it must be kept frozen in order to remain viable. Kept frozen it remains fresh for months (my one plus gallon had an expiration date of November 8, 2013).
The Chocolate Chip ice cream is fairly light frozen dairy dessert. However, when the ice cream melts and gets onto fabrics, it will require one to wash it right out. On nonporous surfaces, the ice cream wipes off exceptionally easily.
Overall
Blue Bunny Chocolate Chip ice cream is an excellent staple ice cream for those wanting to satisfy large parties, as opposed to sophisticated palates that want to consume something truly extraordinary on its own.
For other ice creams, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Breyers CarbSmart Vanilla Ice Cream
Edy's Double Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Ice Cream
Dean's Country Fresh Kodiak Island Fudge Ice Cream
5/10
For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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