Showing posts with label Haagen-Dazs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haagen-Dazs. Show all posts

Thursday, February 8, 2018

Great For Peanut Lovers, Less For Those Who Adore Fudge: Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice Cream!


The Good: Decent peanut butter and salt flavor, Great ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other ice creams, Not at all healthy, Fudge flavor is entirely sublimated to the peanut butter
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is an interesting, very nutty ice cream that worked as a pick-me-up, but is unlikely to get a repeat "buy" from me!


Today was not a great day for me. I spent almost twelve hours driving to a convention - and got very much inside my head while driving alone - and I finally managed to take in the new film by one of my favorite writer/directors only to be gravely disappointed by it. Two things, however, made my day better. The first was a series of phone calls from my amazing wife. The other was buying some comfort food. Yes, nothing changes the tenor of the day like cranking the heat up in a hotel room and cracking open a pint of ice cream. In this case, the therapy ice cream was Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice Cream.

Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice Cream strikes me as something my wife might enjoy more than me. I like chocolatey flavors quite a bit and I love a good mix of chocolate and peanut butter. But, between a peanut butter base, a very weak fudge and actual peanuts, the Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice Cream is definitely intended for a peanut butter lover!

Basics

Haagen-Dazs ice cream comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is a smooth ice cream with occasional chunks of fudge and a lot of peanuts mixed in. At (locally) $4.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Ice cream is an expensive frozen dairy dessert.

Ease Of Preparation

The Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice cream is a basic ice cream with two additives. As an ice cream, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice cream!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream smells fairly strongly of peanut butter. The aroma is nutty and becomes even more prominent as the ice cream nears its melting point.

On the taste front, the Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is dry and salty. The chocolate fudge flavor barely has a chance to manifest before the actual peanuts in the ice cream overwhelm any potential sweetness and the saltiness in the ice cream overcomes the cocoa flavoring. This is a great ice cream for those who love peanut butter!

This ice cream has an extremely dry aftertaste to it.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice cream is a comparatively thick ice cream with hard additives. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 340 calories, 210 of which are from fat. The twenty-three grams of fat represent 35% of the RDA of fat, with 55% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 11 grams of saturated fat in this ice cream. One serving has 60 mg of cholesterol (that’s 20% of the RDA!) and 150 mg of Sodium (6% RDA). The only other real nutrients are six grams of protein and 10% of the RDA of Calcium in the Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream.

Haagen-Dazs has decent ingredients. Made primarily of Cream, skim milk and sugar, Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Ice cream is all natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Peanut Butter Salted Fudge Haagen-Dazs is neither Kosher, nor gluten free. There are no specific allergy warnings on the package, though this ice cream is noted to contain milk, peanut, soy, and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs 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 pint had an expiration date of September 7, 2018, though it will be gone by the end of the weekend, if not the end of the night!).

The Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is fairly light off-white/tan color and will stain if the ice cream comes closer to room temperature, especially because the Salted Fudge is far darker and melts into fabrics. As well, 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

The Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Salted Fudge ice cream is good, but the peanuts in it distract some from the salted fudge, robbing it of perfection!

For other Haagen-Dazs products, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice Cream
Vanilla Bean Gelato
Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato

6.5/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2018 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Wishing It Would Last: Haagen-Dazs Limited Edition Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Is Worth Hunting Down!


The Good: Great flavor, Quality ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other ice creams, Not very healthy, Limited edition nature
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice cream is a limited edition flavor that should be the essential chocolate flavor added to Haagen-Dazs's regular line.


I used to love limited edition flavors of ice cream. Limited Edition ice creams afford ice cream manufacturers the chance to play with flavors that may or may not last without committing to trying to keep it on the shelves. In other words, they frequently create a false sense of demand for their flavors because consumers know that the limited edition flavors will not last. I used to love limited edition flavors of ice cream . . . until I kept running into amazing ice cream flavors that were limited edition and I'd like to be able to try more than once! The Haagen-Dazs Limited Edition Midnight Cookies & Cream ice cream is one such flavor.

For anyone who loves chocolate flavor, Midnight Cookies & Cream - which is a chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookie pieces - might be one of the best flavors of ice cream. Unfortunately, it is not permanently available and it is comparatively expensive.

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Ice cream comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice cream is a smooth ice cream packed with chunks of Midnight Cookies & Cream in it. Midnight Cookies & Cream has chunks of cookie pieces in every single bite.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Ice cream is an expensive frozen dairy dessert, though it is on par with other premium ice creams.

Ease Of Preparation

The Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice Cream is a simple ice cream with one major additive. As an ice cream, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice Cream!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Midnight Cookies & Cream ice cream has a strong, chocolatey aroma to it. This ice cream becomes more aromatic as it nears its melting point and it is very inviting to anyone who loves dark chocolate.

In the mouth, the Midnight Cookies & Cream ice cream is dark and chocolatey. The chocolate flavor only takes on any sense of sweetness in the secondary flavor. The primary flavor is dry and powerfully cocoa-based. Almost every bite of this ice cream is dry and packed with chocolate cookie pieces that accent the less-sweet aspects of the chocolate ice cream in the Midnight Cookies & Cream ice cream. The chocolate flavor is powerful and real and distinct.

The dry chocolate flavor from the Midnight Cookies & Cream ice cream lingers on the tongue for about five minutes after one has finished consuming it.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice cream is a comparatively thick ice cream with a firm, obvious additive. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 290 calories, 150 of which are from fat. The seventeen grams of fat represent 26% of the RDA of fat, with 55% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 11 grams of saturated fat in this ice cream. One serving has 75 mg of cholesterol (that’s 25% of the RDA!) and 110 mg of Sodium (5% RDA). The only other real nutrients are five grams of protein, 10% of the RDA of Calcium and Vitamin A and 8% RDA of Iron in the Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice cream.

Haagen-Dazs has decent ingredients. Made primarily of Cream, skim milk and sugar, Midnight Cookies & Cream ice cream is all natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Midnight Cookies & Cream Haagen-Dazs is not marked as gluten free or Kosher. There are allergy warnings on the package for milk, wheat, soy and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs 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.

The Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice cream is a very dark brown ice cream and it will stain if it melts on light clothing; consult a fabric guide to get chocolate ice creams like this out of your specific fabric. On nonporous surfaces, the ice cream wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

The Haagen-Dazs Midnight Cookies & Cream Ice cream is a good dessert, but for the price, I would have hoped both flavors would be equally vibrant.

For other Haagen-Dazs reviews, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato
Limoncello Gelato
Blueberry Crumble Gelato

8/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Monday, June 1, 2015

Gelato For Those Who Love Dark Chocolate: Haagen-Dazs Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato Delights!


The Good: Wonderful flavor, Great ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other Gelatos and ice creams, Not terribly healthy, Chocolate pieces are not as good as the gelato
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is impressive for its strong chocolate flavor for the gelato, but not its additive.


With Spring here, I've been pretty psyched about how ice creams and other frozen desserts are on sale. The latest one that I have found that I have gotten excited about is the Haagen-Dazs Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato. For those who might not follow my other reviews, I love dark chocolate. As a result, I was instantly drawn to the Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato. I was a little less excited about it when I tasted it and found myself underwhelmed by the chocolate pieces embedded in the the gelato. It was not a surprise to me that "chocolatey chips" have much less cocoa in them than the gelato itself.

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Gelato comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is a smooth Gelato with chunks of chocolatey chips. Dark Chocolate Chip is mostly smooth with chunks in every two to three bites. This Gelato is basically the two flavors blending to strive for a full, true, dark chocolate frozen dessert flavor.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Gelato is an expensive frozen dairy dessert. This is one that actually lives up based on the strong chocolate flavor.

Ease Of Preparation

The Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is a simple Gelato with only one additive. As a Gelato, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is surprisingly aromatic with a dark chocolate scent. The aroma is instantly recognizable to anyone who is a fan of dark chocolate. The scent is aromatic and inviting to anyone who loves dark chocolate and that is uncommon for anyone who loves frozen desserts.

As far as the taste, the Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is instantly emblematic of dark chocolate. The chocolate chunks in the Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is more of a soft, waxy texture as opposed to a powerfully dark chocolate flavor. The Gelato itself more than makes up for the unimpressive flavor of the additive in the Gelato. The Dark Chocolate flavor is potent, coming out as a dry dark chocolate, as opposed to a sweet lighter, milk chocolate. The Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is incredibly satisfying for those who love real chocolate flavor!

This Gelato has a slightly dry aftertaste to it.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is a comparatively dry Gelato with a waxy, obvious additive. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 270 calories, 110 of which are from fat. The twelve grams of fat represent 18% of the RDA of fat, with 40% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 8 grams of saturated fat in this Gelato. One serving has 55 mg of cholesterol (that’s 18% of the RDA!) and 80 mg of Sodium (3% RDA). The only other real nutrients are five grams of protein, 10% of the RDA of Iron, 8% of the RDA of Calcium and 6% of the RDA of Vitamin A in the Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato.

Haagen-Dazs has decent ingredients, too. Made primarily of Skim milk, cream and sugar, Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is surprisingly natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Dark Chocolate Chip Haagen-Dazs is not marked as gluten free. There are no allergy warnings on the package. It does, however, contain milk, soy and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs Gelato 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 pint had an expiration date of September 23, 2015).

The Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato is fairly dark and thick, but the chocolate chunks are waxy and will stain if they come closer to room temperature. As well, when the Gelato melts and gets onto fabrics, it will require one to wash it right out. On nonporous surfaces, the Gelato wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

The Haagen-Dazs Dark Chocolate Chip Gelato might not be overly healthy and the chocolate chips in it might not be the most incredible chocolate, but the flavor of the gelato is enough to justify the expense! It makes it worth picking up and trying, though only those who truly love dark chocolate will want to stock up on it.

For other Haagen-Dazs, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Stracciatella Gelato
Peanut Butter Pie Ice Cream
Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream

8/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Too Bland To Overlook The Health Detractions: Haagen-Dazs Stracciatella Gelato Is Unimpressive!


The Good: Does not taste bad at all, Great ingredients
The Bad: Seriously unhealthy, Incredibly bland flavor, Expensive
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Stracciatella Gelato is not at all worth picking up, despite being made of good ingredients.


I really screwed the pooch the other day with trying to help my wife with her new plan to eat healthy. I was at our grocery store and saw that the clearance section had a pretty significant number of frozen desserts on clearance (it turns out, they were revamping their frozen food section and wanted to eliminate their inventory rather than move it around the store!). Seeing a bunch of Haagen-Dazs for half price, I went a little bit nuts. I bought up all the sorbet that was on sale and then I moved onto the Gelato. Gelato, as it turns out, does not have the amazing low-cal benefits of sorbet. In fact, despite having about half the taste of most ice creams I have experienced, Gelato appears to have all the calories of full-fat ice cream. So, I now find myself reviewing a bunch of Gelatos and I started today with Stracciatella.

I decided to start with the Haagen-Dazs Stracciatella Gelato for a simple reason. Outside the Stracciatella Lindt Lindor Truffles (reviewed here!), I have no frame of reference for what "Stracciatella" is supposed to be. After having this gelato, I'm guessing "sweet cream." Regardless, this is an unremarkable gelato and any product that I find unremarkable that makes me blanch when I look at the nutritional information is virtually impossible for me to recommend or rate highly.

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Gelato comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Stracciatella Gelato is a smooth Gelato without very thin shavings of chocolate in them. The chocolate is shaved so thin that it does not inhibit a spoon or scoop going into the pint container.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Gelato is an expensive frozen dairy dessert. That I found it on clearance for $2.99 was the primary reason I bought the pint of Gelato!

Ease Of Preparation

The Stracciatella Gelato is a simple Gelato with an additive that is so malleable that it can barely be called one. As a Gelato, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Stracciatella Gelato!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Stracciatella Gelato has virtually no aroma to it while it is frozen. As it nears its melting point, this Gelato takes on a faint scent of vanilla bean, but otherwise, this is a flavor that is presenting virtually all of its flavor through the taste, not the scent of the frozen treat.

On the taste front, the Stracciatella Gelato is light, creamy and sweet . . . with hints of chocolate. The ice cream (Gelato) flavor is not even a vanilla bean; it tastes like sweetened milk. That is problematic only in that it is not at all very flavorful. If one were to take coffee creamer, add sugar to it and find a way to freeze it without it crystallizing, they would have the Stracciatella Gelato. Mixed fairly liberally into this bland base are chocolate shavings. The chocolate shavings provide a waxy texture to break up the sweet, creamy flavor that covers one's tongue while eating this Gelato. The chocolate flavor only asserts itself as the gelato reaches its melting point and as an aftertaste in the mouth after the actual gelato is swallowed. Indeed, I tasted more chocolate from the Stracciatella Gelato by running my tongue over my molars and finding chocolate shavings melted in there. Otherwise, the sweet cream flavor entirely pummels the flavor of the chocolate shavings.

This Gelato has no aftertaste to it. The chocolate shavings, if any remain embedded in one's teeth, have a dark, dry, chocolatey flavor that endures there until they are entirely melted and then swallowed.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Stracciatella Gelato is a comparatively light Gelato on its own. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 270 calories, 120 of which are from fat. The thirteen grams of fat represent 20% of the RDA of fat, with 35% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 7 grams of saturated fat in this Gelato. One serving has 90 mg of cholesterol (that’s 30% of the RDA!) and 40 mg of Sodium (2% RDA). The only other real nutrients are four grams of protein, 8% of the RDA of Calcium and Vitamin A in the Stracciatella Gelato.

Haagen-Dazs Gelatos have decent ingredients! Made primarily of Skim milk, cream and corn syrup, Stracciatella Gelato is entirely natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Stracciatella Haagen-Dazs Gelato is neither Kosher, nor marked as gluten free. There are no allergy warnings on the package, though it is noted to contain soy ingredients. It does, however, contain milk and egg ingredients, so it is not at all Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs Gelato 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 pint had an expiration date of September 2015, so I wonder if I'm not the only one who does not absolutely love this flavor).

The Stracciatella Gelato is fairly light, but the chocolate shavings in it are likely to stain. Moreover, as a dairy product, when the Gelato melts and gets onto fabrics, it will require one to wash it right out. On nonporous surfaces, the Gelato wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

Haagen-Dazs Stracciatella Gelato is bland and unhealthy. As it nears its melting point, it takes on more flavor than it ever has while solidly frozen, making it a troubling frozen dessert for enjoying on a hot day or after a hot meal. If one is trying to put on weight and wants a bland, semi-cold dessert to assist with that, this fits the bill. But, for those of us who love flavor, the Stracciatella Gelato is easy to pass by!

For other Haagen-Dazs products, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Peppermint Bark Limited Edition Ice Cream
Orchard Peach Sorbet
Coconut Macaroon Ice Cream

3.5/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Sunday, October 12, 2014

Limited Edition, But Enough For Us To Wish It Would Stay: Haagen-Dazs Peppermint Bark Ice Cream!


The Good: Good flavor, Good ingredients, Limited edition nature
The Bad: More expensive than other ice creams, Not terribly healthy! White chocolate flavor is very mild.
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Peppermint Bark Ice cream is a limited edition flavor that is worth hunting down, even if the white chocolate portion of it is a bit underwhelming.


With the onset of summer, my local grocery store is doing clearance on its winter flavors of ice cream. That has allowed me to pick up some of the premium ice creams I did not have during the winter. So, I picked up the Haagen-Dazs Peppermint Bark ice cream recently and I was pretty psyched to be able to try a new (to me) premium peppermint ice cream. I probably would have loved the ice cream . . . had I only not looked at what it was supposed to be. The peppermint and peppermint bark portions of the ice cream are delightful, but the base flavor is supposed to be white chocolate, but it is not all that potent a flavor.

Unfortunately, for those hoping this limited edition flavor might endure in the standard line-up, this flavor seems to be a seasonal flavor and I found myself wishing it would stick around.

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Ice cream comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Peppermint Bark Ice cream is a smooth ice cream with chunks of Peppermint Bark in it. Peppermint Bark is mostly smooth with chunks in every two to three bites. This ice cream has a diverse flavor based on what is in the bites one gets.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Ice cream is an expensive frozen dairy dessert. That I found it on clearance for $2.99 was the primary reason I bought the pint of ice cream, though I am a huge fan of peppermint ice cream.

Ease Of Preparation

The Peppermint Bark Ice Cream is a simple ice cream with only one additive. As an ice cream, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Peppermint Bark Ice Cream!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Peppermint Bark ice cream has a surprisingly mild scent to it. In fact, for a minty ice cream, this might have one of the least-distinctive aromas to it. The result is no real olfactory foreshadowing of the flavor of the ice cream before one tastes it.

On the tongue, the Peppermint Bark ice cream is exceptionally mild. While the container claims that the ice cream base is white chocolate, it has a generic creamy quality that it almost flavorless. The ice cream itself, in the bites that do not contain the peppermint pieces, has an aftertaste akin to white chocolate, but is mostly a sweet, creamy flavor that is indistinct and more like a bland vanilla flavor than white chocolate. That said, the chunks of peppermint swirled fairly consistently into the ice cream are chocolatey and completely embody the peppermint one would expect of candy canes. That flavor is cooling and delicious, though the pieces are a little chewier than one might think.

The Peppermint Bark Ice Cream leaves a cool, minty flavor in one’s mouth for about five minutes after it is consumed.

This Ice cream has a slight dry aftertaste to it. The aftertaste lasts for about ten minutes.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Peppermint Bark Ice cream is a comparatively thick ice cream with a firm, obvious additive. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 280 calories, 140 of which are from fat. The sixteen grams of fat represent 25% of the RDA of fat, with 50% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 10 grams of saturated fat in this ice cream. One serving has 75 mg of cholesterol (that’s 25% of the RDA!) and 40 mg of Sodium (2% RDA). The only other real nutrients are four grams of protein, 8% of the RDA of Calcium in the Peppermint Bark Ice cream.

Haagen-Dazs has decent ingredients. Made primarily of Cream, skim milk and sugar, Peppermint Bark ice cream is all natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Peppermint Bark Haagen-Dazs is not marked as gluten free or Kosher. There are no allergy warnings on the package. It does, however, contain milk and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs 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 pint had an expiration date of September 14, 2014).

The Peppermint Bark Ice cream is an entirely white ice cream and it will stain if it melts on dark clothing (and an opaque white dairy stain is more than just a fashion nightmare!). On nonporous surfaces, the ice cream wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

The Haagen-Dazs Peppermint Bark Ice cream is a good dessert, but for the price, I would have hoped both flavors would be equally vibrant.

For other Haagen-Dazs reviews, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Vanilla Bean Gelato
Coconut Macaroon Ice Cream
Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream
Black Cherry Amaretto Glato

5/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Monday, August 4, 2014

Delightful And Light, Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet Is Worth Picking Up!


The Good: Good flavor, Great ingredients
The Bad: While there is nothing bad in it, it is not bursting with nutritional benefits, either!
The Basics: Better than ice cream?! Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet might well be one of the few frozen desserts that can make that argument.


Years ago, I was married to a Vegan. It was pretty hellish for me . . . especially when it came to eating! When my local grocery store blew out a bunch of Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s frozen desserts , one of the ones I picked up cheap was Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet. As I started consuming the pint of Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet, I realized that it was the first time since my divorce that I had any sorbet! Sorbet was a staple around my house during my first marriage because as a non-dairy frozen dessert, sorbet is Vegan-compliant. The Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet is almost good-enough to convert an ice cream-lover like me to convert!

The Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet is a flavorful fruity dessert that essentially is like a frozen juice instead of a creamy dessert like ice cream. Even competing against more complicated Haagen-Dazs products, this is one of the best Haagen-Dazs frozen products!

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Sorbet comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Orchard Peach Sorbet is a smooth Sorbet without any additives. Orchard Peach is entirely smooth without any chunks of fruit, rind, or additives like a pie crust. This Sorbet is a single, solid flavor.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Sorbet is an expensive frozen dessert, though it is certainly on par with other sorbets. That I found it on clearance for $2.99 was the primary reason I bought the pint of Sorbet!

Ease Of Preparation

The Orchard Peach Sorbet is a simple Sorbet with no additives. As a Sorbet, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Orchard Peach Sorbet!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet has almost no aroma to it. As a sorbet, the sorbet has virtually no scent emitted from it.

Despite the almost absent aroma, the Orchard Peach Sorbet tastes potently like peaches. The smooth, icy sorbet is very sweet and perfectly fruity, embodying peaches entirely accurately. In fact, the strength of the Orchard Peach flavor is so great that this sorbet tastes like a liquefied, frozen peach without any other flavors or distractions to the pallet. Not at all creamy like an ice cream, the Orchard Peach Sorbet is like a frozen, sugary, juice.

This Sorbet has a very sweet aftertaste, but that flavor only remains on the tongue for about two minutes after one completes eating it.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet is a thoroughly light Sorbet, with no additives. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 130 calories, none of which are from fat. One serving is also cholesterol and Sodium free. The only real nutrients this sorbet has are 4% of the RDA of Vitamin A and 6% RDA of Vitamin C in the Orchard Peach Sorbet.

Haagen-Dazs Sorbets have decent ingredients! Made primarily of water, peach puree, and sugar, Orchard Peach Sorbet is entirely natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Orchard Peach Haagen-Dazs Sorbet is not marked as either Kosher or gluten free, though it seems like it would be both. There are no allergy warnings on the package. Despite not being marked as such, there is nothing in the ingredients that would not make it Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs Sorbet is a frozen dessert product, so it is pretty obvious that it must be kept frozen in order to remain viable. Kept frozen it remains fresh for months.

The Orchard Peach Sorbet is fairly light orange in color and is not likely to stain. Should the Sorbet melt and get onto fabrics, it will require one to wash it right out. On nonporous surfaces, the Sorbet wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

Haagen-Dazs Orchard Peach Sorbet is sweet, fruity and all-around delightful, making it easy to recommend and well worth trying. It’s arguably the only sorbet I find myself wanting to stock up on!

For other Haagen-Dazs products, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Limoncello Gelato
Peanut Butter Pie Limited Edition Ice Cream
Coconut Macaroon ice cream

9/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Friday, July 18, 2014

Vodka Flavoring Without The Alcohol?! Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato Excites!


The Good: Good flavor, Great ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other Gelatos and ice creams
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato is delightful, though not an essential gelato.


Last summer, my wife and I were somewhat surprised by the commercials we saw on television for Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato. The somewhat surreal and creepy advertisements left us with absolutely no conception of what flavor Haagen-Dazs was trying to sell us. I was surprised last month when I found the pints of Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato marked down 50% at my local grocery store! I was even more surprised when I checked the ingredients list and found that the gelato had vodka . . . but no alcohol warnings. Apparently, the alcohol freeze-fractures out, which I did not know before.

The Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato is a flavorful fruity dessert that essentially is like a diluted ice cream. Even so, it is not one of the worst Haagen-Dazs frozen products!

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Gelato comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Limoncello Gelato is a smooth Gelato without any additives. Limoncello is entirely smooth without any chunks of fruit or rind. This Gelato is a single, solid flavor.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Gelato is an expensive frozen dairy dessert. That I found it on clearance for $2.99 was the primary reason I bought the pint of Gelato!

Ease Of Preparation

The Limoncello Gelato is a simple Gelato with no additives. As a Gelato, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Limoncello Gelato!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato has a decently strong lemon aroma to it. The scent gets stronger as the gelato moves closer to its melting point. The scent is distinctive and recognizable.

On the taste front, the Limoncello Gelato tastes precisely like a frozen version of the lemon filling of a donut. The sweetness of this gelato entirely overwhelms the fruit flavor. Even so, the flavor is clearly lemon, as opposed to a generic citrus flavor. The sweetness finishes with the sour of lemon, though the sourness is cut some by the dairy in the gelato. This is not a particularly potent flavor, despite it being good.

This Gelato has a very slight sour aftertaste to it, which endures on the tongue for about two minutes after the gelato is consumed.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato is a comparatively light Gelato on its own. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 240 calories, 80 of which are from fat. The nine grams of fat represent 14% of the RDA of fat, with 25% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 5 grams of saturated fat in this Gelato. One serving has 85 mg of cholesterol (that’s 28% of the RDA!) and 40 mg of Sodium (2% RDA). The only other real nutrients are four grams of protein, 8% of the RDA of Calcium and Vitamin A in the Limoncello Gelato.

Haagen-Dazs Gelatos have decent ingredients! Made primarily of Skim milk, cream and sugar, Limoncello Gelato is entirely natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list, though it surprisingly includes vodka. The Limoncello Haagen-Dazs Gelato is neither Kosher, nor marked as gluten free. There are no allergy warnings on the package. It does, however, contain milk and egg ingredients, so it is not at all Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs Gelato 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 (though my pint had an expiration date of July 25, 2014, which may be why I was able to find it on clearance).

The Limoncello Gelato is fairly light and is not likely to stain. However, as a dairy product, when the Gelato melts and gets onto fabrics, it will require one to wash it right out. On nonporous surfaces, the Gelato wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

Haagen-Dazs Limoncello Gelato is flavorful, but not overbearing. It makes sense that the commercials for this gelato traded more on style than substance; there is a somewhat diluted or muted flavor to the gelato.

For other Haagen-Dazs products, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Peanut Butter Pie Limited Edition Ice Cream
Coconut Macaroon ice cream
Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream

6/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Saturday, May 31, 2014

One Of Those Ice Creams That Makes You Rethink The Health Aspects Of Desserts: Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Ice Cream!


The Good: Tastes good, Great ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other ice creams, Not at all healthy!
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Pie ice cream is a limited edition flavor that is really good, but terribly unhealthy, unlike so many other premium frozen desserts.


When limited edition flavors go out of vogue or fall out of season, they get clearance at my local grocery store. The latest one I picked up is the Haagen-Dazs Limited Edition Peanut Butter Pie ice cream. Given that the ice cream does not expire until late Fall, the current clearance (which is part of a larger ice cream clearance locally) is not about freshness, it’s about what products the companies want to have on their shelves. And it’s a good flavor, but it is one that is arguably one of the least health-conscious ice creams Haagen-Dazs has ever produced.

Even so, on clearance, it is affordable and so delicious that it is worth trying if one can still find it!

Basics

Haagen-Dazs ice cream comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Peanut Butter Pie ice cream is a smooth ice cream with chunks of chocolate crust. Peanut Butter Pie is mostly smooth with chunks in every two bites. This ice cream is basically one homogenous flavor with dry bits throughout.

At (locally) $4.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Ice cream is an expensive frozen dairy dessert. That I found it on clearance for $2.49 was the primary reason I bought the pint of ice cream! That said, it’s never a hard sell for me to want to try desserts based on other desserts.

Ease Of Preparation

The Peanut Butter Pie Ice cream is a basic ice cream with only one additive. As an ice cream, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Peanut Butter Pie Ice cream!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Pie ice cream smells strongly and distinctly of peanut butter. The aroma is nutty and sweet and alluring to anyone who loves peanut butter.

On the taste front, the Peanut Butter Pie ice cream is sweet and creamy. It tastes like peanut butter and milk. The ice cream is sweet and it is broken up by dry, chocolatey pieces of chocolate pie crust. That makes it taste like one of the most flavorful versions of cookies and crème ice cream on the market! The flavors of peanut butter and chocolate are distinctive and real, with a perfect embodiment of the tastes they are supposed to possess.

This ice cream has a very dry aftertaste to it.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Pie Ice cream is a comparatively thick ice cream with a firm, obvious additive. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 310 calories, 190 of which are from fat. The twenty-one grams of fat represent 32% of the RDA of fat, with 50% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 10 grams of saturated fat in this Ice cream. One serving has 70 mg of cholesterol (that’s 23% of the RDA!) and 130 mg of Sodium (5% RDA). The only other real nutrients are seven grams of protein and 8% of the RDA of Calcium and Iron in the Peanut Butter Pie ice cream.

Haagen-Dazs has decent ingredients. Made primarily of Cream, skim milk and sugar, Peanut Butter Pie Ice cream is all natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Peanut Butter Pie Haagen-Dazs is neither Kosher, nor gluten free. There are no specific allergy warnings on the package, though this ice cream is noted to contain milk, peanut, wheat, and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs 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 pint had an expiration date of October 4, 2014, which made it even more baffling why it would be clearanced now, other than that Haagen-Dazs is pulling this limited edition flavor).

The Peanut Butter Pie ice cream is fairly light off-white/tan color and will stain if the ice cream comes closer to room temperature, especially because the pie crust pieces. As well, 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

The Haagen-Dazs Peanut Butter Pie ice cream is a delicious ice cream that perfectly embodies the flavor it is supposed to . . . at a price to both the pocket book and the waist line!

For other Haagen-Dazs products, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Vanilla Bean Gelato
Coconut Macaroon Limited Edition Ice Cream
Blueberry Crumble Limited Edition Ice Cream
Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato

5/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Thursday, May 8, 2014

Bland As Expected . . . Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Gelato Is A Pricy, Light, Treat.


The Good: Fairly flavorful, Great ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other Gelatos and ice creams, Not terribly healthy!
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Gelato is a good basic gelato flavor that is good for what it is, but is still a tougher sell on its own than more flavorful gelatos.


When my local grocery store does clearance specials, I often find myself given the chance to get nice deals on things I cannot usually afford. Some of them actually surprise me quite a bit. One of the latest surprises for me came when Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Gelato was marked down 50%! The Vanilla Bean Gelato seemed like a pretty basic and integral flavor to the Haagen-Dazs Gelato line, so when my local grocery store decided to clearance it, I was miffed. Having now gone through both my pints of it (I stock up when the deals are good!), I’m a little less surprised.

The Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Gelato is a good basic gelato flavor, but it is a bit too bland for full price. At best, it is a classy palate cleanser more than a truly satisfying dessert on its own.

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Gelato comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Vanilla Bean Gelato is a smooth Gelato without any additives. Vanilla Bean is entirely smooth without noticeable black spots usually found in vanilla bean ice creams. This Gelato is a single, solid flavor.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Gelato is an expensive frozen dairy dessert. That I found it on clearance for $2.99 was the primary reason I bought the pint of Gelato!

Ease Of Preparation

The Vanilla Bean Gelato is a simple Gelato with no additives. As a Gelato, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Vanilla Bean Gelato!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Gelato has almost no aroma to it. Even as the gelato warms a little, this flavor does not have much of a smell to it.

As far as the taste, the Vanilla Bean Gelato is a predictably light flavor. Unlike standard vanilla flavors, though, the Vanilla Bean Gelato is not bland; it actually has a sweet, dry, distinct flavor to it. Not at all milky or even watery (as many gelatos can be), the Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Gelato is actually a potent reminder of how vanilla can actually be a flavor and one that is compelling enough to carry the palate. Even so, it is a somewhat dry flavor that is sweet, but not the most compelling flavor. In other words, this is a good palate cleanser and a gelato that can be augmented (with ice cream toppings), but is not in any way incredible on its own.

This Gelato has a very slight dry aftertaste to it.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Gelato is a comparatively light Gelato on its own. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 230 calories, 90 of which are from fat. The ten grams of fat represent 15% of the RDA of fat, with 30% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 6 grams of saturated fat in this Gelato. One serving has 90 mg of cholesterol (that’s 30% of the RDA!) and 40 mg of Sodium (2% RDA). The only other real nutrients are four grams of protein, 10% of the RDA of Calcium and 8% of the RDA of Vitamin A in the Vanilla Bean Gelato.

Haagen-Dazs Gelatos have decent ingredients! Made primarily of Skim milk, cream and corn syrup, Vanilla Bean Gelato is entirely natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Vanilla Bean Haagen-Dazs Gelato is neither Kosher, nor marked as gluten free. There are no allergy warnings on the package. It does, however, contain milk and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs Gelato 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 pint had an expiration date of May 22, 2014, which may be why I was able to find it on clearance).

The Vanilla Bean Gelato is fairly light and is not likely to stain. However, as a dairy product, when the Gelato melts and gets onto fabrics, it will require one to wash it right out. On nonporous surfaces, the Gelato wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

The Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean Gelato is decent, but in no way extraordinary, which means it cannot truly justify its expense.

For other Haagen-Dazs products, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Coconut Macaroon ice cream
Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream
Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato

4.5/10

For other food reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Saturday, June 1, 2013

A Limited Edition Flavor Worth Keeping Around: Haagen-Dazs Coconut Macaroon Ice Cream!


The Good: Tastes great, Great ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other ice creams, Not terribly healthy! Not quite four servings?!
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Coconut Macaroon Ice cream is a limited edition flavor that is worth hunting down while it remains available for anyone who loves coconut!


In trying out limited edition ice creams, there is always a danger of finding something truly wonderful that one ends up disappointed with in that it will no longer be around in the future. Most Limited Edition flavors of ice cream I have tried seem to be experimental flavors that the ice cream manufacturers hope to use to determine the market viability. As a result, many flavors are only available for a single season before disappearing forever. I mention that at the outset of my review of the Limited Edition Coconut Macaroon flavor of Haagen-Dazs ice cream because I suspect – given how I found it on clearance – that it is once of the flavors that will not make thee cut. That’s too bad because I’d hate to go through the rest of my existence teased by only a single 14 oz. container of Haagen-Dazs Coconut Macaroon Ice cream!

Unfortunately, for those hoping this limited edition flavor might endure in the standard line-up, this flavor seems to not have caught on, at least locally. That is unfortunate because it was so flavorful that it deserves to be part of the regular line-up from the premium ice cream maker!

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Ice cream comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Coconut Macaroon Ice cream is a smooth ice cream with chunks of coconut macaroon cookies. Coconut Macaroon is mostly smooth with chunks in every three to four bites. This ice cream is basically one sweet homogenous flavor with dry bits throughout.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Ice cream is an expensive frozen dairy dessert. That I found it on clearance for $2.99 was the primary reason I bought the pint of ice cream, though I do like coconut and coconut flavored ice creams.

Ease Of Preparation

The Coconut Macaroon Ice Cream is a simple ice cream with only one additive. As an ice cream, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Coconut Macaroon Ice Cream!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Coconut Macaroon ice cream smells richly of vanilla and coconut. As it warms, this becomes one of the most aromatic ice creams I have yet tried.

On the taste front, the Coconut Macaroon Ice cream is very creamy and tastes exceptionally sweet, like frozen vanilla icing. The actual macaroons present the bulk of the flavor of the coconut, though the sweet ice cream does bear the flavor of coconut, albeit subtly. Virtually every bite possesses coconut macaroon pieces, so this ice cream remains very flavored with the full flavor of coconut macaroons. This is a very true-to-life flavor, like having a coconut macaroon drenched in cold milk!

This Ice cream has a slight dry aftertaste to it. The aftertaste lasts for about ten minutes.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Coconut Macaroon Ice cream is a comparatively thick ice cream with a firm, obvious additive. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 290 calories, 170 of which are from fat. The nineteen grams of fat represent 29% of the RDA of fat, with 60% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 12 grams of saturated fat in this ice cream. One serving has 75 mg of cholesterol (that’s 25% of the RDA!) and 60 mg of Sodium (2% RDA). The only other real nutrients are three grams of protein, 6% of the RDA of Calcium in the Coconut Macaroon Ice cream.

Haagen-Dazs has decent ingredients. Made primarily of Cream, skim milk and egg yolks, Coconut Macaroon Ice cream is all natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Coconut Macaroon Haagen-Dazs is Kosher, but not marked as gluten free. There are no allergy warnings on the package. It does, however, contain milk and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs 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 pint had an expiration date of April 26, 2013).

The Coconut Macaroon Ice cream is an entirely white ice cream and it will stain if it melts on dark clothing (and an opaque white dairy stain is more than just a fashion nightmare!). On nonporous surfaces, the Ice cream wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

The Haagen-Dazs Coconut Macaroon Ice cream is an impressive dessert, but the biggest detraction to enthusiastically recommending it is that it probably won’t be on the market by the time you read this review!

For other frozen desserts, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Graeter’s Coconut Chocolate Chip Ice cream
Breyers Blasts Banana Split Ice Cream
Edy’s Peppermint Limited Edition Ice Cream

8/10

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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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Limited Edition, Not For The Permanent Run, Haagen-Dazs Blueberry Crumble Is Okay.


The Good: Tastes good, Great ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other Ice creams, Not terribly healthy! Not the most robust blueberry flavor . . .
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Blueberry Crumble Ice cream is a limited edition flavor that lacks the spark to become a full-time part of the Haagen-Dazs line.


As many of my loyal readers know, the local clearance section at the grocery store is a wealth of products for me when it comes to my food reviews. I seldom pay full price for anything and it allows me to try a lot of products that are otherwise too expensive for me to realistically try or enjoy. That is why, up until now, I have only reviewed one Haagen-Dazs ice cream, the Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato (reviewed here!). Today that changes, though, as my local grocery store had a clearance of some of the latest Limited Edition flavors of Haagen-Dazs, including the 14 oz. container of Haagen-Dazs Blueberry Crumble Ice cream!

Unfortunately, for those hoping this limited edition flavor might endure in the standard line-up, this flavor is hardly strong or robust enough to get added, I suspect. It was enjoyable, but for the price, it is too tough a sell to make permanent!

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Ice cream comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Blueberry Crumble Ice cream is a smooth Ice cream with chunks of cobbler crust. Blueberry Crumble is mostly smooth with chunks in every three to four bites. This Ice cream is basically one homogenous flavor with dry bits throughout.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Ice cream is an expensive frozen dairy dessert. That I found it on clearance for $2.99 was the primary reason I bought the pint of Ice cream!

Ease Of Preparation

The Blueberry Crumble Ice cream is a simple Ice cream with only one additive. As an ice cream, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Blueberry Crumble Ice cream!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Blueberry Crumble Ice cream has almost no aroma to it. In fact, in its perfectly frozen form, it was virtually scentless. Only when the ice cream began to melt or near room temperature did it begin to smell like blueberries.

On the taste front, the Blueberry Crumble Ice cream is very subtle. The creaminess of the ice cream overwhelms the fruit flavor of the blueberries. The basic, milky flavor even puts the cobbler crumbles to shame, though the dry, pie crust-like additions to the ice cream certainly overshadow the blueberries. Like the scent, the blueberry flavor only comes to the forefront of the flavor palate as the ice cream warms significantly, making for a disappointing overall flavor experience. The ice cream does taste like blueberry, but it is a far less pronounced flavor than one might like, especially for the price.

This Ice cream has no aftertaste to it.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Blueberry Crumble Ice cream is a comparatively thick ice cream with a firm, obvious additive. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 250 calories, 140 of which are from fat. The fifteen grams of fat represent 23% of the RDA of fat, with 45% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 9 grams of saturated fat in this Ice cream. One serving has 65 mg of cholesterol (that’s 22% of the RDA!) and 60 mg of Sodium (2% RDA). The only other real nutrients are four grams of protein 8% of the RDA of Calcium in the Blueberry Crumble Ice cream.

Haagen-Dazs has decent ingredients. Made primarily of Cream, skim milk and sugar, Blueberry Crumble Ice cream is all natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Blueberry Crumble Haagen-Dazs is Kosher, but not marked as gluten free. There are no allergy warnings on the package. It does, however, contain milk and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs 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 pint had an expiration date of January 8, 2014, which made it even more baffling why it would be clearanced now, other than that Haagen-Dazs is pulling this limited edition flavor).

The Blueberry Crumble Ice cream is fairly dark purple and will stain if they come closer to room temperature. As well, 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

The Haagen-Dazs Blueberry Crumble Ice cream is a comparatively underwhelming ice cream that is not one of the best limited edition flavors from Haagen-Dazs . . . or anyone else.

For other frozen desserts, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Breyers Blasts Banana Split Ice Cream
Edy’s Peppermint Limited Edition Ice Cream
Marie Callender's Seasonal Peppermint Pie

4/10

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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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Delicious, Subtle, But Not Quite Worth The Price, Haagen-Dazs Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato Is So Good!


The Good: Delicious, Great ingredients
The Bad: More expensive than other Gelatos and ice creams, Not terribly healthy!
The Basics: Haagen-Dazs Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is absolutely delightful and different, but hard to justify at full price.


One of the nice things about being married certainly has to be the joy that comes in sharing things we love with the person we love most. I was astonished, for example, to learn that my wife had never had a Haagen-Dazs ice cream before tonight! I don’t think that’s entirely strange as Haagen-Dazs products are so very expensive, but she and I both love frozen desserts, so the idea that she had never had one was a little surprising to me. Tonight, though, we rectified that and she had her first Gelato when I picked us up a 14 oz. container of Haagen-Dazs Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato!

And it was an excellent first experience for her with a Gelato and I certainly enjoyed it as well.

However, Haagen-Dazs Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is an unfortunately expensive product and that made it a bit harder for me to recommend than it otherwise would have been.

Basics

Haagen-Dazs Gelato comes in a 14 oz. (almost) pint container. The Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is a smooth Gelato with chunks of black cherries. Black Cherry Amaretto is mostly smooth with chunks in every two to three bites. This Gelato is basically the two flavors, with nothing else mixed in.

At (locally) $5.99 a pint, the Haagen-Dazs Gelato is an expensive frozen dairy dessert. That I found it on clearance for $2.99 was the primary reason I bought the pint of Gelato!

Ease Of Preparation

The Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is a simple Gelato with only one additive. As a Gelato, preparation is ridiculously simple: one need only open the top of the container, remove the safety seal from the top, scoop out a half cup and consume! There is no trick to preparing or eating the Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato!

Taste

Haagen-Dazs Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is surprisingly aromatic with an amaretto scent. The scent of this Gelato took me back to my drinking days and made me long for some actual amaretto, the smell was so vivid and pleasantly potent!

As far as the taste, the Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is instantly emblematic of an amaretto – my wife likened it to eating frozen coffee creamer – with the black cherry flavor asserting itself only near the actual chunks of cherry. The sweet, flavorful black cherries are somewhat muted – they do not possess a distracting over-sweetness (like one might expect from bing or maraschino cherries), but they make themselves known! The sweet cherry flavor and the creamier, heavier amaretto flavor complements each other in a stunningly delicious way.

This Gelato has no aftertaste to it.

Nutrition

The Haagen-Dazs Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is a comparatively light Gelato with a chewy, obvious additive. The 14 oz. container represents three and a half half-cup servings. In the half-cup serving, there are 240 calories, 80 of which are from fat. The nine grams of fat represent 14% of the RDA of fat, with 25% of one’s RDA of saturated fat coming in the 5 grams of saturated fat in this Gelato. One serving has 80 mg of cholesterol (that’s 27% of the RDA!) and 40 mg of Sodium (2% RDA). The only other real nutrients are four grams of protein 8% of the RDA of Calcium and Vitamin A in the Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato.

Haagen-Dazs has decent ingredients, too. Made primarily of Skim milk, cream and sugar, Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is surprisingly natural! There is nothing unpronounceable in the ingredients list. The Black Cherry Amaretto Haagen-Dazs is Kosher, but not marked as gluten free. There are no allergy warnings on the package. It does, however, contain milk and egg ingredients, so it is very much not Vegan compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Haagen-Dazs Gelato 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 pint had an expiration date of November 17, 2013, which made it even more baffling why it would be clearanced now).

The Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is fairly light, but the cherry chunks are sticky and will stain if they come closer to room temperature. As well, when the Gelato melts and gets onto fabrics, it will require one to wash it right out. On nonporous surfaces, the Gelato wipes off exceptionally easily.

Overall

The Haagen-Dazs Black Cherry Amaretto Gelato is a wonderful once-in-a-while treat, but for anyone who has never had a Haagen-Dazs product or a Gelato, it is a great place to start!

For other frozen desserts, be sure to visit my reviews of:
Breyers Blasts Banana Split Ice Cream
Edy’s Peppermint Limited Edition Ice Cream
Marie Callender's Seasonal Peppermint Pie

6.5/10

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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