Häagen-Dazs - Pineapple Coconut

Pineapple Coconut - Sweet Cream with Pineapple Chunks and Coconut Flavor

Scanning the freezer case for the next pint, I decided to try Häagen-Dazs' Pineapple Coconut flavor.  I've shied away from doing a full survey of Häagen-Dazs pints because they have a lot of simple homogeneous flavors in their lineup and flavors with mix-ins make for more interesting reviews.  This is a fairly simple flavor, but I realized that I've never had pint that includes pineapple before.  So, I decided to give it a go.  

Removing the lid, there's the expected off-white color.  Both coconut and pineapple are light colored.  The top was actually tough to photograph because my camera couldn't find anything to focus on.  I think I finally got a decent shot.  With the first spoonful, I noticed the coconut flavor which was blended into the sweet cream base.  It was not as strong as the coconut in the previous review, but here it has to share the pint with the pineapple.  The pineapple chunks were little cubes each a little smaller than a pea.  The first chunk provided just a small bit of pineapple flavor but each one built upon the other.  By the time I got to the bottom of the pint it was fairly potent.  It was quite delicious.

I'm glad that I gave this flavor a try because I really enjoyed it.  It just occurred to me pineapple and coconut is the flavor combination for a pina colada.  There's no rum in here, but it has a similar fruity flavor.  In you are in a tropical mood and you like pineapple, then you'll want to check this flavor out. 

  

Talenti - Coconut Almond Chocolate

Coconut Almond Chocolate - Coconut Gelato with Chocolate Flakes and Roasted Almonds

Today's review is for a pint of Talenti gelato.  I just realized that I never did a brand history for Talenti.   It was founded in 2003 in Dallas, Texas by Josh Hochschuler.  Hochschuler had spent the previous several years in Buenos Aires, Argentina and developed an appreciation for the gelato which was served there.  He named it "Talenti" after Bernardo Buontalenti, the Baroque Italian architect who is credited with inventing gelato.   The business shifted to packaged pints in 2005 and took off from there.  They brand is now so far-reaching that even small grocery stores will have a decent selection of Talenti pints.  The flavor for today is Coconut Almond Chocolate.

Unscrewing the lid shows that the coconut base has the expected white color.  There are hints of chocolate that lie underneath.  The first spoonful is thicker than I expected.  Gelato has a reputation for being lighter but it can be just as thick.  It is just that the spoon slices through it a little easier.  The coconut flavor is quite strong.  It almost seemed like I was eating shredded coconut it was that strong.  Somehow it did not become overpowering as I continued eating, though, which is good.  The chocolate pieces of the flake variety and provide the expected chocolate flavor.  For the second review in a row, I am pleasantly surprised by the tastiness of the almond mix-ins.  This pint was essentially a gelato-implementation of an Almond Joy bar and it did not disappoint.

I did enjoy this pint more than I expected.  Scanning the review database, it looks like I've done this flavor combination before with McConnell's Toasted Coconut Almond Chip.   Personally, I liked the McConnell's a bit better but I think it was because that coconut was toasted. 

  

Baskin Robbins - Jamoca Almond Fudge

Jamoca Almond Fudge - Coffee Ice Cream with Roasted Almonds and Chocolate Flavored Ribbon

Looking at the freezer case in my grocery store for flavors I have no reviewed, I decided try another pint of Baskin-Robbins, Jamoca Almond Fudge.  This is one of Baskin-Robbins' signature flavors which dates way back to the days of Burt and Irv.  In fact, it is said to have been Irv Robbins' favorite flavor.  You'll notice that "Jamoca" is a copyrighted word, so coined and trademarked it.  I tried to find an exact story of its origin but could not find it.  It looks like a combination of "Jamaica" and "Mocha".  I've read that the ice cream was supposed to be made from the Jamoca coffee that they brewed on site.  On to the ice cream!

Opening the pint shows a creamy brown color of the coffee base.  Coffee ice cream is never quite the color I expect.  This beige color almost looks grey-ish.  Some of the chocolate ribbons are visible on the top.  Digging in, the coffee flavor is noticeable but not too strong.  As mentioned in several previous reviews, chocolate is a good complement for coffee because their active ingredients (caffeine and theobromine) are similar molecules.  The star of the pint for me was the almonds.  The almond pieces are fairly large and generously dispersed.  They stayed crunchy and fresh in the ice cream.

This flavor was better than I expected.  It's a milder coffee flavor.  Some people prefer their coffee ice cream extra strong, but non-coffee junkies like myself actually prefer a milder coffee flavor.   It's also the first pint I've had that combines coffee and nuts which worked out pretty well.

  

Three Twins - Banana Nut Confetti

Banana Nut Confetti - Banana Ice Cream with Walnuts and Flecks of Dark Chocolate

Long-time readers know that I am a fan of banana flavored ice cream.  It is not my absolute favorite -- that would be mint chocolate chip -- but I am enough of a fan where I consciously try not get the banana flavors too often.  I recently checked and saw that it had been a few months since the last banana flavored pint was reviewed, so I figured it was time.  So, I picked up a pint of Three Twins' Banana Nut Confetti.  "Confetti" is there way of saying chocolate chip.  These ingredients are quite similar to Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey, so it makes for a good head-to-head comparison. 

Opening the lid, the top of the pint is off-white yellow as one would expect from a banana base and plenty of dark chocolate flecks are visible already.  Digging in, the banana base is a sweeter type of banana -- a bit more like the banana in banana pudding or banana cream pie than the banana in banana bread.  Its very flavorful right away and did not get too sweet or too overwhelming as I continued eating as can happen with some banana flavoring.  It was delicious.  Flecks is a good word for the dark chocolate pieces.  They were indeed the "flakey" kind of chocolate pieces which good mix-ins -- crumbly-crunchy with a lot of surface area for providing chocolate flavor.  Walnuts were also mixed in and tasted as expected.

This was a successful flavor.  It is indeed a lot like Chunky Monkey with a couple of key differences.  Chunky Monkey had more of an earthy banana-bread type of banana flavor while Banana Nut Confetti was sweeter flavor.  Chunky Monkey has those rectangular mini-chocolate-bar type mix-ins while Banana Nut Confetti had more standard flakes.  Which one you prefer is up to you.  Some people have strong feelings about which type of banana flavoring they prefer.  I actually like the sweeter banana but for some people it is too much.   Also, the flakes are probably a more efficient way of delivering chocolate but there's something fun and unique about those bars in Chunky Monkey. 

  

Tillamook - Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Chocolate Fudge Brownie - Chocolate Frozen Custard swirled with Chunks of Fudge Brownies and Crunchy Cookie Fudge

We return to the Oregon-based Tillamook brand for their implementation of Chocolate Fudge Brownie.   This flavor combination was made famous by Ben & Jerry's thirty years ago.  It is always fun to see what twists a different brand will bring to a familiar flavor.  I can see some differences in the ingredient list already.  First is that this is a frozen custard instead of an ice cream.  That distinction means that the concentration of egg yolks has crossed a certain threshold.  Second is additional 'crunchy cookie fudge' mix-in.

Popping off the lid reveals a medium brown color to the chocolate base.   Digging in, the chocolate base is excellent.  This is close to Häagen-Dazs-level quality.  Very flavorful and not too dark.   As I ate further in, the brownie swirls start to appear.   Swirls is exactly what they are.  With Ben & Jerry's, you get chewy chunks of brownies, but here you get swirled up brownie.  I looked for the 'cookie fudge' but it does not appear to be a separate thing.    So, the brownie/cookie/fudge seems to be one doughy, critty chocolatey swirl.  Whatever it is, it is yummy.  It provides a darker more concentrated chocolate flavor to the more milk-chocolate flavor of the base.

I did enjoy this pint.  I can't help but compare this to Ben & Jerry's when trying to evaluate this.  I think Ben & Jerry's has better brownies, but this is a better chocolate base.  So, if you love Ben & Jerry's for the chewy mix-ins, then I'd stick with that, but you want a similar mix-in but with a higher quality chocolate base then give this flavor a try.

 

  

Talenti - Peanut Butter Pretzel

Peanut Butter Pretzel - Peanut Butter Gelato with Peanut Butter Ribbons and Chcoolate and Peanut Butter Covered Pretzels

Looking at the freezer case of my local grocery store, I realized I hadn't had a pint of Talenti gelato in a while.  I figured, I'd try their Peanut Butter Pretzel flavor because it seemed like an interesting flavor mix.  I'm also curious as to how a peanut butter gelato base will come out.  Gelatos tend to be lighter while peanut butter tends to be thick and heavy.  It'll be interesting to see how that balances out.


Unscrewing the lid (I still love these jars!) reveals the beige color of the peanut butter base.  No mix-ins are visible right away.  Digging in, the peanut butter flavor in the base is noticeable but not too heavy.  Soon, I ran into the pretzel mix-ins.  These are interesting, they are spherically shaped and fully chocolate covered.  They were pretty good.   I took some extra pictures below to show what they are like.  I could see chocolate-covered pretzel balls being a non-ice-cream snack.  I did some googling and found that indeed such a treat does exist.  As I continued to eat, I ran into some peanut butter clumps.  Checking the ingredients, this appears to be the 'peanut butter ribbons'.  These were OK.  It provides a more concentrated flavor than what was in the base but there wasn't a lot of these ribbons.

This was a decent pint.  Talenti lovers who like peanut butter will want to check it out.  For me, I kept thinking that when I want peanut butter I'm not looking for a light gelato.  So, in that regard, I think I prefer Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby flavor, but your mileage may vary.

   

Jeni's - Sweet Potato Eclair

Sweet Potato Eclair - Spiced Sweet Potato Ice Cream with Pastry Flakes and White Chocolate Curls

In the first review of the year, I wrote a post-holiday review of a holiday flavor from the Columbus-based Jeni's brand.  Today, I'll review another that I picked up from that same to Whole Foods, Sweet Potato Eclair.  I have not had a sweet potato flavored ice cream before, so I am very curious.  One of my friends makes a sweet potato dish every Thanksgiving, so this flavor does seem to fit in with the holiday theme.  My friend's dish is quite tasty so I am looking forward to this pint.

Opening the pint shows the bright pinkish orange color of the sweet potato base.  Some of the pastry flakes are visible right away as well.  There's a small side pocket of air on the top which appears accidental but it doesn't look like it is going to affect the flavor of the ice cream.  Digging in, the base ice cream does taste like sweet potatoes.  I don't know why but I'm always surprised by how sweet sweet potatoes are.  I know that 'sweet' is right there in the name but I always expect it to be a more savory flavor.  There is a hint of cinnamon mixed into the base but it is not too strong.  The pastry flakes provide a bit of textural change, but they are still soft.  The white chocolate curls provided a small bit of crunch into the mix.  I isolated on of these curls on my spoon once and it resembled a sprig of coconut in its size and shape.  I am usually indifferent on the inclusion of white chocolate mix-ins -- they don't have a strong or noticeable flavor to me -- but these little curls were cute and provided some crunch into the mix.

This was an unexpectedly delicious pint.  I always forget about how good sweet potatoes can taste.  If you enjoy a sweet potato dish around the holidays and are interested in that flavor in an ice cream, then you should check this out.

  

Jeni's - Dark Chocolate Peppermint

Dark Chocolate Peppermint - Dark Chocolate Ice Cream infused with Peppermint Oil

It's the New Year, but shopping at Whole Foods, I still see some holiday flavors in stock so I figured I'd grab them while I could.  It is nice to keep the holiday season going anyways.  Today's flavor is Dark Chocolate Peppermint from the Columbus-based Jeni's brand.  Long-time readers will know that my favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip.  This flavor is also a blending of mint and chocolate, so I am looking forward to this variation on my favorite flavor.

Opening the pint reveals the very dark brown color of the dark chocolate base.  Digging in, the mint flavor hit me right away - the mint flavoring is blended into the base.  The mint is fairly strong.  The chocolate flavor is fairly strong as well.  As with other Jeni's flavors, this is thick premium ice cream -- they use tapioca as a thickening agent.  As I ate further down into the pint, I got used to the mint flavoring.  It is still flavorful, but that first spoonful really hit me more than I expected.  There are no mix-ins in this pint, just a homogeneous dark chocolate mint flavor.

I did enjoy this pint as I do like mint and chocolate.   It sort of reminded me a bit of the Chocolate Peppermint Crunch flavor from Ben & Jerry's because it had a chocolate base, though that flavor did have crunchy mix-ins.   If you like chocolate and peppermint and don't mind the lack of mix-ins then give this flavor a try.