Häagen-Dazs - Rocky Road

Rocky Road - Chocolate Ice Cream with Roasted Almonds and a Marshmallow Swirl

Today we discuss the Rocky Road flavor from Häagen-Dazs.   There are still a few new
Häagen-Dazs which I have not tried but I did not see them at the Pavilions that I was shopping at so I looked to see if any of their classic flavors looked interesting.  I do not plan on doing a full survey of the Häagen-Dazs line because they have a lot of simple homogeneous flavors which don't make for interesting write-ups but some of the classic flavors have fun mix-in combinations and Rocky Road is one of them.  

Rocky Road is actually a classic flavor in general.  It is one of the first popular flavors to include a relatively complex group of mix-ins. The history of the flavor is a bit murky as several places claim to have invented it, but it dates from before World War II for sure and one account claims as far back as 1920.  Some of the names of the people who claim invention are still well known today.  One story has William Dreyer and Joseph Edy concocting the flavor around 1930 in Oakland.  Another story has it being invented across town in Oakland at E.S. Fenton's creamery.  Lastly, culinary sleuths have stumbled upon a recipe for 'rocky road' in an old Kansas cookbook.  Regardless of who invented it, it has withstood the test of time.  As I write this, I am starting to wonder why it has taken me so long to review an implementation of this flavor.  Enough chatter, on to the ice cream!

Removing the lid shows the familiar brown color of the chocolate base.  Häagen-Dazs has one of the best implementations of just plain chocolate.  Eating my way into the pint, I start to encounter pockets of the marshmallow swirl.  I was almost expecting chewy marshmallow pieces, but this was a gooey melted marshmallow.  I did not expect this, but it was a welcome surprise.  These pockets were large enough to provide marshmallow flavor but they were distinct enough so as not to blend with the chocolate as happens with the Phish Food flavor from Ben & Jerry's.  It makes me wonder how they got those gooey pockets in there.  The almonds here are not full almonds but they are large enough to provide plenty of crunchy texture and almond flavor.

I very much enjoyed this pint.  All three ingredients were top notch.  Fans of Häagen-Dazs'
amazing chocolate base will like this.  Fans of gooey marshmallow will like this.The almonds are quite good, too.  It makes me wonder why it took me so long to review this!  

  

Häagen-Dazs - Bourbon Praline Pecan

Bourbon Praline Pecan - Bourbon Ice Cream with Nutty Praline Pecans in Pools of Brown Sugar Bourbon

Today, I am looking at another one of the new Häagen-Dazs flavors for 2017: Bourbon Praline Pecan.  Just last week I reviewed the new Ben & Jerry's Urban Bourbon flavor, so it appears that bourbon is a trendy ingredient at the moment.  That said, the mix-ins are different here.  The flavor combination for this pint appears closer to a McConnell's pint from last year.  I am looking forward to trying it out.

Removing the lid shows the creamy beige color of the bourbon base with pralines visible right away and even some of the 'pools' of brown sugar bourbon that surrond those pralines.  I wonder how they implement the pools without having them mix into the base.  There's also an air pocket on the side but that appears to be a harmless imperfection in the packing of the ice cream.  With the first spoonful, the bourbon is evident right away, but it is a sweet bourbon!  Although there is probably minimal alcohol content, you can tell that it is formulated with an alcoholic beverage in mind.  But unlike previous bourbon flavoring which provide an occasional burn in the back of my throat, there is no burn here.  A sweet candy-like alcohol flavor instead.  I still enjoyed it but it is worth noting the difference from other bourbon flavors.  The praline pecan mix-ins were quite tasty.  The pools that went along with them kept the praline coating from getting too crusty.

This was a successful flavor.  It is a different bourbon flavor than what most of the other brands are doing, so you should be prepared for that but with that expectation it was quite good.  If you'd like a pralines-n-cream like pint with sweet liqueur kick to it, then this pint is for you.

  

Häagen-Dazs - Toasted Coconut Caramel

Toasted Coconut Caramel - Coconut Ice Cream with Sweet Toasted Coconut Shavings with Dulce de Leche Caramel

In the past few weeks, I have reviewed the new TRIO flavors that Häagen-Dazs released for 2017.  They also have a few new flavors for their regular line, along with a new packaging design for their pints.  Today we look at the Toasted Coconut Caramel flavor.  I have shied away from reviewing the entire Häagen-Dazs line because they have a lot of simple homogenous flavors which do not make for good write-ups.  This new flavor has a promising mix of ingredients, so I'll give it a shot.

The top of the pint shows plenty of coconut shavings visible right away.  With the first spoonful, there is plenty of delicious coconut flavor.  The caramel appears to be coating the coconut shavings.  It was hard to tell just by looking if the brown color of the shavings was just from the toasting.  It is not a lot of caramel -- no big gooey swirls here -- but it is quite good.  Lot's of texture in every spoonful.  Quite well done.

I very much enjoyed this pint.  It's a simple flavor.  Coconut with a dash of caramel, but Häagen-Dazs does simple flavors very well.  This reminded me of the McConnell's Toasted Coconut Almond Chip flavor.  I guess I like my coconut toasted.  If you like coconut and chocolate, that's the pint to eat, but if you like coconut and caramel, then you should try this one.

  

Ben & Jerry's - Urban Bourbon

Urban Bourbon - Burnt Caramel Ice Cream with Almonds, Fudge Flakes & Bourbon Caramel Swirls

Today we review the last of the three new Ben & Jerry's flavors introduced in 2017.  First, I tried Truffle Kerfuffle, then I tried Oat of this Swirled and today's flavor is Urban Bourbon.  The main feature of this flavor is the bourbon caramel swirl.  Bourbon has been a trendy ice cream ingredient for the past few years so it makes sense that Ben & Jerry's would want to capitalize on that.

Removing the lid shows the brown color of the burnt caramel base with some of the caramel swirl visible right away.  As I ate the first spoonful the caramel base has a bit more character to it -- I'll buy that it was burnt.  The bourbon caramel swirl is what provide the distinctive flavor, though.  The bourbon is not too strong, but it definitely adds a noticeable 'kick'.  It reminded me of the caramel in the now-retired Coffee Caramel Buzz flavor.  Further down into the pint, the fudge flakes provided a bit of chocolate so that the pint was not too caramel-y.  I had to look for the almonds.  The almond pieces were quite small and get a bit lost amidst the fudge flakes which were larger and had a similar texture.  Nothing bad, though, I did enjoy the overall mix of ingredients.
  
Another successful new Ben & Jerry flavor.  This fills a niche in their collection of flavors.  They have sweet caramel, core caramel, salted caramel, this is for those that want a kick of bourbon whisky in their caramel.  Of the three new flavors mentioned above, I think Truffle Kerfuffle was my favorite, though I did enjoy all three.

  

Ben & Jerry's - Oat of this Swirled

Oat of this Swirled - Buttery Brown Sugar Ice Cream with Fudge Flakes & Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookie Swirls

Today we review another of the new flavors that Ben & Jerry's has introduced in 2017, Oat of this Swirled.  This is perhaps the most anticipated of their new flavors because it marks the return of oatmeal to their product line.  Recently, Ben & Jerry's conducted a survey of the 'most missed' in their Flavor Graveyard of discontinued flavors.  The most missed flavor was "Oatmeal Cookie Chunk" which was discontinued in 2012 when they switched to non-GMO and FairTrade ingredient sourcing.  I regret to say that I never tried the old flavor -- once upon a time, I was a bit less adventurous with my ice cream choices -- so I won't be able to make a comparison with the old flavor, but I'll still be able to give you my thoughts.

Removing the lid shows that the brown sugar base is quite light in color.  Some of the fudge flakes are visible as well.  With the first spoonful, I notice the cinnamon flavor.  I am a fan of cinnamon, so I am liking this.  The fudge flakes fairly large in size and provide plenty of chocolate flavor.  Where is the oatmeal?  Well, I can tell it is there but it is more subtle than expected.  The cookie pieces are not think but they are ground into a swirl.  See one of the spoon close-ups below to see what it looks like.  It does provide some oat flavor which goes well with the cinnamon.

A long last, oatmeal has returned to the Ben & Jerry's line.  I did enjoy the oatmeal and cinnamon flavor but I think I may be a victim of high expectations.  I was expecting chewy oatmeal cookie chunks similar to they're chewy brownies or cookie but instead its a mild oatmeal swirl.  Still quite tasty but not 'to die for'.  If you were a fan of the old oatmeal cookie flavor, you'll want to check this out.  Is it a suitable successort to the old flavor, or does it fall short?
 

Häagen-Dazs - TRIO: Coffee Vanilla Chocolate

TRIO: Coffee Vanilla Chocolate - Coffee and Vanilla Ice Creams Between Layers of Crispy Belgian Chocolate

Today, we discuss the last of the four new TRIO flavors that Häagen-Dazs added for 2017.  In these pints, the ingredients are layered.  Two ice cream bases alternate with a thin layer of crunchy Belgian chocolate.  Previously, we have reviewed the Salted Caramel Chocolate, Triple Chocolate and Vanilla Blackberry Chocolate TRIO flavors.  Today is the last flavor, Coffee Vanilla Chocolate.  Coffee and chocolate are a common ice cream combination.  This should be interesting.

The top of the pint looks a lot like the other TRIO flavors.  The two base ice creams are swirled a bit on the top.  This time I can see small hints of the Belgian chocolate.  I couldn't see those with the previous flavors.  Digging in, the coffee ice cream is fairly flavorful but not too strong.  Some coffee ice creams are have a strong flavor to go for hardcore java junkies, but this is not one of those.  The vanilla dilutes that flavoring a bit more.  Then, eating my way further down, you get the layers of crunchy Belgian chocolate which crumble in your mouth as with the previous TRIO pints.  The combination worked pretty well.  As far as coffee-chocolate combinations go, I did not like it as much as Brewed to Matter, but I still liked it.

This concludes the reviews of the TRIO line of flavors.  Cutting through the Belgian chocolate and then seeing the stripes of flavors on your spoon is a bit of a hoot.  I'd be curious to see a 'making of' video for these... how do they get it to be layered in the pint?   My ranking of the four TRIO flavors right now would be: Vanilla Blackberry Chocolate, Coffee Vanilla Chocolate, Salted Caramel Chocolate and Triple Chocolate.  I liked the flavors which included vanilla better than those which two or more layers of chocolate.  But I am not a chocoholic, so your mileage may vary.

  

  

Häagen-Dazs - TRIO: Vanilla Blackberry Chocolate

TRIO: Vanilla Blackberry Chocolate - Vanilla and Blackberry Ice Creams between Layers of Belgian Chocolate

Today we continue our survey of the new Häagen-Dazs TRIO line.  As mentioned in previous reviews, TRIO of new line of 'layered' pints where two flavors of ice cream are alternated with thin and crispy Belgian chocolate in between.  Today's flavor is Vanilla Blackberry Chocolate in which the two ice creams are vanilla and blackberry flavored.  This is a change from the previous two reviews.  First, the presence of blackberry is the first fruity base used in TRIO flavor.  Second, this is the first flavor that contains only one layer of chocolate.  I like fruit flavors, so this sounds interesting to me.
Removing the lid, the top shows the two bases swirled as below.  The blackberry base is light purple in color.  As I eat my way down into the pint, the blackberry and vanilla bases go quite well together.  It is delicious berry flavor but not overly strong.  Also, it is not the slightest bit tart.  This is good berry flavor.  In this context, the layers of Belgian chocolate act like think layers of flakey chips.  Berry chip flavors are hot lately.

I do not know what else to say except I really enjoyed this flavor.  It is my favorite TRIO flavor yet.  You get all the visual fun of the layering without it being too heavy on the chocolate.  The blackberry-vanilla combination is delicious.  This is a winner.  Check it out.

Häagen-Dazs - TRIO: Triple Chocolate

TRIO: Triple Chocolate - White and Milk Chocolate Ice Creams Between Crispy Layers of Belgian Chocolate

It is time for the next in the TRIO line of flavors from Häagen-Dazs.  TRIO is their new line of flavors for 2017 where the pint is comprised of three layers:  two layers of two different kinds of ice cream and one layer of crispy Belgian chocolate.  This particular flavor is called Triple Chocolate because the two layers of ice cream that go with the Belgian chocolate are white chocolate and milk chocolate.  Sounds like a lot of chocolate!

After removing the lid, I can see swirls of the two ice creams on top.  I saw this with the previous TRIO review.  For some reason, two ice creams above the first layer of Belgian chocolate have a bit of a swirl to it.  Digging into the pint, it is pretty chocolatey. 
Häagen-Dazs is known for having one of the best milk chocolate bases around, so no complaints there.  I never notice a strong flavor to white chocolate.  I was curious, so I checked to see exactly what made it white chocolate.  I guess it contains only cocoa butter and sugar and none of the non-fat cocoa solids which give dark chocolate its signature bite.  Anyhow, it was good.  The Belgian chocolate layers were very thin and crunchy as in the previous flavor.  I got a decent picture of the layering this time -- see the 'spoon' picture below.  As I continued to eat the pint, it became very filling.  All the cocoa butter in the white chocolate may not have a strong flavor but it sat heavy in my stomach.  Even though
Häagen-Dazs uses smaller "14-ounce" pints, I was quite full at the end of this.

This was an interesting pint, but I think you have to be more of a white chocolate fan than me to fully enjoy this.  That or maybe find someone to share it with.  Also, it is likely that Chocoholics will enjoy this much more than me