Van Leeuwen - Strawberry

Strawberry - Strawberry Ice Cream

Today's flavor is from Van Leeuwen Ice Cream of Brooklyn.  It is an implementation of a simple strawberry flavor.  Kowalski's on Grand in Saint Paul stocks about a half dozen Van Leeuwen flavors.  I bought this pint there.  Van Leeuwen is a brand which makes "French Ice Cream" which means that they use extra egg yolks in their base to create a custard-like texture.  I have confirmed this by checking out an article which quotes a few recipes from their ice cream cookbook.  Let's check it out.

Popping off the lid, the ice cream has a very light pink color.  Digging in, the ice cream has a thick and easy to scoop texture typical of Van Leewen bases.  It has the density of an ice cream but  the extra eggs give it a smooth texture someone like a frozen custard.  The strawberry flavor is quite appealing.  It tastes a lot a strawberry shake in ice cream form.  There are no mix-ins.  Many strawberry implementations include strawberry pieces in the mix (some small like Graeter's and Häagen-Dazs and some large like McConnell's) but here it is all base. 

This is a solid implementation of a simple strawberry ice cream with no mix-ins.  There's nothing to cut the flavor (no cheesecake, balsamic vinegar, mascarpone, malt, etc), it is just careful to add just the right amount of strawberry so that it tastes like a good strawberry shake.   Van Leeuwen fans who like strawberry will have no complaints here.