Sebastian Joe's - Marion Berry D.C. Nut

Marion Berry D.C. Nut - Marionberry Ice Cream with Almond Pieces

 

Back to the Minneapolis-based Sebastian Joe's today for their Marion Berry D.C. Nut flavor.  I have written before about how the marionberry is a caneberry hybrid descended from varieties of blackberries and raspberries which was developed in Marion County, Oregon in the 1940s.  To be honest, though, the first time I bring up marionberries to a friend or a family member, they assume I am making a bad joke about Marion Barry, the crack-smoking mayor of DC from the 1980s.  Well, Sebastian Joe's has decided to work this amusing homophone into their flavor name by calling this flavor "Marion Berry D.C. Nut".  A marionberry base is used and the 'nut' here is almonds.  Previously, I have had marionberry flavors from McConnell's, Tillamook and Van Leeuwen.  Let's check it Sebastian Joe's flavor!

Removing the lid, the marionberry base is a beautiful dark purplish pink color.  They overfill the cartons when you order a pint at Sebastian Joe's and this looks very dense.  Digging in, the marionberry flavor is quite potent, yet still quite delicious.  The flavor is a lot like that of it's caneberry cousins the raspberry and blackberry, sort of like a deeper flavored black raspberry.  Soon I encounter the almonds.  These are almond pieces -- perhaps quarters of almonds.  They supply a decent crunch which gives good textural variety to the pint.  As I continue to eat my way down the pint, I admit that the strong marionberry flavor can be a bit overwhelming at times.

This is a delicious, yet very strong implementation of a marionberry flavor from Sebastian Joe's.  It is hard to complain about something so delicious, but it took effort to eat so much of a strong flavor in one sitting.  I'd still reccomend it, but maybe not a whole pint in one sitting.  Try a scoop of this with a scoop of something like lemon or vanilla.  Or share the pint with a friend.

 

 

Van Leeuwen - Marionberry Cheesecake

Marionberry Cheesecake - Cheesecake Ice Cream with a Marionberry Swirl and Graham Cracker Crumble

Today we return to Brooklyn's Van Leeuwen brand.  Kowalski's carries this brand locally.  They carry less than ten of their flavors, but thankfully Kowalski's has switched up which ten flavors they carry.  So I have more ice cream to try!  Today's flavor is Marionberry Cheesecake.  A marionberry is a cultivated caneberry hybrid -- related to blackberries, raspberries and boysenberries.  I have had marionberry flavors from McConnell's (see link for more marionberry background) and Tillamook.  I am glad to see another brand trying out this very underrated berry flavor.  Let's check it out!

Removing the lid, the foil seal has a funny joke on it.  These foil seals (and their jokes) are becoming more common.  Peeling back the seal, the ice cream is quite marbled.  The cheesecake base has a yellowish color, lots of pink from the marionberry is visible as well as some implied texture from the graham cracker swirl.  Digging in, the marionberry swirls are more pronounced under the surface.  The flavor of this swirl is excellent.  If you have not tried marionberry, it is similar to its raspberry and blackberry cousins but it has a deeper and darker flavor.  I like it.  The cheesecake base mainly serves as a complement to the swirl.  It does this job quite well.  The graham cracker swirl is pretty good.  It provides the occasional chunky/chewy texture.

This is a very well-done implementation of the very underutilized marionberry flavor.  It is about as good as the sadly recently retired Tillamook flavor.  So if you were a fan of that flavor, you could just switch to this one.  (I did buy them both at Kowalski's so that would be convenient).  The McConnell's flavor is excellent, but it uses a lemon base so it is harder to make a direct comparison.  All this talk of marionberries makes me want to check out produce sections for fresh versions of these berries.  I hear they look like blackberries but are noticeably larger.  I am not aware of any local grocery stores which sell these berries though.  They are an Oregon berry, so if I ever make it to that state, I may check them out.

 

 

Tillamook - Oregon Marionberry Cheesecake

Oregon Marionberry Cheesecake - Mascarpone Frozen Custard with a Marionberry Ripple and Graham Cracker Pieces

Today is another pint from the Tillamook Creamery in Tillamook Oregon.  This flavor is called Oregon Marionberry Cheesecake.  I found this pint at Kowalski's on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul.  I have had marionberry is ice cream before (see an earlier review for a thorough background on the berry).  It is funny, though, because every time I mention the marionberry to other people, they think I am pulling their leg.  The berry is named after Marion County, Oregon, where the first cultivars were grown and tested.  The crack-smoking mayor of Washington, DC, was attending college in Memphis and was not yet famous when the berry got its name.  People I know from Oregon love this berry, though, so I am eager to try another ice cream that features it. 

Removing the lid, the foil lid contains a clever little message.  Coolhaus was the first brand I noticed that had fun with these labels.  This particular message has a fun turn-your-frown-upside-down which I have not seen before:

Peeling back the foil, I see the creamy-looking cheesecake base with some pinkish-purple coloring from the marionberry on one side.  Digging in, the cheesecake base is very creamy.  It is a mascarpone rather than a standard cream cheese that is used here so it has a smoother texture and flavor.  Mascarpone is one of my favorite dessert cheeses so I approve.  Underneath, the marionberry swirl is more evident as well as the graham cracker pieces.  I asked one of my cane-berry expert friends what she thought of the marionberry.  She said that it tasted more like raspberry than blackberry yet it had a unique tartness that reminded her of cranberry a little bit.  Visually, there did not appear to be a lot of the marionberry swirl, but a little bit goes a long way and every spoonful contained some of it.   It was good.  The graham cracker pieces were quite small but there was a lot of them.  Unlike previous pints where the mix-ins were layered, here the marionberry swirl and graham cracker pieces were distributed throughout the pint.  I liked that here.

This is an excellent flavored-cheesecake ice cream from Tillamook.  The marionberry was flavorful and delicious and was well balanced with the mascarpone.  The graham cracker swirl is an ideal mix-in here as it is often the crust of a cheesecake and provides different texture.  Marionberries are not common in my area -- I wonder if there are any specialty grocery stores that stock fresh marionberries? -- so an ice cream flavor like this is a great way to try something new.  Check it out.

McConnells's - Wild Berry Chip

Wild Berry Chip - Ice Cream Infused with Wildberry Jam with Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

Today is the final pint of my recent five-pint shipment from McConnell's.  It is called Wild Berry Chip.  Unlike the previous pints in this shipment, this is part of their standard lineup of flavors and is not a limited or seasonal release.  It must be a recent addition, though, as I do not remember this flavor from my previous orders.  I checked the ingredient list to see which berries are wild berries.  It turns out that they use raspberries and marionberries.  This is only my second pint to feature marionberries.  You can read more about the marionberry in that previous review (also from McConnell's.

Cracking open the pint, I see the expected purplish pink color of the raspberry-marionberry base.  You can also see lots of berry seeds too.  If you look closer, you can tell that the color of the base is not homogeneous.  Some parts are a little whiter than others.  The berry jam appears to be swirled into the sweet cream and then it not fully mixed.  Don't worry, as you can see below there is still plenty of berry in each spoonful, but this is a little bit of variability as to the strength of the flavor.  The berry is quite good.  It is a little bit on the tart side, but not overly so, plus the seeds give it an aura of earthy authenticity.  As I scoop further, I quickly encounter the chocolate chips.  These chips are small and flake shape and have a bit of crispy-crunchiness to them.  The chocolate flavor is good and goes well with the berries.

This is an excellent combination of berries and chocolate chips.  There are lots of good raspberry chocolate chip flavors around -- including Graeter's signature Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip.  This McConnell's pint has a few twists to distinguish itself, though.  The inclusion of marionberries into the mix creates a unique berry flavor and also the small chucks and seeds give this pint a natural and earthy vibe.  And of course, McConnell's does a great job of tastefully balancing the flavors.  Fans of raspberries, marionberries and chocolate who have access to McConnell's will want to check this one out.

McConnells - Eureka Lemon & Marionberries

Now for something different.  A McConnell's Ice Cream review!  I have seen it many times in the grocery store freezer and was intrigued.  Its a premium brand based in Santa Barbara, California.  It is generally $7-8 a pint which is more than a bit pricey, but I've heard good things so I picked up a pint when it was on sale.  I chose a lemon-berry flavor as I usually have Ben & Jerry's ice cream and lemon & berry is completely off of their flavor palette.  Each different McConnells flavor has their own J.Peterman Catalog-style description on the side which is fun (see photo).

This pint of ice cream is made with a base infused with Eureka Lemon Juice a Marionberry swirl.  Eureka lemons are common supermarket lemons so using the 'Eureka' name just gives it a bit of a California flair while a Marionberry is a caneberry hybrid cultivated in Marion County, Oregon.  I looked up the Marionberry pedigree and its a fourth generation hybrid which is two parts dewberry, three parts raspberry and eleven parts of various wild blackberrys (five parts regular blackberry, two parts pacific blackberry and four parts himalayan blackberry).  It tasted like berry.  It was a good flavor -- a bit of the tart that you get from a berry flavor, but not too much.

Opening the lid, I was surprised to see almost all berry on the very top.  Turns out this layer on the top was just a thin film.  I wondered if this an intentional part of the manufacturing process or if it was a result of some diffusion that occurs in the freezer afterwards.  No matter, it insures that there is a bit of berry in the very first spoonful.  Digging into the pint, the lemon base has a very icy texture.  There is relatively little air whipped into this ice cream.  The lemon flavor is fairly subtle at first, but builds as you go.  It is a sweet lemon flavor and not at all sour.  The berry swirls provided good contrast and the amount was enough to enjoy the berry but not so much as to overpower the lemon.

All in all, I approve.  Its an interesting new brand and a fun change of flavor mixes. I will have to try a couple of more flavors of McConnells to further investigate this icy texture.  Sometimes the premium artisan brands use less air intentionally to give the customer more ice cream, but its also something that is often done with citrus flavors.  We shall see.