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.

Jeni's - Wildberry Lavender

Wildberry Lavender - Black Currant Ice Cream flavored with Orange and Lavender

Today is the fifth and final pint from my recent online purchase of the State Fair Collection from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream of Columbus, Ohio.  The Minnesota State Fair was cancelled this year, so I thought it would be fun to order myself some fair-themed ice cream online.  A note to local readers that I am not aware that this flavor is available in local grocery stores.  Today's flavor is called Wildberry Lavender.  This is actually an older flavor -- the text on the side of the carton mentions that it has been made for over two decades -- but it is new to me.  It looks like a fruit blend flavor.  Blackcurrant is the main flavor, mixed with orange and lavender.  Blackcurrant is a common ingredient of Jeni's.  They feature it in their Brambleberry Crisp flavor as well as their rare, special-batch Claire's Cabinet flavor.  Those both involve a thick swirl of blackcurrant in a base ice cream.  Let's see how the fruit-blend nature of Wildberry Lavender compares.

Removing the lid and peeling back the protective seal, I find the base has an appropriately lavender color.  It is nice blackcurrant and lavender both have purplish colors.  Digging in, I taste the berry-like flavor of the blackcurrant first, then I can tell there is a bit of citrus flavor in the mix as well and the lavender shows up mainly as the 'finish'.  It's quite good.  I would say it is at least half berry, probably a little more, but it does not overpower the other two.  It's all blended together as a homogeneous pint with no mix-ins.

This is an excellent fruit blend pint from Jeni's.  It is very well balanced.  The blending of the blackcurrant, orange and lavender works well, but you can also clearly identify each of those ingredients as well if you want.  This is one of the better fruit blends that I've tried.  My other favorite is Cabernet de l'Orange from Izzy's which is a different mix, but just as good.  For Jeni's fans, you can't go wrong with the two blackcurrant themed pints.  Choose Brambleberry Crisp if you'd like a berry-pie-a-la-mode type of pint and choose Wildberry Lavender if you'd like a full blended pint.

Talenti - Double Dark Chocolate

Double Dark Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Gelato with Chocolate Chips and a Hint of Vermouth

Today's flavor is from Talenti Gelato and it is one of the basic flavors from their standard menu:  Double Dark Chocolate.  It is one of their very first flavors.  They assigned it "recipe #3" which means it is only preceded by their vanilla flavor and a retired caramel flavor (now they have Sea Salt Caramel which includes chocolate truffle mix-ins).  This base has made an appearance in a couple of the "gelato layers" pints that I have reviewed from Talenti in the past couple of years.  Specifically, it forms one or more layers of Vanilla Fudge Cookie and Dark Chocolate Cherry.  I expected this to be just the base, but as I examine the ingredient list more closely, there are chocolate chips in here!  So that's an unexpected surprise.  Also, they say there is a hint of vermouth in the mix.  Vermouth is a fortified wine which is used in mixed drinks like martinis and manhattans.  I have had wine-infused chocolate before in Izzy's Umeshu Chocolate and it works quite well.  I suspect the "hint" means that this pint will be a lot more subtle than that, but I'll the "vermouth" tag to the flavor anyways just to be fun.

OK, on to the pint!  Unscrewing the lid, the gelato has a deep brown flavor expected of chocolate.  It's not super dark like some "dark chocolate" implementations.  I often wonder about the use of the work 'dark' in ice creams.  In a sorbet, you can have a very dark-colored chocolate which has no dairy, but ice creams contain milk and cream by definition.  I imagine that they are just trying to say that it will be chocolatey-er than the usual chocolate ice cream.  I see some tiny ice crystals on top, but that is only because talenti pints have a gap of air on the top.  Don't worry, these are small and only on the surface (none whatsoever underneath).  Digging in, the gelato has a good chocolate flavor.  It does have a slightly different flavor than most chocolates.  Most chocolate bases either taste like hot cocoa or a chocolate bar.  The finish (aftertaste) here is different.  I don't know the flavor of vermouth well enough to know if that is what it is but that could be it.  Then there are chocolate chips in the mix here as well.  It is not overly dense with chips as some of the "chip" flavors are, but there are usually one or two in every spoonful.

This is a solid chocolate chocolate chip pint from Talenti.  If you are a Talenti fan and just want chocolate, then this will satisfy you.  There are chocolate chips in here, so if you need a clean pint with no mix-ins -- my niece says plain chocolate is the best for making shakes -- then you need to look for a different implementation, but personally I like the presence of chips.

Jeni's - Sun-Popped Corn

Sun-Popped Corn - Ice Cream infused with the flavor of Popcorn

I continue more with from the State Fair Collection from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream.  Today's flavor is called Sun-Popped Corn.  It is popcorn flavored ice cream with popcorn from BjornQorn in the Hudson Valley of New York.  A note to local readers that I got this flavor from an online shipment and I assume this point is not available in local grocery stores.  I have only had popcorn in ice cream once before with Ample Hills's Big Ample Circus.  There, they used a popcorn toffee (similar to Cracker Jack) as a mix-in.  Here, it looks like Jeni's is infusing the base with a popcorn flavor instead of adding it as a mix-in.  This should be quite interesting!

Removing the lid and peeling back the protective layer, the base is bright white.  Digging in, I can taste the popcorn right away.  It's salty too.  It's a bit uncanny.  There are no mix-ins and it looks just like sweet cream, but it tastes just like freshly popped salted popcorn.  No butter, but there's plenty of cream, ha ha.  Reading the link above, I guess they steep the popcorn in the milk and cream for quite a while allowing it to absorb the popcorn flavor but then they filter out actual kernels before the churning and freezing stage.  I imagine if you left the kernels in as mix-ins, that they would get too soggy and to avoid the sogginess, you'd have to harden the kernels with with a coating or with toffee. The way Jeni's does it, it ends up being a very simple pint -- salty and creamy and no mix-ins.  I do like the flavor and it held up as I ate the entire pint in one sitting.

This is a very interesting pint from Jeni's.  It is a smooth mix-in-less pint which tastes just like fresh salted popcorn.  I suppose since I eat so many different kinds of ice cream, I tend to gravitate towards the unique and unusual flavors, but this is done really well.  It is definitely worth sampling if you see this flavor in the bin of a Jeni's scoop shop.  Otherwise, if you are adventurous, give a whole pint a try.

Häagen-Dazs - Chocolate Chocolate Chip

Chocolate Chocolate Chip - Chocolate Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips

Today, I return to Häagen-Dazs for the last flavor on their current menu which I have not reviewed.  This is Chocolate Chocolate Chip.  I often focus on new or unique flavors on this blog, so it is not unexpected that a simple flavor such as this one would be the last one to review.  I picked up this pint at Lund's in the Highland neighborhood of Saint Paul.   Häagen-Dazs does do the simple flavors quite well, and I did like their simple Chocolate so this is likely to be pretty good as well.  Let's check it out. 

Removing the lid, the top of the pint has the same brown color that their Chocolate pint had, but I can see a couple of chips already right on the top.  Digging in, it is indeed the same chocolate base as before.  Häagen-Dazs' chocolate resembles that of hot cocoa with a little bit of that pleasant aftertaste that you get when you are drinking hot chocolate, but here it is cold and creamy like an ice cream.  It is delicious.  The chips are more numerous down below than they are on top.  They are chunky and crunchy and deliver even more chocolate flavor.  It is like adding more chocolate to a well-done chocolate base.

This is a solid chocolate chocolate chip pint from Häagen-Dazs.  It is simple, yet it delivers.  The ubiquity and relative affordability of Häagen-Dazs brand makes them a bit of a reference brand for flavor such as this one and this implementation lives up to that.  If you're in the mood for a simple chocolate with a bit of crunch, you can't go wrong with this pint.  I am happy that I have completed the menu of another brand, yet also a little sad because now I have to wait for new releases to review another pint of Häagen-Dazs.

Jeni's - Atlantic Beach Pie

Atlantic Beach Pie - Sweet Cream Marbled with Lemon Custard and a Saltine Cracker Swirl

The third pint in my recent online shipment from the Columbus-based Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams is called Atlantic Beach Pie.  This flavor is part of their late-summer State Fair Collection which I ordered to partially make up for the fact that my own state, Minnesota, has cancelled their fair for this year due to the pandemic.  A note to local readers that I bought this flavor online and I am not aware that it is available in any grocery stores in the Twin Cities area.  Atlantic Beach is a small town on the coast of North Carolina just south of the Outer Banks.  A pie was developed there because it was supposedly better to eat with the seafood meals common to the area.  It is a pie that in some ways resembles a key lime pie but with lemon instead of lime, in some ways resembles a lemon meringue pie but with whipped cream instead of meringue and usually has a saltine cracker crust.  Jeni's has a blogpost with further detail here.  It looks like a fun idea for an ice cream flavor and I am looking forward to checking it out.

Removing the lid and peeling back the fun seal, I see both the lemon custard and sweet cream bases.  The lemon custard has a bright yellow color and the sweet cream is white.  Digging in, the lemon custard has a bright lemon-y flavor which a little bit, but not too tart.  I liked it.  The sweet cream serves to mute the lemon a little bit and also to contain the saltine cracker mix-ins.  These crackers provide the 'pie crust' for this pie-themed pint.  They were small and ground up, so they did not completely resemble saltines to me, but they were crunchy and provided some salt.

I really enjoyed this lemon pie pint from Jeni's.  This is one the best lemon flavors that I have yet tried.  Right up with Sweet Science's Lemon Meringue Pie.  Check it out.

Sweet Science - Grasshopper Pie

Grasshopper Pie - Green Mint Ice Cream with Clusters of Newman-O's and Marshmallow Fluff

As mentioned in a recent review, Sweet Science Ice Cream of Saint Paul made a few flavors specially available for National Ice Cream Day a week or so ago.  Two of the flavors were new to me, so I picked them up.  I reviewed the first flavor, Peach Cobbler, here and today's flavor is called Grasshopper Pie.  A grasshopper pie is a mint-chocolate cream pie which was likely introduced in the 1950s and was probably inspired by the mint-chocolate cocktail of the same name.  Long-time readers know that mint chocolate chip was my favorite ice cream flavor growing up, so I am always looking forward to flavors which combine those flavors.  Here, Newman-O clusters (organic imitation Oreos) deliver the chocolate into a peppermint base and there is some marshmallow fluff in the mix as well.  I have had the mint-chocolate-marshmallow combination once before with the Ben & Jerry's seasonal Minter Wonderland flavor, but that is a chocolate-mint flavor while this appears to be a mint-chocolate flavor, so they might not easily compare as chocolate-mint flavors have so much more chocolate.

On to today's pint!  Removing the lid, the peppermint base has a very light green color.  Peppermint is not naturally green, but grasshopper pies and cocktails usually are.  I checked the ingredient list and it appears that vegetable juice is used to create the color.  I can also see some of the Newman-O clusters and one large dollop of marshmallow fluff on top.  Digging in, the peppermint ice cream has a cool and refreshing flavor as expected.  The clusters of Newman-O's work quite well.  They deliver a bit of chocolate and a lot of crunch.  I like the variable sizes because it makes every spoonful a bit of a surprise.  Here, the Newman-O's act as both the chocolate source and the "pie crust".  The marshmallow fluff is found in dollop-sized pockets throughout the pint.  It adds some soft creaminess into the mix every few spoonfuls.

This is a fun and interesting flavor from Sweet Science.  As mentioned before, mint chocolate chip is my favorite ice cream flavor so I like any variations or twists that different brands try on that flavor combination and grasshopper pie is a new one for me.  The best part of the pint was the Newman-O clusters -- a great way to create a crunchier version of chocolate chips.  I still prefer Sweet Science's Vanilla Mint Fudge when I am feeling in the mood for mint and chocolate, but this flavor is fun for a twist.