Graeter's - Banana Cream Pie

Banana Cream Pie - Banana and Caramel Flavored Ice Cream with Vanilla Wafer Pieces

Today is the day for the sixth and final pint from my recent Graeter's shipment.  The flavor is one of the limited batch flavors of the summer:  Banana Cream Pie.  I am super psyched because this is my favorite flavor of pie.  I guess there have been a lot of banana-themed flavors which have similar ingredients but this is the first one be labeled as 'banana cream pie'.  The base here is a blend of banana and caramel and the pie crust is represented by vanilla wafers.  I double-checked my review history and it turns out that both times that vanilla wafers were used as a mix-in, the base ice cream was banana -- Phin & Phebes and Steve's.  Neither of those reviews are recent, but re-reading the reviews I did enjoy those flavors.  This should be fun.

Opening the pint, the banana base is a yellowish-white color and a couple of the vanilla wafers can be seen right away.  Digging in, the banana base is quite flavorful.  It is a nice blend of the sweet type of banana -- as opposed to the more earthy type of banana found in banana bread -- and a hint of caramel to keep it from being too sweet.  It is quite delicious.  The vanilla wafers are substantial in size and dispersed generously throughout the pint.  They have a good a chewy crunchiness which is fun to chew on.

I really enjoyed this pint.  It is a fitting end to my successful Graeter's shipment.  As mentioned above I have had a banana-vanilla-wafer pint before, but this is my favorite of the three.  The base was as good, if not better than Phin & Phebes and the wafers were at least as good as those in Steve's.  This is a limited batch selection, so it might be gone already but don't hesitate to try it if you see it again.

Milkjam Creamery - Let That Mango

Let That Mango - Mango Sorbet with Sticky Rice

Last week, I decided to make a trek back to the Milkjam Creamery in Minneapolis to pick up a few more pints.  Today's flavor is called Let That Mango and is based on the mango sticky rice dessert.  Let me start off by saying that "let that mango" is a high quality mango pun!  I am jealous that I didn't think of that!  The mango sticky rice dessert is popular in Thai restaurants.  Sticky rice is general is fun to eat, but it is especially fun in this fruity dessert dish.  I am looking forward to seeing how this pint turns out.

The first thing I notice even before I open the pint is that it is very heavy.  Opening the pint, I see the thick orange color of the mango base.  It is a sorbet (meaning that it is dairy free) which I think explains why the pint is so heavy.  This is solid mango!  Digging in, the mango flavor is quite strong.  I quicky encounter some of the sticky rice sections.  The sticky rice has an odd texture.  It seemed almost crunchy.  Sticky rice is chewier and has a tougher integrity than normal rice, but it usually isn't crunchy.  It seemed to get better as I continued eating, so perhaps this is a case of sticky rice not being something which freezes well.  This had a lot more mango in it than the usual sticky rice dessert.  The ratio here was several parts mango sorbet per part of sticky rice.  With the Thai dessert, the ratio is usually the other way around.

This was an interesting pint of ice cream.  I wanted to like it more -- especially because of the top notch flavor name pun -- but the sticky rice didn't mix well with the sorbet.  Also, I like Milkjam most when it is soft and creamy and this was an extremely dense pint.

Graeter's - Dark Chocolate Brownie

Dark Chocolate Brownie - Dark Chocolate Ice Cream with Brownie Bits

The penultimate pint of my six-pint Graeter's shipment is called Dark Chocolate Brownie.  This along with the S'mores flavor are new to the Graeter's line this year.  It looks like a standard 'chocolate brownie flavor originally made famous by Ben & Jerry's thirty years ago and is now a staple chocolatey flavor for many brands.  It will be fun to see how Graeter's compares.

The top of the pint is a dark brown color and I can see some brownie pieces right away.  I am always a bit curious about 'dark chocolate' ice cream.  Unless, it is a sorbet, it has to have some milk & cream in the mix, so it won't be truely 'dark' chocolate yet it usually means there is more cocoa included than a usual chocolate base.  That is the case here.  The ice cream is very chocolatey but still quite creamy and not at all dry or bitter.  The brownie bits are dispersed generously throughout the pint.  The bits are all reasonably sized (no ridiculously large chunks as can happen with their chips).  The brownies are soft and chocolatey, chewy without at all being 'tough'.  It is good.

This is a very good implementation of a chocolate fudge brownie flavor.  I enjoyed it quite a bit and I have a feeling that it's better than the average implementation of this flavor but I also get the impression that it might not be that hard of a flavor to pull off.  It's great that Graeter's has added this to their menu and chocolate lovers and Graeter's lovers should enjoy this.

Häagen-Dazs - Cherry Vanilla

Cherry Vanilla - Black Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream with Black Cherries

We return to Häagen-Dazs for their Cherry Vanilla flavor.  This is a flavor that I always forget that they have.  I am usually trying to get a hold of the brand-new flavors and the limited batch flavors or I'm trying to find the flavor with the most interesting ingredients first.  Somehow this flavor flew under my radar.  The first thing I notice after reading the description on the side of the pint in greater detail is that black cherries are used here.  The front of the pint show pictures of red cherries.  Maybe the whole cherries look quite similar, but it creates a completely different idea in my head for what the pint will be like.  Interestingly, the cherry is paired with vanilla here instead of the usual chocolate.  That will emphasize the cherry more in my opinion.  I am looking forward to checking this out.

Opening the pint, the base ice cream is a light purplish color.  This is definitely black cherry!  Chunks of black cherry are visible right away in the middle.  The ice cream itself is soft and creamy and has that distinctive black cherry flavor.  The cherries themselves are flavorful, juicy and not too sweet.  The flavor of the vanilla did not stick out too much for me, but maybe it helps enhance the cherry in ways that a simple sweet cream would not.  This pint is almost the complete opposite ice cream flavor of the recent Cherrylicious flavor which was all candy and sweetness.

This was a surprisingly good pint.  Those of you who are also not noticing this pint amongst the dozens of Häagen-Dazs flavors in the grocery store freezer case should give this a try.  The closest thing I have come to this flavor before is a Cherries Jubilee flavor from New Orleans Ice Cream.  I liked that flavor, but I like this Häagen-Dazs flavor even more.  More black cherry flavor and better and more numerous black cherry mix-ins.

Graeter's - Maple Cinnamon Crunch

Maple Cinnamon Crunch - Maple-flavored Ice Cream with Cinnamon-Sugar-coated Shortbread Cookie Pieces

The fourth pint of my six-pint shipment from Graeter's is another limited batch flavor:  Maple Cinnamon Crunch.  This is a unique flavor combination for me.  I have only seen a maple base a few times before (Yeti, Izzy's and the recent Coolhaus).  Cinnamon cookies are interest mix-in to go with it.  I can't wait to dig in.

Opening the pint, the base ice cream is a light tan color.  A couple of the cookie pieces are visible right away.  Digging in, the ice cream tastes just like maple syrup.  It is still ice cream, but it has the full flavor of maple syrup, too.  Graeter's did the same thing with a graham cracker base recently.  It is uncanny how they are able to reproduce these flavors.  The cookie pieces dispersed throughout the pint.  They have a moderate mix of softness and crunchiness.  The cinnamon flavor is not too strong, yet they taste quite good.

This is a well-done implementation of an interesting flavor combination.  In particular, the maple syrup base does an amazing job of giving you the feeling like you are eating maple syrup in an ice cream form.  The cookies provided a decent contrast and gave something to chew on.  This is one for lovers of maple syrup, though others would probably like it as well.

Museum of Ice Cream - Cherrylicious

Cherrylicious - Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream with Sugar Cookie Bites

The next pint in my survey of flavors from the Museum of Ice Cream is called Cherrylicious.  The Museum of Ice Cream is a youthful brand which has partnered with Target to release seven new flavors this year.  I say that the brand is youthful because a lot of the flavors seem to be bright and sweet.  When I was in college, I could eat a bag of gummi bears for dinner, but I have no inkling to do that anymore.  That's what I mean by youthful.  Some of the flavor descriptions of the Museum of Ice Cream set extra sugary expectations.  So far, the pints have been on the sweet side (e.g. the Piñata flavor), but they haven't been so much that I haven't been able to finish them.

Today's flavor is giving me similar expectations of sweetness.  It is a cherry ice cream based on maraschino cherries.  Maraschino cherries are the preserved, sweetened and dyed cherries that most people know from the single cherry on the top of a sundae (where even the stem is dyed).  A single one of them on top of a sundae is a nice treat, but it doesn't always make for a good base in recipes.  I made a cherry nut bread using maraschino cherries (and juice) and one bite of it tasted great but it was hard to eat more than just the one bite.  Then on top of the maraschino cherry base, this pint is adding sugar cookie bites as a mix in.  So, this is certainly bracing me for sweetness.

Without further ado, I open the pint.  The pint is a very bright and light pink color.  It reminds me of that cherry nut bread that I talked about above.  Digging in, the cherry flavor is very bright and sweet.  Then I unexpected start to encounter large pieces of maraschino cherries!  Quite a bunch of them too.  They are sweet too.  Unlike my nut bread, it stops short of being overwhelming, though.  I don't know if the cream and butter fat is just enough to counteract the sweet flavor, but I am able to eat the whole pint in one sitting.  I only found one small sugar cookie piece.  The size was larger than a peanut but smaller than a grape.  There must have been a mixing issue if I got only one.  The pint was plenty sweet enough already but the bites might have provided some textural variation.

You really need to like maraschino cherries to enjoy this pint.  It was surprisingly flavorful and edible given my expectations but it was a very sweet pint.  Someone who loves candied cherries could like this more than I did but be sure you know what you are in for.

Graeter's - Peach

Peach - Peach Ice Cream with Peaches

It is late summer, so that means peaches are in season!  The bread place has peach scones, the supermarkets all have Colorado peaches on sale.  So, it makes sense that one of Graeter's summer seasonal flavors would be Peach.  I am looking forward to this.

Opening the pint, the creamy orange color of the peach base greets me.  You can tell the pint is hand-packed from the unevenness of the surface.  Some substantial chunks of peach are visible right away.  Digging in, the peach flavor in the base is delicious.  The peach chunks are have a decent texture -- not at all mushy or frozen -- and they tasted great as well.  Big chunks too.  Graeter's is known for its big chocolate chips, and they took the same idea here as well.

This is an excellent pint of peach ice cream.  I've only had two other peach flavors from Talenti and Tillamook.  Nothing against either of those two pints, but this easily beats those two.  This Graeter's flavor is only seasonal, though.  So, if like peaches and you happen to see this, don't hesitate.