Ice Cream Review: Ben & Jerry's - Caramel Chew Chew

Chocolate used be a major Achilles heel of mine, however, my changing taste buds and weight related health issues have forced one to move onto more occasional indulgences. One of these is the curious phenomenon of over priced premium ice creams.

I became ensnared within this calorific world of 'all natural ingredients' and Fairtrade goodness during the summer when my local CO-OPs retailed half price Ben & Jerry's at just a shade over £2. In a saner world this would be around the ideal price for such delicacies, but sadly due to high production and 'ethical' costs plus the requisite need to turn a healthy profit this isn't the case. Häagen-Dazs and B&Js at most retailers will set you back anywhere between £4.19 to £4.39 a tub! Expensive? Yes indeed, but probably not quite the epic waste of money that is a Doner Kebab or VUE Hotdog.

My first foray into this 'Brave New World' of Ice Cream Lifestyle (as if I have one) Brands was B&J's Phish Food which will be reviewed later. Obviously, I was to some degree impressed and my curiosity piqued when I discovered the bewildering variety of different flavours the aforementioned ice cream vendors and their competitors offer. Consequently, this is the first in an ongoing series giving my opinions and reflections on whatever overpriced ice creams come my way and edge me back towards oblivion.

Caramel Chew Chew
This 'Fairtrade' recipe consists of caramel ice cream with caramel filled chocolate counters and a 'golden' caramel swirl. The question with all this 'caramel' is just how rich is this all going to be?! Not as much as one would expect...

The Ice Cream?
The Caramel Ice cream itself is pretty nice, and whilst possessing a pleasing creamy consistency, is neither too rich or sugary. This tends gives the ice cream an unexpected mellower, light toffee character. Nevertheless, I would have expected and preferred it to be a little richer.

The Golden Swirl?
The caramel swirl was present, pleasant, but relatively anonymous in the proceedings. It doesn't quite capture the attention, WTF style, like a chunk of marshmallow or Chocolate Phish does in B&J's Phish Food. Whether it was actually 'golden' is beyond me since I was in a darkened room watching Supernatural at the time.

The Caramel Filled Chocolate Counters/Cowpatties?
The counters are a nice touch, but could do with being a tad larger. Reservations of scale aside, there are a decent number of counters in a carton. There is also a novel and subtle sensation when the caramel inside the counters escapes and hooks up with the ice cream already in your mouth. Again, slightly larger counters would probably enhance the effect and add a bit more mass to the recipe beyond the vaguely underwhelming caramel swirl.

The Verdict?
Overall, I enjoyed this recipe but not quite as much as I initially anticipated given the concept. Caramel Chew Chew is good but not quite at the Phish Food level of concept and execution, whilst curiously inhabiting a middle ground that Häagen-Dazs' formidable caramel infused Chocolate, Caramel and Pralines doesn't.

Overall Crunch Rating?

3.5 out of 5