Häagen-Dazs - Cookies & Cream

"An ice cream to satisfy the milk-and-cookies kid in all of us pieces of your favorite chocolate cookies are dunked in delicious, creamy vanilla ice cream." according the blurb on the Häagen-Dazs website, so far, so good. Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough recipe was not the most palatable of premium ice creams, how would this vaguely similar offering fare?

The Ice Cream?
The creamy ice cream has Häagen-Dazs' typically thick, buttery consistency and texture. However, it has a substantial flaw which can be summed up in one word it tastes somewhat bland.

The Cookies?
To my surprise the issue with the ice cream is compounded by the surprising blandness off the cookie bits. Thankfully these aren't as sugary as B&J cookie dough, but try as hard as I could on two seperate tastings I couldn't divine anthing thing beyond the merest hint of chocolate cookies.

The Verdict?
In a single word bland. Cookies and Cream sets a new benchmark for bland premium ice creams. It's may not be as sickly as B&J Cookie Dough, but it is certainly not competitive with other B&J and Häagen-Dazs ice creams in the same price range. Again, it would probably be more satisfying and cheaper to settle for real cookies and cream or a DIY vanilla ice cream and cookies combo.

A bland and relatively inoffensive (not including the price!) 2.5 out of 5

Häagen-Dazs - Belgian Chocolate

Whilst the Ben & Jerry’s calculatingly project an eco friendly cool, hip and irreverent image, Häagen-Dazs cultivate a decidedly more cultured & adult image. This can be seen in their currently available range of ice creams and sorbets. There are no cute chocolate animals in sight, Häagen-Dazs pretty much mean serious business. They can also boast all natural ingredients with less air (whatever that means), while Ben & Jerry's have recently been forced to drop similar such claims from their own products.

The Ice Cream?
The chocolate ice cream is suprisingly, but pleasantly, rich with the firm buttery texture that befits a typical Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Furthermore, countless flecks of rich Belgian chocolate fudge are infused within ice cream itself. Interestingly, whether it is the fudge, ice cream recipe, or the combination of both the overall effect is surprisingly richer than chocolate ice cream in Häagen-Dazs' Chocolates, Caramel & Pralines.

The Verdict?
In the weird and wacky world of premium ice creams this is a relatively mature & unpretentious offering. Belgian Chocolate might not have the content and visceral heft of a Phish Food, and could be a bit too rich for some tastes, however, its solid, rich chocolate flavour has something to recommend for itself. It will also probably also gain something from being shared, or not being eaten in a single sitting, given its richness as I found one carton perhaps a little too much of good thing!

Overall a solid 3 out 5 (although it could gain an extra mark/half mark for its sharing potential)

Overpriced Ice Cream Newsflash

Häagen-Dazs ice creams are currently £2.50 at Sainsburys supermarkets for a limited time only. A veritable calorific apocalypse at a more sensible price!

Offer ends 07/12/10

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