Having been impressed with every other Gifford’s flavor I’d sampled thus far, I had pretty high expectations as I geared up to try Mt. Katahdin Crunch. The carton describes this flavor as toffee ice cream with “a landslide of chocolate coated English toffee rubble.” And since Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch happens to rank up there as one of my favorite ice cream flavors of all time, I was super stoked to try the Gifford’s version.
When I first peeled back the lid, I wasn’t hit with a lot visually. It looked like a basic vanilla ice cream with a few hints of toffee pieces hiding below. But once I started digging in, I found the toffee bar pieces to be tasty and rather abundant. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Gifford’s is anything but stingy when it comes to their mix-ins. And while the individual toffee pieces you’ll find in Mt. Katahdin Crunch are generally smaller than those found in Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch, they still do a fine job of amping up that toffee flavor.
Now let’s discuss the ice cream base itself. For a second, I thought I might actually have a bone to pick with Gifford’s because I was expecting the base to taste like toffee given the carton’s description. Maybe I’m off here, but to me, the base tastes more like vanilla—a really, really good vanilla complemented quite nicely by the presence of quality toffee. In other words, I can’t complain one bit about this ice cream. I’m only sorry I don’t have a spare quart on hand.
From a nutritional standpoint, this flavor offers oh so much awesomeness for a mere 160 calories and 8g of fat per serving. It’s a bargain compared to the Ben & Jerry’s version, which will set you back 280 calories and an almost-frightening 17g of fat per serving, half of which are of the saturated nature. Now don’t get me wrong: Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch is totally worth the blow. It’s more that I’m really impressed at the fact that Gifford’s has managed to pull off a truly comparable flavor profile that’ll only cause about half the damage of Ben & Jerry's.
All in all, Mt. Katahdin Crunch really gives you the total package: a rich, creamy base, generous mix-ins, and enough contrast to leave even the pickiest of palates nice and satisfied. And with that, I must now find a way to get my hands on some more.
Where Mo Found It: Delicious Orchards (Colts Neck, NJ)
Mo’s Grade: A
