Having fully explored the available cheesecake lineup available from Ben & Jerry's, I was excited when I heard Blue Bell had rolled out Strawberry Cheesecake as one of their Summer rotational flavors. Adorned with a yellow-tag announcing Now with Cheesecake Pieces, this was a no-brainer.
After enjoying Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake so much, I would have picked this one up even if there weren't pieces of real cheesecake involved. These added chunks of cheesecake have me hopeful, considering that's the only component all the other cheesecake creations seem to be missing.
Breaking down the description above, not only am I ready to try out these new cheesecake pieces, I'm also anticipating the swirls of delicious strawberry sundae sauce. Lacking any signs of graham cracker swirl, I'm hoping the other ingredients can carry the load. Tearing off the top to this tub, I'm left looking at a lovely layer of ice cream loaded with strawberries and sauce. The hue of the base ice cream is strikingly similar to actual cheesecake.
After spooning out some of the cheesecake base, my first bite wasn't quite up to par with the premium cheesecake bases by Ben & Jerry's, and nowhere close to that of Jeni's Goat Cheese with Red Cherries. Blue Bell erred on the side of sweetness, instead of letting the distinct taste of cheesecake come through, but the strawberry sundae sauce is an excellent addition. I used to love squirting this stuff in a big glass of milk as a kid to make strawberry milk, and I love it being incorporated in this cheesecake ice cream.
Only a few bites in, I run into the dice-sized chunks of cheesecake. Equipped with a graham cracker crust coating, these bundles of cheesecake bliss are unbelievable. They're dense, chewy, creamy and taste exactly like authentic cheesecake. I just don't understand why other companies haven't utilized this approach. Topping the tremendous trio of cookies in Christmas Cookies in July, this is one of the best mix-ins Blue Bell has to offer. Unfortunately, I come careening back to Earth after encountering my first frozen strawberry slice.
As usual, these fruit pieces hinder this flavor from it's full potential. Luckily there weren't very many. By the end of the bowl, I found myself missing that patented gritty, graham cracker swirl from Ben & Jerry's, but as a whole, I'll still take Blue Bell's final product.
Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: B
