After recently confessing my nostalgic love affair with banana pudding during my review of Blue Bell's Banana Pudding, I was hoping Nana's version from Front Porch would be even better. Although I've never referred to my grandmother as Nana, it's widely known that if your grandmother is cooking it, whatever that may be, it's bound to be delicious.
Glancing over the description, I'm a bit concerned with the lack of a whipped cream component. As a highlight in Blue Bell's version, whipped cream plays a vital part in what makes the flavors in banana pudding so comforting. Hopefully Front Porch realizes the disadvantage they've put themselves at by leaving out such a key ingredient.
Holding off the urge to make presumptions, I skim through the unabridged description and tear off the top. The look and smell of this ice cream quickly put my mind at ease. The familiar aroma of banana pudding subsided my desire for the addition of whipped cream. The soft, pliable banana ice cream passively collected on my spoon. After examining my first bite, this is the most accurate rendition of actual banana pudding you're going to find.
Front Porch should lose the banana ice cream tagline and name this base simply, banana pudding. Possessing the slightly artificial banana taste, just like actual banana pudding, I couldn't shovel this stuff in fast enough. Light, airy and overly smooth, even the consistency rivaled real pudding. With only one mix-in on hand, Front Porch amplifies the amount of vanilla wafers inside.
Although they could have been bigger, these vanilla wafers helped tremendously with taste and texture. Coupled with the bold banana base, the somewhat soggy, but still slightly-crunchy wafers give this an authentic feel. A step above a standard Nilla Wafer, these carried the same crunch, but were much chewier after the fact.
What I previously thought would struggle without the whipped cream component, did just fine. After all, the more real estate for this banana base, the better. At only 170 calories per serving, and much easier than whipping up an entire platter of pudding, this pint-sized offering will continue to find it's way into my freezer.
Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: B
