REVIEW: Jeni's Splendid Brambleberry Crisp

Finding it easier and easier to justify spending the loot on Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, I headed back to The Fresh Market to make another investment. After sampling the majority of the small selections available in the South, I'm down to only a few more flavors before I'll have to opt for ordering online. Judging on appearance alone, this is the most aesthetically pleasing of any Jeni's selection I've seen. The violet-colored berries create a vibrant design against the outside of the container as they cut through the off-white ice cream.

I've been trying to track down Jeni's Ugandan Vanilla Bean for some time now, so I'm hoping the honey vanilla bean ice cream can provide me with a thorough preview. Having recently cultivated some bramble bushes myself, as well as wishing I had made some jam with the fruit, I'm excited to see both blackberry and black raspberry jams have come together to create the vivid swirls inside. Knowing Jeni's, I'm sure the oat streusel will be up to the task of pushing this pint up the rankings.

Filled to the brim as usual, the first layer looks angelic. As I size up my first bite, it's really difficult to get the honey vanilla bean all by itself considering the influx of other ingredients. The complexity of these base flavors used by Jeni's always seems to catch me by surprise. Building on an already complex vanilla ice cream with visible large flecks of vanilla bean, they've also utilized an intense aftertaste of honey to finish off each bite. It's hard to avoid the lavish spread of jams and after only one bite of the base, I stop trying. This isn't your standard fruit swirl. This is real, ready to spread on toast, handmade jam that still has remnants of whole berries inside.

The freshness of the jam is evident from the beginning. The natural sweet and sour combination of the slightly tart berries is lovely, especially when combined with the sweet honey vanilla bean base. I wasn't able to really differentiate the blackberry and black raspberry jams, but I don't dwell on that problem for long. No what matter bramble bush they originated from, they're both incredible. As you can see from the picture above, the oat streusel isn't faint-hearted. The majority of the bits of sweet crumble are the size of whole berries, but some get much larger.

After enjoying my first large clump, the oat streusel fills in the taste and texture of what the other components aren't able to cover. Initially adding a slight crunch, the streusel becomes chewy as it breaks down, creating a flavor profile of a softer, chewier granola. It's way sweeter than the base ice cream and jams, so everything seems to pair perfectly. The fact that this feels hand made and hand packed is hard for me and my taste buds to ignore. You can tell the jam wasn't made by machines. The streusel was baked in house and broken up by hand, allowing some of those larger chunks to slip through the cracks. I taste the love and suggest you do the same.

Where I Found It: The Fresh Market
Grade: A