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

REVIEW: Breyers Real Fruit Toppings

After enjoying a few servings from my pint of Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla, I found myself looking for some of my own mix-ins to add to the equation. I immediately thought of the collection of Breyers toppings that I had sitting unused in my cabinet. Their Rainbow and Chocolate sprinkles hadn’t been half bad and I still top some of my ice cream with a few shakes of each. This time I decided to give their Real Fruit Toppings a shot.

I went through the three types in this particular order: Mixed Berry, Cherry and Strawberry. Each contained 45 calories per 2 tablespoon serving and made sure to let everyone know that these are made with “Real Fruit” and contain no high fructose corn syrup. Putting my distaste for Breyers ice cream aside, I went into this review trying to give their toppings a fair opportunity. With that said, it didn’t take long for me to find something negative to say. As soon as I opened the lid, the strange, lumpy, gelatinous mixture lacked the aesthetics of scoop-shop fruit toppings and it only went down hill from there. While the Mixed Berry was by far the worst, the cherry and strawberry weren’t much better. The mixed berry was far too tart, the cherry far too artificial, and the strawberry came off as a poor imitation of strawberry jam.

Mixed Berry

Cherry

Strawberry

As you can see from the pictures, even when spooned directly over the top of the ice cream, the “real fruit topping” ended up pooling up around the sides and bottom, but ended up being beneficial considering it wasn't able to ruin the super-premium vanilla ice cream until the end. If you’re feeling in the mood for some fruit with your ice cream, I suggest heading towards the produce section for the real thing instead of this “real fruit topping”, whatever that means.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Tripleberry Brownie Blizzard (August 2013 Blizzard of the Month)

My latest visit to Dairy Queen earlier today confirmed that the third time's a charm indeed. After visiting two times prior since August rolled around, both times I left empty handed since my nearest location hadn’t updated their menu to reflect this month’s Blizzard of the Month: Tripleberry Brownie. Today though, I was finally able to get my hands on this blend of strawberry, raspberry and blackberry puree, chewy brownie pieces and choco chunks in creamy vanilla soft serve. A few weeks back, one of our Dairy Queen insiders had this to say about the new creation, “I've tried just plain vanilla mixed with the triple berry purée (it's the same as the smoothies & Juliuses) and it tastes like black raspberry Ice cream! Very delicious." Not knowing exactly how much I’d enjoy this particular concept, I opted for the small size, paid my $3.39 and waited until my order was up.

My small sized cup would only set me back 640 calories, but ranges all the way up to 1230 calories for a large. After a short wait time, I was handed a heavy cup full of purple tinted ice cream with plenty of chocolate chunks poking through the top layer. Despite the vivid colors involved with the Tripleberry Brownie Blizzard, this one lacked the aesthetics of some of the other Blizzards I’d had recently; mainly because the mix-ins seemed to be over blended. As I spooned through the cup, I noticed there weren’t nearly as many brownie bits as I had found in my Choco Peanut Butter Brownie Blizzard from back in May. The trio of berry purees that were mixed with the creamy vanilla soft serve had given the simple base a refreshing, fruity feel, but didn't contain any of the tartness I had been anticipating.

Instead, the purees just bring another element of sweetness. To counteract the fruit, Dairy Queen called on the ingredient that constantly seems to make its way into Blizzard Treats: their choco chunks. These shards of chocolate give the whole cup a crunchy texture and add a rich finish to each bite. The part I was most looking forward to, the chewy brownie pieces, were shockingly sparse. Only two or three pieces made their way through the blending process without being completely disintegrated, which meant I only got a few tastes of the dense, doughy brownies. The bites that did happen to feature every ingredient were a perfect example of how well berries and chocolate can go together. Although this didn’t quite live up to my expectations, I do wish Ben & Jerry’s would bring back Magic Brownies, a flavor that did the combination proper justice. Until then, I'll keep thinking about the Reese's Choco Covered Cheesecake Blizzard of the Month for September 2013.

Where I Found It: Dairy Queen
Grade: C

Yes, Dairy Queen's site is wrong. The nutritional information for the mini is incorrect.

REVIEW: Blue Bell Southern Blackberry Cobbler

After eyeballing the half-gallon carton of Southern Blackberry Cobbler from Blue Bell for some time, I finally ran across a pint-sized portion that I was more comfortable purchasing. Piping hot cobbler a la mode is something I’ve always been a fan of not matter how filling my main course may have been. Albeit apple, peach or blackberry, the sweet crumble topping accompanied with sugary, warm fruit filling always hits the spot. Combine some with a cool scoop of ice cream and you've secured a refreshing remedy from the summer heat. Blue Bell boasts that this concoction is, "Creamy ice cream with a luscious blackberry flavor combined with flaky pie crust pieces and a blackberry sauce swirl."

Blue Bell usually succeeds in simulating desserts of the South in their ice cream, but I've been disappointed with their piecrust pieces in the past so hopefully they can find a happy medium that will appeal to my appetite. After lifting off the golden lid to this light, 170 calorie per serving premium ice cream, every ingredient is easily visible. The creamy vanilla ice cream shows off plenty of piecrust pieces and parts of the bright purple blackberry sauce swirl. Blue Bell has four different vanilla offerings, but this seems to be the same variation used in base flavors for many of their cobbler creations. The taste is straightforward even though its infused with the luscious blackberry flavoring, the texture is light and even though it can’t compete with their Homemade Vanilla, is still plenty capable of contrasting the blackberry sauce swirl and piecrust pieces to come.

Blue Bell really ramps up the potency of this flavor once you hit the blackberry sauce. This swirl embodies the look, feel and sweet taste of blackberry jam without any of the tartness. The plethora of piecrust pieces were included in such a high amount, they were included in every other bite or so and when coupled with the other components, gave off a genuine cobbler vibe. Even with the authentic taste and texture, this just can’t live up to the high standards set by some of Blue Bell’s other flavors. If you’re looking for a nice pint of summer-themed ice cream, this is worth checking out, but it was average among others in their lineup.

Where I Found It: Ingles Markets

Grade: C

Dairy Queen's Blizzard of the Month for August 2013 is Tripleberry Brownie with Choco Covered Cheesecake Coming Soon After

One of our readers recently tweeted at us letting us know about the the upcoming Blizzard of the Month for August 2013: Tripleberry Brownie. This combination of strawberry, raspberry and blackberry puree with chewy brownie pieces and choco chunks in creamy vanilla soft serve sounds like a refreshing summer flavor worth checking out. According to our insider, "I've tried just plain vanilla mixed with the triple berry purée (it's the same as the smoothies & Juliuses) and it tastes like black raspberry Ice cream! Very delicious."

My review of the Tripleberry Brownie Blizzard can be found HERE!

We were also forwarded promotional posters unveiling another new Blizzard creation: Reese's Choco Covered Cheesecake. Hopefully this one will be released sooner rather than later.

REVIEW: Sam's Choice Blackberry Crumble

As we wrap up our investigation of the worthwhile flavors from the recently released Sam's Choice super-premium ice cream lineup, Blackberry Crumble's description made it seem like we may have saved the best for last. Blackberry ice cream with pie crust pieces and blackberry ripple sounded like another ideal way to cool off this summer. While we're accustomed to thick, goeey swirls sticking to the lid of the pint as we pull them apart, our particular quart was missing most of its first layer, but considering we have eight servings to sort through, we continued on without holding any grudges.

The blackberry ice cream is a nice balance between sweet and tart that not only impersonates ripe blackberries but also provides a great foundation for the other ingredients. The super-sized swirls we've seen in the past from Sam's Choice were substituted for a more traditional blackberry ripple to accompany the blackberry base. The small bits of pie crust combined with the berry components created a sensation designed especially for summer. Even with all this, we've set high standards for Sam's Choice and we would have liked to have seen the mix-ins in the same quantity and recklessness as some of their other pints.

Where I Found It: Walmart
Grade: B

REVIEW: Steve's Blackberry Honey

Following my first few encounters with Steve’s Ice Cream, I figured if I were ever going to enjoy a non-dairy dessert, this Brooklyn-based brand would be the one to win me over. The other pints contained in my shipment were all chock full of incredible ingredients swirled with their super-premium ice cream, so after reading the description of Blackberry Honey, I remained skeptical that this could live up to the others. The simple summary of blackberry swirled with wildflower honey is further expanded upon on the back of the carton: tart and sweet blackberry coconut crème made with fresh berries and swirled with a delicate ribbon of aromatic wildflower honey. At first glance, the view through the transparent pint is perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing of them all and proudly displays the beautiful, bright purple base and large concentrations of golden honey through the plastic.

Considering this was the first non-dairy frozen dessert I’d be reviewing, I took a closer look at the ingredients list than I normally would. It’s surprising to see that this still contains 210 calories per serving despite the first five ingredients being filtered water, coconut cream, organic agave, organic sugar and safflower oil. As soon as I open the top, I draw in a deep breath through my nose to savor the unbelievable scent of the wildflower honey. Aromatics are usually blanketed by the frozen nature of ice cream, but the cold temperature does little to hide the fragrance flowing out of this pint. Although the fuchsia-colored first layer is a little softer than Steve’s standard ice cream, the blackberry base retains an above average texture; especially considering there is no cream or milk involved. It remains smooth, creamy and the leftover blackberry seeds gave it an interesting texture.

Even though coconut cream was second on the list of ingredients, the taste can’t manage to break through the boldness of the blackberries; but still enhances the overall feel. The texture is enhanced even further when the wildflower honey came into play. This sticky swirl coats the outside of the carton, cuts in between layers along the way, pairs wonderfully with the blackberries and is the highlight of this pint. The fresh, bright flavors provided by Steve’s Blackberry Honey wasn’t quite up to par with their full-bodied, diary options; but it’s not far behind either.

Where I Found It: Steve's Ice Cream Online Store
Grade: B

REVIEW: PET Berrylicious Cheesecake

We used to disregard PET’s boxes of ice cream as another low-quality generic option. Once we took a closer look though, we found it true once again that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. The center of these boxes consistently contain some of the most impressive swirls you’ll find in ice cream. While we’ve already seen what they’ve been able to do with chocolate and caramel, their new Berrylicious Cheesecake not only gave us the chance to taste their ice cream and cheesecake pieces, but to sample their mixed berry ribbon as well.

As you can see above, our hypothesis proved true. As we scooped out a few bowls, we soon found the center of this carton had a huge stripe of sweet, mixed berry sauce. PET doesn't designate a flavor for the base of this flavor, but it could be mostly described as sweet cream. This means the cheesecake pieces and swirl have to carry most of the weight, which they have no problem with. Small cubes of yellow-tinted cheesecake pieces add nice dose of cheesecake flavoring, encouraging the base ice cream to take on the cheesecake theme as well.

The fruity swirl wasn't necessarily a part of every bite considering it was mostly confined to the center of the carton, but its potency made up for the fact when it was involved. We had anticipated a sour taste, however this one was sweet through and through. Berrylicious Cheesecake couldn't quite make the leap to the elite level, but was still very enjoyable.

Where I Found It: Ingles Market
Grade: B