REVIEW: Breyer's Blasts Reese's Chocolate

After taking a long interlude from frozen dairy dessert, I broke my Breyer's Blasts boycott with a safe choice. But would real Reese's peanut butter cup pieces and a Reese's peanut butter swirl be able to outmaneuver the sabotage of it's own chocolate base? Much like they did with the Oreos in their Oreo Birthday Blast and Golden Oreos Cookies & Cream, Breyer's doesn't shy away from bringing in the big guns when it comes to mix-ins. They've broken out their checkbooks once again in an attempt to entice consumers to overlook the fact they aren't even using actual ice cream. Considering the plethora of peanut butter goodies inside this chocolate frozen dairy dessert, the 140 calories per serving is concerning.

The first layer is an unusual shade of brown for a chocolate ice cream, but after transferring some into a bowl, seems to be hiding a high amount of Reese's firepower. Unfortunately, the surrounding ice cream had already begun to melt by the time I had finished scooping. Upon first taste, the chocolate base has a slightly artificial flavor, but much better than the sweet cream or vanilla varieties used in other cartons. Lacking the richness of other chocolate ice creams, this frozen dairy dessert has a mild overall flavor that wasn't intended to be the star of the dish. Luckily there aren't many bites that fail to include some sort of Reese's component. The first ingredient comes in the form of the Reese's peanut butter swirl, which floods the flavor profile with the familiar taste of their patented peanut butter blend.

This thick, stiff swirl careens throughout the entire container, and much like in their Peanut Butter & Jelly, can break off in extra large chunks. Because the taste of Reese's peanut butter is unmistakable, this is unlike any other chocolate and peanut butter combinations I've had. The swirl tagteams with puny pieces of actual Reese's peanut butter cups to try and compensate for the struggling base. Although the outer chocolate coating provides a bit of texture, they don't do much for the overall taste. Despite being one of the better Breyer's Blasts flavors, and being pretty impressive for 140 calories per serving, frozen dairy dessert just fails to be that great in the grand scheme of things.

Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: D

REVIEW: Breyer's Apple Cinnamon Crumble (Limited Edition)

It took months before I was able to work up the courage to sample another Breyer's selection that included frozen dairy dessert. With the exception of a few, the Breyer's Blasts lineup had been a bust, but I hadn't explored any of their original flavors. A few weeks back I posted a news article covering the planned release of their latest, limited edition offering, Apple Cinnamon Crumble. Although not up front about the inspiration, the red bow and gold tags insinuates there might be a Christmas theme behind this all-black carton. The benefit of using frozen dairy dessert comes in the form of a lower calorie count, which is evident here at only 140 calories per serving. Discarding the lid displays a light colored ice cream only broken up by bits of pie crust and a beige apple cinnamon swirl.

The frozen dairy dessert began to melt at the mere sight of my ice cream scoop, but managed to hold together long enough for me to get a few large gobs in the bowl. I sought out a spoon full of the all-white base and took the plunge. The consistency was as can be expected from frozen dairy dessert, slightly gummy and fast melting. I had anticipated a vanilla foundation that Breyer's would then add apple crumble components to, but instead they've actually incorporated apple flavoring directly into the base. The resulting flavor is similar to that of apple pie filling, but not quite as sweet. The cinnamon swirl that seems to sneak into nearly every bite adds a nice burst of sweetness to the fruity frozen dairy dessert. The cinnamon sauce isn't nearly thick enough to add anything texturally, but instead Breyer's leaves that to the plentiful pieces of pie crust they've put inside.

Although most larger corporations tend to have very uniform mix-ins, these pie crust pieces range in size and stature. Some smaller slivers make their way into bites in order to add a bit of crunchy texture, while the larger chunks add a flaky feel and sweet, buttery taste. Considering the base they use to make this flavor, the pieces of crust are actually pretty impressive. They've managed to pack a large amount of flavor and texture inside a small package, all while giving the entire carton an authentic apple cinnamon crumble aura. Seeing as how not many ice creams revolve around apple pie or crumbles, this limited edition carton fills a nice void in the ice cream aisle.

Where I Found It: Publix Super Markets
Grade: D

REVIEW: Breyers Blasts Cookies & Scream (Halloween Edition)

When I walked into my local Walmart to pick up some miscellaneous office supplies, I had no intentions of buying any ice cream. Muscle memory kicked in at some point though, because I found myself slowly walking down the freezer aisle in hopes of finding something new and exciting. That’s when I saw yet another flavor from the Breyers Blasts lineup of frozen dairy desserts. It seemed like they were up to their old antics of using marketing rather than letting their product speak for itself. The flavor, Cookies & Scream, wasn’t even new when I looked a little closer. They had simply changed the carton design of their standard Breyers Blasts Oreo Cookies & Cream flavor to incorporate a Halloween theme and attract some attention. After remembering I had received some coupons for a few free cartons of Breyers back when I received their toppings to review, I ran back out to my car to grab one and proceeded to cash it on this.

Vanilla flavor with other natural flavors. That’s how Breyers decided to describe their contributions to this carton. That should have served as red flag number one. I shook my head in disapproval as I pulled back the lid to this 140 calorie per serving frozen dairy dessert, which isn’t anywhere light enough to warrant not using ice cream at all. Even though Edy’s autumn themed Slow Churned Pumpkin Patch had felt too light and fluffy, they had managed to keep it contained to just 90 calories per serving, a much more appropriate number if you’re compromising quality for nutrition content. Judging from looks alone, this seemed very similar to all the other cookies and cream creations I’ve had with one small difference.

As soon as my spoon hit the “vanilla flavor with other natural flavors” it began to melt down quickly. These aforementioned flavors seemed overly artificial, over-sweetened and provided a bumpy start to this redesigned carton. The only redeemable quality from Cookies & Scream came from the fact that it was loaded with real Oreo cookie pieces, an approach Breyers takes routinely to try and save their low-quality product. These soft, chocolate cookies were still only able to pull this up from an F to a D. Don’t let Breyers fool you into picking up this carton by simply adding some holiday-decorations and not actually improving their product.

Where I Found It: Super Walmart
Grade: D

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: Breyer's Chocolate and Rainbow Sprinkles

A few months back, Breyer’s sent me some samples from their new toppings line. Since they couldn’t get their frozen dairy desserts right, I guess they figured they might as well offer some more ingredients to try and cover up their “ice cream”. While there were also sauces and fruit toppings, I decided to check out the Chocolate and Rainbow Sprinkles first. These small pieces of sugar aren’t something normally found in store-bought ice cream, but used to be a common addition to many scoop shop cups and cones I created as a kid. Even though they don’t pack much of a taste or texture, every single fan of ice cream has had their fair share of these small cylindrical confectioneries over the years. Breyers has this to say about them, “Our chocolate and rainbow sprinkles are the key to topping off a great sundae. Since they’re made without high-fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, you can enjoy the fun without the guilt.” Although I blame the media for the public’s hatred towards high-fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, Breyers continues its tradition of focusing on what their products don’t include rather than what they do.

Although I was also given a coupon for a free carton of Breyers ice cream, I decided to give my taste buds a break and try out these two types of sprinkles on some real ice cream. Graeter’s Vanilla to be exact. There isn’t much that you could add to this French pot ice cream that would detract from the deliciousness, but I was still holding on to the hope that these sprinkles might actually make it better. I scooped out bit of the ice cream into two bowls and sprinkled the chocolate sprinkles over one and the rainbow ones over the other. Graeter’s Vanilla had already earned an A in my book, but these sprinkles certainly helped out aesthetically; especially the multicolored versions.

There’s only so much you can expect from sprinkles, but these seemed to fit all the criteria of the ones I used to enjoy in my younger days. Both kinds add crunch, some additional sugar and slightly compliment the super-premium ice cream however, neither the chocolate or rainbow versions provide enough taste to make them distinguishable from one another. I’ve used both bottles of sprinkles sparingly over the past few weeks, but I can’t say I would have ever purchased these if they hadn’t been sent for free. The nostalgic factor is about the only thing these have going for them.

READER REVIEW: Bob's Review of Breyers Blasts Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough

After going to the store to get a few items, I saw this carton of Breyers Blasts! Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough on sale for just two dollars and I couldn’t pass it up. I’ve spent the last two months enjoying super-premium ice cream; I figured I was due for a change of pace. I’ve tried their Waffle Cone, Reese’s and S’mores variations in the past, so I was hoping this could deliver despite being a frozen dairy dessert. This is labeled as Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookie dough pieces and chocolatey chunks in cookie dough flavored frozen dairy dessert. The base is supposed to be cookie dough, but it comes off more as a mixture of vanilla and cookie dough that is more interesting than anything else. Neither the vanilla or cookie dough overpowers the other and provides a flavor I haven’t found elsewhere. I’d even rank it as high as Ben & Jerry’s vanilla, or even a bit above because of the inclusion of the cookie dough flavoring in every single bite.

The amount of mix-ins was incredible. There’s a cookie dough type swirl and small balls of cookie dough in almost every single bite. In the spoon shot above, you can clearly see the cookie dough balls (slightly smaller than a penny). Even on bites that don’t include cookie dough, you’re bound to get at least a few chocolate chunks, so the mix-ins are never lacking. I was honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It’s pretty remarkable for a flavor that only contains 140 calories per serving and even though I had lower expectations, the calories and price were hard to argue with.

Where Bob Found It: Giant Eagle
Bob's Grade: B

NEWS: Breyers Sends Their New Line of Ice Cream Sundae Toppings for Review

In a possible attempt to right some of their wrongs, Breyers reached out to ask me if I'd be interested in reviewing some of their new ice cream sundae toppings. I agreed in order to provide an unbiased review of something other than their frozen dairy dessert and a few days later I found a package at my doorstep. The box contained a sample of each flavor from their line of ice cream sauces, real fruit toppings and sprinkles.

The pouches of ice cream sauce come in chocolate, caramel and hot fudge flavors and can be served hot or cold. The pouches are fully microwavable and appear to be able to stop the normal hassle associated with heating up chocolate or caramel. All three contain 90 calories per two tablespoon serving size and contain no high fructose corn syrup (although I don’t particularly feel that matters all that much). The jars of real fruit topping come in cherry, strawberry and mixed berry flavors, contain 45 calories per two tablespoons and also mention the fact they contain no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. The last toppings are the small plastic containers of rainbow and chocolate sprinkles. These contain only 15 calories per one tablespoon serving and contain no high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. It would have been nice to see what they actually included in some of these, instead of everything they didn’t, but this is Breyers we’re talking about. They love to cut as many things out of their products as possible and this looks to be no different.

Like many of you, I tend to toss in other sweets I have laying around when dealing with an underperforming ice cream, so I’m still excited about trying these out regardless of my sentiments towards Breyers frozen dairy dessert. I’m not sure how exactly I’m going to use these yet, but everyone will be sure to know when I do.

REVIEW: Breyers Triple Chocolate Gelato Indulgences

After the Tiramisu and Raspberry Cheesecake Gelato Indulgences flavors from Breyers were able to achieve an above average rating, we decided to also check out a less adventurous option with their Triple Chocolate: milk & dark chocolate gelato with white chocolatey sauce & chocolate curls. The description may not sound as enticing as some of their others, but after removing the top, the aesthetically pleasing first layer left us optimistic for this low-calorie gelato.

Both the milk & dark chocolate gelatos were smooth and full of flavor, however the slightly artificial feel and taste was distracting to say the least. The white chocolate sauce added an airy texture and even more sweetness, but our favorite part was easily the chocolate curls sitting on top of everything. These added just the right amount of crunch and a rich, chocolate finish to the majority of our bites. We'd still suggest sticking to a super-premium option when looking your gelato fix.

Where I Found It: Walmart
Grade: B

REVIEW: Breyer's Tiramisu Gelato Indulgences

After initially enjoying the Raspberry Cheesecake version of Breyer's new prepackaged Gelato Indulgences line, we continued our exploration with their Tiramisu flavor. Breyer’s encourages consumers to, "Savor a moment of delicate mascarpone gelato, decadent espresso sauce, ladyfinger cookie pieces and gourmet cocoa.” Usually we’d be impressed with a description such as this one, but deception seems to be the name to the game when it comes to this company as a whole, so we remained skeptical of the fancy wording.

We’d tried similarly themed flavors from Target’s Archer Farms lineup, Ben & Jerry’s Volun-Tiramisu, and even Tiramisu Gelato from Haagen Dazs to prepare our taste buds for this Breyer’s variation. The first layer had been heavily dusted with the gourmet cocoa. Much like their frozen dairy dessert, it didn’t take long before this gelato began to melt. While the mascarpone gelato was smooth, airy and bold in flavoring, the consistency held the base back from its full potential.

The thick stripes of espresso sauce helped offset the consistency a little, but the ladyfinger cookie pieces lining the bottom of the plastic container helped even more. With a swirl and a cookie mix-in combined with the satisfactory base, Breyer’s seems to be following the same old formula. Fortunately for them, these flavors came together better than most of their others.

Where I Found It: Walmart
Grade: B

READER REVIEW: Dwayne's Review of Breyer's Vanilla Caramel Gelato Indulgences

Let me begin by saying I would normally relegate any of the Breyers ice cream products to the F list. That was before I tasted Breyers Vanilla Caramel Gelato Indulgences and my taste buds did a surprising A list dance. Given the site's penchant for caramel as indicated by many of your top choices, I would suggest everyone give this one a go. Available at Safeway, this is even packaged just like the display at your favorite Gelato store.

Where Dwayne Found It: Safeway
Dwayne's Grade: A

REVIEW: Breyer's Blasts Birthday Blast

Breyers advertised the carton above for months before it hit store shelves, and took even longer for me to actually find in my area. So long in fact, that one of my readers, Max, was actually able to review the flavor before I was. Although I've hung on to my hatred for frozen dairy dessert throughout my exploration of the Breyers Blasts lineup, I'm becoming a bit more accepting to the idea. While I've had their Oreo Birthday Blast, the only difference here is the exchange of cake pieces for the Oreo crumbles. After popping off the lid, the consistency is still cringe-worthy as I scoop some into a bowl.

At only 130 calories per serving, you'll be hard pressed to find anything lighter than this. Nearly all of their flavors featuring frozen dairy dessert come in way below the norm as far as nutrition facts are concerned. This would be light for a base-only low-fat ice cream, but Breyers manages to squeeze in rainbow sprinkles and big pieces of white cake. Using the same cake flavored base as Oreo Birthday Blast, it's just as bittersweet as I remember. While the flavor is pleasant and impersonates the taste of white sheet cake they were going for, the consistency is still off. But because of the taste, all is not lost. I was somewhat expecting the super-sweet flavoring associated with most birthday cake inspired offerings, but this was mild for the most part. The multicolored sprinkles not only add something to the aesthetics of Birthday Blast, but also adds a nice bit of crunch and sweetness as well.

While the cake flavored base and rainbow sprinkles held their own, the highlight of this selection certainly comes from the chunks of cake inside. Not only are they frequent, but these pieces of white cake are much more dense and substantial than I was expecting, taking multiple bites to break down. Unfortunately, these don't explode with flavor, but contain just enough sweetness to enhance the other components. Although the frozen dairy dessert still holds the overall effectiveness of the flavor, this was still able to beat out some of the other birthday cake inspired cartons out available.

Where I Found It: Super Wal-Mart
Grade: C

READER REVIEW: Max's Review of Breyer's Blasts Birthday Blast

Ahh dairy desserts. These have proven to be extremely hit or miss, but seeing as I'm a cake flavored ice cream junkie, I just had to pick this one up. I found it at my local Wal-Mart and purchased the 1.5 quart container for $3.50. It is described as cake pieces and rainbow sprinkles in cake flavored frozen dairy dessert.

As expected from my previous encounters with “dairy desserts” the base was very light and fluffy, but began melting almost immediately after being scooped. The texture was surprisingly good and wasn’t nearly as gummy as other dairy desserts I’ve had. The base was very sweet and creamy, reminiscent of white cake with subtle undertones of frosting. The result is quite addicting I might add, and probably the best aspect of this frozen treat. The sprinkles are abundant and scattered evenly throughout the base. They not only provide a nice visual effect, but also a little solid bite to the ice cream and of course offer up their distinct taste.

Lastly, the cake pieces were quite plentiful and remained quite moist. They had not become hard in the freezing process, but their taste was somewhat uninspired. Im not quite sure if they were angel food cake, white cake, or another type, but they are definitely not the star of the show. They were quite dense and little too chewy for my liking. It’s still a nice touch to have a solid mix in, but the execution could have been better. In my opinion, a frosting swirl and better cake pieces would have really set this flavor off. This was not the best cake flavored ice cream I’ve had, but its not the worst either. If you are a cake batter ice cream junkie like myself; or you are just looking for something a little cheaper and lower calorie than premium brands, I’d give this a shot.

Where Max Found It: Wal-Mart

Max's Grade: D

The Ice Cream Informant's Grade: C