Click here for the full review of Jeni's Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam!
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Showing posts with label Jam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jam. Show all posts
REVIEW: Jeni's Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam (Limited Edition)
My day job often takes me on long road trips, but yesterday afternoon was the first time it had taken me near the Nashville, Tennessee area. While most people may associate Nashville with music, an ice cream connoisseur like myself instantly thinks of the three Jeni’s Splendid scoop shops spread out across the city. Equipped with a cooler and ice, I stopped in to pick up a few flavors I’d been dying to get my hands on. I’d put this particular pint in my online shopping cart a handful of times, but finally having Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam in my possession was worth going twenty minutes out of the way to stop in at the 12 South location.
Jeni’s describes this 250 calorie per serving super premium ice cream as rich buttermilk ice cream, with crumbled from-scratch biscuits inspired by Nashville's Loveless Cafe, and swirls of sweet-tart jam made with in-season Georgia peaches, courtesy of the Peach Truck. The first layer looks luscious and shows off plenty of biscuit bits and brightly colored jam. The thick, high-butterfat base is one of the most unique (and best) I’ve ever tasted. The taste of buttermilk is immediately distinguishable, and even though it’s not as sweet as other ice creams, more than makes up for it with complex flavoring.
I’ve always enjoyed the taste and textural enhancements with cakes and cookies, but biscuits are brand new to me. While they may not be as sugary as classic mix-ins, the crumbled buttermilk biscuits pair perfectly with the ice cream that features the same flavoring. The swirls of Georgia peach jam balance out the buttermilk by adding both sweet and sour to the equation. When all the components are combined in one spoonful, the result is one of the best ice creams I’ve ever encountered. Pay the premium and pick a pint of this up before it’s all gone.
Where I Found It: Jeni's 12 South Scoop Shop (Nashville, TN)
Grade: A
REVIEW: Mayfield Blueberry Cream Pie
As some of you may remember, I dabbled in some of the unique flavors that Mayfield Dairy had to offer at the end of last year. Their Snickerdoodle, Birthday Cake and Candy Bar creations all fell significantly short of my high standards, but after seeing the description of cream cheese flavored ice cream with a blueberry swirl and sugar pie pieces referred to as Blueberry Cream Pie, I was willing to give them another shot. Blueberry isn’t an inspiration you see used all that often when it comes to ice cream, especially outside of a cheesecake themed flavor, so I was hoping Mayfield could make up for their mediocre creations I’d tried in the past with this one.
As is often the case with premium options, Mayfield is able to keep the calorie content of their Blueberry Cream Pie fairly low at just 150 calories per serving. Remembering back on my experience with the base ice creams in my other Mayfield cartons, I was a bit skeptical coming into this one considering they were using a cream cheese base. My first bite was comprised solely of the base, and to my surprise, was much better than I had expected. Mayfield has allowed the unique flavor of cream cheese to shine through the sugar and take center stage. This time around, the consistency even seemed to be just dense enough to allow all the flavors come to fruition.
To assist their cream cheese base, Mayfield also included thick stripes of a jam-like blueberry swirl that adds a textural difference as well as a sweet, yet slightly tart addition of flavors. To finish this off, they also included small pieces of what they referred to as sugar pie and what they show as graham crackers in the illustration. What you get in the actual carton looks a bit different, but still serves the same purpose. These bits of pie crust are soft, flaky and give some additional authenticity to a flavor I probably would have still enjoyed otherwise. With a super-premium, cream cheese base, a thicker swirl of blueberry sauce and larger, less uniform bits of pie crust, this could have easily obtained an A.
Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: B
It just so happened that I had stopped in at Dunkin’ Donuts the same morning and had a few of their Blueberry Cake Munchkins left over. These served as the perfect addition to an already successful flavor to really push its performance over the edge.
READER REVIEW: Kenneth's Review of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Jam Session (Target Exclusive)
Ben & Jerry's seem determined to establish their fondness of peanut butter. In addition to staples like Peanut Butter Cup, Peanut Brittle and Peanut Butter World, the company introduced the limited Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and, most recently, Peanut Butter Jam Session. Along with Rockin' Blondies, this replaces Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder for Ben & Jerry's Target-exclusive batches. I'll be honest and say that the concept and description for Peanut Butter Jam Session doesn't really excite me, especially since it utilizes a raspberry swirl, as opposed to incorporating grape flavor (seriously, how many ice creams have that?). However, given the company's solid reputation with peanut butter offerings, I hope this one can pull through.
Underneath the lid is a deceptively tame-looking ice cream, one that soon unfolds to a spectacular visual showcase. There's no short supply to the raspberry swirl which, though not thick or dense, is integrated into each scoop. While the base is peanut butter, it's very mild, allowing the tart raspberry flavor to stand out. After a few bites, however, the combination begins to gravitate towards the peanut butter. Soon the raspberry flavor takes more of a complementary role, as opposed to standout. Then we get to the crunchy peanut butter swirl.
This particular mix-in is a little different than I expected, and seems to take on two different personalities. While there are many times I get tiny crumbs from the peanut butter (think Smucker's once it's stirred), there are also a few points the swirl comes off like lightly chewy peanut brittle. These are easily the best part of the ice cream and, when encountered, significantly elevate the overall experience. However, these ultimately have a very short-lived role and, come the bottom third of the pint, were almost completely absent.
My expectations for Peanut Butter Jam Session were quite low. I didn't expect to find as much enjoyment as I did and, with regards to the infrequent peanut butter swirl, it definitely hit some high marks. But these felt too brief and occasional to truly catapult it to earn my highest recommendation. In exchange for retiring one excellent and one subpar flavor, Ben & Jerry's have given us two competent flavors, but for different reasons. If Volun-Tiramisu were retired and Brownie Chew Gooder brought back, Target would have a truly excellent list of exclusive flavors.
Where Kenneth Found It: Target
Kenneth's Grade: B
REVIEW: Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Jam Session (Target Exclusive)
When I made the trip to the ice cream mecca this past April, the Ben & Jerry’s facilities in Burlington, Vermont, I had the rare opportunity to travel through the Flavor Graveyard, the only place on Earth where unsuccessful ice cream creations were laid to rest. While quite a few of them sounded good enough to have stayed in rotation, there was one that immediately peaked my interest: Peanut Butter & Jelly. Making a brief run from 1998-1999, their ice cream interpretation of the popular, childhood sandwich, had been far from a big seller when introduced to the masses. However awful peanut butter ice cream with peanut butter chips and a swirl of strawberry jam may have been, from that moment on, I had been dying for one of the super-premium companies to churn out another flavor based on the unbeatable duo as Ben & Jerry’s puts it.
Now, 5 months later, my wish had been fulfilled. Teaming up with Target, Ben & Jerry’s has produced yet another, and hopefully improved, version referred to as Peanut Butter Jam Session. This Target exclusive combines peanut butter ice cream with a crunchy peanut butter swirl and a raspberry swirl. Each serving will set you back 270 calories, but considering this sports a peanut butter base, seems pretty slim in comparison to other flavors featuring the same foundation. I found Rockin’ Blondies, the other Target exclusive, on my very first trip, but securing a pint of Peanut Butter Jam Session took 5 visits. The extra effort involved in securing Ben & Jerry’s latest flavor only amplified my excitement, especially when the positive reviews started rolling in. As soon as I returned home I was ready to dig in and tore off the top. This revealed a first layer that shared all the same colors as the actual sandwich and even had a large concentration of crunchy peanut butter poking through the top.
I had always imagined a peanut butter and jelly ice cream to contain a vanilla ice cream, a peanut butter swirl and a jelly swirl, but Ben & Jerry’s aims for peanut butter overload by using the same top-notch base used in flavors like What a Cluster and Peanut Butter Cup. Besides the obvious, super-premium consistency that lingers around before melting down, Ben & Jerry’s leans heavily towards sweet instead of salty. With that said, this continues to be one of my all-time favorite bases from these guys. The dueling peanut butter and raspberry jelly swirls snake throughout the entire pint and work themselves into nearly every bite. Not having tried any type of jelly swirls in ice cream before, I was satisfied to see that Ben & Jerry’s raspberry version works incredibly well with the peanut butter ice cream. Even though the jelly swirl doesn’t grow too large, its potency is so high that even a little bit brings a lot of sweet, raspberry taste to compliment the existing nuttiness.
While just the previously described ingredients would have been plenty to pull off the classic peanut butter and jelly concept, they didn’t stop there. The inclusion of an additional peanut butter swirl had to happen. The next detail usually comes down to personal preference for most. Some prefer the smooth feel of creamy peanut butter, however others like myself, enjoy a textured crunchy version. By going with the latter, Ben & Jerry’s perfectly rounded out their interpretation of peanut butter and jelly ice cream. The stiff swirls contained left-behind pieces of peanuts, which not only added some crunch, but also a savory contrast to the other sweet ingredients. Despite the fact that I’m partial to grape jelly with my peanut butter, I have minimal complaints about Ben & Jerry’s latest flavor. While I’m still upset that we had to lose Brownie Chew Gooder from the current rotation, Peanut Butter Jam Session should help alleviate some of the pain in a big way.
Where I Found It: Target
Grade: A
READER REVIEW: Mo's Review of Wegmans PB&J
I have a problem, and it's time to come clean about it: I tend to suffer from ice cream envy. Usually I’m pretty good at keeping the problem under control, but when it comes to Ben & Jerry’s, one of my all-time favorite brands, I find it difficult to keep my cool when new, awesome-sounding flavors come out and I can’t get my hands on them. That’s right, Target exclusives—I’m talking about you. But once I realized I’d evidently have to wait awhile before sampling Peanut Butter Jam Session, I remembered that somewhere in the bottom of my deep freezer was a pint that could potentially give my friends at Ben & Jerry's a run for their money.
A couple of months ago, I decided to buy a few pints of Wegmans premium ice cream, including a fun-looking flavor called PB&J. And so when I found myself dangerously close to succumbing to a particularly harsh bout of ice cream envy after reading yet another review of Peanut Butter Jam Session, I decided the time had come to bust out the Wegmans version.
When I first peeled back the lid, I was pleasantly surprised to find some swirls of purple already peeking through. And as I continued to make my way through the pint, the jelly-flavored swirl did a fine job of making its presence known.
Now this flavor isn’t overly complicated or complex. There are no mix-ins to give it the textural contrast I often crave, and I won’t pretend that as I ate it, I discovered layer upon layer of flavor. What I did find, however, is that Wegmans PB&J is just plain good. Eating this ice cream is basically akin to taking down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in delicious dessert form. The peanut butter base is rich without being too sweet, and the jelly swirl, while somewhat intense on its own, works wonders when combined with that peanut buttery goodness.
All in all, this flavor’s a winner, and it really takes me back to the days when I’d bust open my lunch box at school and get all excited at the notion of digging into a sandwich loaded with creamy peanut butter and just the right amount of accompanying jelly. Of course, just because I enjoyed my Wegmans PB&J doesn’t mean I’m about to give up on Peanut Butter Jam Session. That’s the thing about ice cream envy—it eventually turns you into a bit of a stalker on the retail front. But in the meantime, I’ll be sure to savor my pint of Wegmans goodness as a very tasty and not so shabby consolation prize.
Where Mo Found It: Wegmans
Mo's Grade: B
READER REVIEW: Bob's Review of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Jam Session (Target Exclusive)
Well after reading the countless number of A-rated reviews for Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Jam Session, I knew this was a pint on the horizon. The only problem was my local Target did not have it on their order sheet until I ran into a manager in the freezer department and they ordered it the following week.
Upon cracking the lid, as many others have stated, you see the divine swirls of raspberry and the chunky peanut butter (which is swirled into a peanut butter base) which composes the Peanut Butter Jam Session pint. Overall, the peanut butter base is very similar to what you would have in What a Cluster. This true peanut butter base is not overpowering. It's not as strong as the peanut butter ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery, but it does give a great, lasting flavoring on the way down. Now, as I got to dig into my first bite or two, I started to really see the swirls pick up.
Just like any pint, you usually strike gold once. You break the initial layer and start digging your way into the heart of the pint and that is what you get. The swirls are so reminiscent of a true peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Literally identical. The raspberry is not overpowering or sweet. It has a very refreshing taste and the chunky peanut butter swirl reminds me of Peanut Butter Pie from Haagen Dazs and the massive amount of peanut butter chunks it contains. Swirl all of these together in a peanut butter base and you have peanut butter sandwich on peanut butter bread with peanut butter filling and raspberry jam.
I have to agree with mostly every other review I have read as Ben & Jerry's has a keeper in this Target exclusive, if not the best out of all 6 they have made in all. I would have to put this close to Peanut Butter World with the massive amount of flavoring this pint brought to the table. If you were a sucker, or still are a sucker for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, look no further. You have this in ice cream form and can pick up a pint at your local Target to bring back your childhood memories.
Where Bob Found It: Target
Bob's Grade: A
READER REVIEW: Kyle's Review of Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Jam Session (Target Exclusive)
I had not been expecting to pick this up at all considering that I didn't even know that it was out yet. I originally went to Target to see if there were any more pints of Brownie Chew Gooder hiding around in the back of the freezer aisle. To my disappointment I found none and just as I was about to walk away unhappy from my trip when I decided to check again, hoping that I might have missed it the first time around. Instead, I ended up spotting this gem, "Peanut Butter Jam Session". It seems that this is one of the two pints that will be replacing Berry Voluntary and Brownie Chew Gooder (the other has been named as Rockin' Blondie).
The description reads, "Peanut Butter Ice Cream with a Crunchy Peanut Butter Swirl and a Raspberry Swirl". Reading that gets my taste buds happy considering that I used to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a kid all of the time, so naturally there was some nostalgia associated with this pint. This is pretty much the US version of Peanut Butter Me Up except for the fact that there is a crunchy peanut butter swirl, which intrigues me because I haven't seen this before in any other ice cream. Time to pop the lid!
Upon opening the lid I noticed the little bit of raspberry and peanut butter swirl showing. The top of the pint did not look promising, but little did I know that the Peanut Butter Base was hiding the large amount of swirls. I still hadn't expected the swirls to continue from the top of this pint to the bottom. Things just started getting better from here.
The base itself is fairly recognizable if you have had What a Cluster before. It's rich and salty and adds contrast to the raspberry swirls that you can taste with every spoonful. The Crunchy Peanut Butter Swirl was fantastic with this pint because it added the much need crunch that you're looking for, and when it gets mixed in with the same spoonful as the raspberry swirl, the experience just gets even better for your taste buds.
As I got to the bottom of the pint, I noticed this chunk of the Crunchy Peanut Butter Swirl that was waiting for me. It just made the experience that much better and I was pleased to finish the pint off on a good note. Overall, if you are a Peanut Butter and Jelly lover, then odds are that you will enjoy this pint no matter what. It's nice that they could bring this flavor to the US with a different twist on it compared to Peanut Butter Me Up. I thoroughly enjoyed this pint and am lucky enough to be one of the first to review this pint.
Where Kyle Found It: Target
Kyle's Grade: B
READER REVIEW: Winston's Review of Jeni's Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam
Thanks to the Ice Cream Informant’s timely updates on all things ice cream related, I learned of the existence of Jeni’s “Loveless Biscuits and Peach Jam” via his website the same day Jeni announced it. The incredible description convinced me to visit my local scoop shop only several hours later. The teaspoon sized sample provided by the scoop shop representative proved more than enough for me to shell out the $10 required take this unique creation home.
There’s no sense in discussing the aesthetics of this dessert beyond what is obvious from my pictures: it’s beautiful. The label (pictured at the end), promises 250 calories per serving, which is actually quite modest for premium desserts. While the ingredient list more closely reflects a Breyers dessert in length, I suppose that’s expected considering the inclusion of white flour based baked goods.
How does it taste? On first spoonful, the first thought that came to mind is “Buttermilk”. This stuff screams buttermilk and in a very delicious way. The subtle and remarkably unique buttermilk sourness pairs itself with a relatively creamy foundation and a distinct saltiness that is very uncommon in ice cream. So salty, in fact, that each serving provides 15% of your daily sodium requirement, which is more than double the salt of Ben and Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup (another salty favorite of mine), and and almost double the salt content of Talenti’s Sea Salted Caramel (which only provides 8%). I’m a huge fan of salt, and I add it to almost everything. Therefore, I absolutely loved this base.
The Jam is incredible. Made with Peach Schnapps, it definitely has a very pleasant sweetness and a unique tartness to it that contrasts the sour and salty base perfectly. It doesn’t taste like mass produced Jam: the Schnapps definitely delivers unique tart notes that add yet another flavor layer to the already confusing and exciting flavor collaboration. As an added plus, the Jam makes its way into almost every bite.
The biscuits deliver a blissful texture and flavor contrast to this dessert and perfectly compliment the Jam and the base. They don’t overwhelm the palate with rich flavor, as they taste exactly like moist buttermilk biscuits; instead, they primarily provide additional texture to the complex and rich base and jam swirl, leaving you salivating for yet another spoonful.
Given the uniqueness of this flavor, I understand why it’s not being distributed to grocery stores nationwide (but you can order it). That said, as a fan of buttermilk, and as someone that loves all things salty, this pint definitely catapults itself into my top 3 Jeni's flavors released to date, and could quite possibly be my #1 Jeni's flavor.
Where Winston Found It: Jeni's Splendid
Grade: A
FREEZER FINDS: It's Official, Ben & Jerry's Latest Target Exclusive is Peanut Butter Jam Session
After reaching the conclusion that we would be seeing a new Target exclusive, we've finally received some confirmation. A fellow ice cream enthusiast found this at their local Target earlier today. This exclusive flavor, Peanut Butter Jam Session, is made up of a peanut butter ice cream with a crunchy peanut butter swirl and a raspberry swirl. Expect a review soon!
NEWS: Jeni's Splendid Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam
"There’s a sweet little roadside joint on Tennessee Highway 100 in Nashville called the Loveless Cafe. Inside, you’ll find an array of memorable southern fare—red-eye gravy, BBQ pork omelets, country fried steak. But there’s one item that everyone remembers long after their visit: Loveless’ heavenly little angel biscuits. From where we stand, Loveless’ biscuits are one of the Seven Wonders of the Food World. Flaky, light, buttery, and just salty enough, the biscuits have inspired our newest addition to the menu: Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam.
Now, we tried to sweet-talk the biscuit recipe out of the folks at Loveless, but they wouldn’t budge. So, with their kind blessing we used their biscuits (and jam) as our muse and created our own. Just as some movie soundtrack songs are “inspired by” the film, our biscuits (and peach jam) are inspired by Loveless’ heavenly little masterworks.
Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam is now available at all of our scoop shops and at jenis.com. Beginning early next week (when a new Jeni’s freezer arrives at Loveless), pints will be available at the Loveless Cafe.
So, what’s it taste like? It’s rich and aromatic and it screams summertime flavor. It’s a mouthwatering blend of buttermilk and grass-grazed Southern Ohio cream, with crumbles of our very fluffy yeast-raised biscuits folded in, and swirls of sweet-tart, schnapps-spiked peach jam all throughout. (Peaches: courtesy of the great Peach Truck in Nashville.)
Here’s how we do it:
Prepping the biscuits, removing the fluffy, yeast-raised biscuits from the oven.
The biscuits and cut and crumbled, before being added to the buttermilk and grass-grazed ice cream.
Heaven on Earth.
The Peach Truck’s Georgia peaches ripening on the tree, before the harvest. We get our peaches for the jam we make from Stephen and Jessica Rose, the wonderful people who operate the Peach Truck in Nashville. The Roses grow their peaches on Stephen’s aunt and uncle’s 130-year-old peach and pecan farm.
Loveless-inspired Biscuits and peach jam being folded into the buttermilk ice cream.
An ice cream that positively sings: Loveless Biscuits + Peach Jam. Available now for a limited time in pints and scoops in our shops and at jenis.com, and beginning next week in pints at the Loveless Cafe."