Here are some interesting new products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.
(Spotted by Sarah R at Safeway.)
(Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)
(Spotted by Sarah R at Sprouts.)
(Spotted by Sarah R at Sprouts.)
(Spotted by Sarah R at Sprouts.)
(Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)
Ever have the urge to dump a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese powder packet into a pint of ice cream? I kid you not – the ingredient list here is cream, milk, cane sugar, egg yolks, and Kraft cheese sauce mix. Of course, when the Van Leeuwen / Kraft Mac & Cheese truck set up in Manhattan and gave away free cups last week, I was there.
Why is this happening? Come on, it’s 2021. Stop asking – we’re beyond that now.
I did not like this – and I went in with an open mind. I’ve had an ice cream made with brie cheese that was delicious. I liked the French’s Mustard Coolhaus Ice Cream and Oscar Mayer Hot Dog Ice Cream. But here, I thought the levels of the sweet ice cream base and savory cheese powder were too equal, fighting each other for center stage. In the mustard and hot dog ice creams, the base vanilla was the star of the show, the novelty ingredients were accents.
This combo might have worked better if one of the flavors dominated. But as-is, it was a cheesy-sweet mess that was not refreshing on a blazing hot day. That being said, it wasn’t even close to the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, so I’ll throw it some points.
This flavor is currently sold out at all the Van Leeuwen shops and online. So if you really want to try it, keep checking for a restock. Or just drop a powdered cheese pack into a pint of vanilla ice cream.
People have said they liked it. Now, I like A LOT of stuff. Scroll back through my reviews at the ill-advised stuff that I’ll defend. But I can’t here. Only go for this if you’re a hardcore curiosity seeker.
Purchased Price: Free Giveaway
Size: approx. 3 oz. serving
Purchased at: Van Leeuwen ice cream truck
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: not available
First photo courtesy of KraftHeinz. Scoop and sign photos courtesy of Steve Flack (mine melted too fast to photograph!)
Here are some interesting new products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.
(Spotted by Erin K at Walmart.)
(Spotted by Robbie at Walmart.)
(Spotted by Rachel J at Safeway.)
(Spotted by Rachel J at Safeway.)
Yoplait has introduced a mystery flavor Go-Gurt. A staple of school lunches everywhere, I applaud Yoplait’s efforts to add some mystery and wonder for kids who bring home lunches. Why should kids who line up for the cafeteria’s Tuna Surprise be the only ones to question what they’re really eating?
Yogurt is so ubiquitous on supermarket shelves these days that younger readers may not know how much of a fringe food it once was. The only person who knew about it was your granola-eating aunt, who maybe smelled a bit weird. These days she’s busy brewing her own CBD-infused kombucha. It certainly wasn’t something kids would want to eat.
However, load it with sugar, artificial flavoring, and put it in a fun delivery mechanism, and kids will love it! And parents will think it’s a healthy treat. Which is all to say that Go-Gurt was an innovative product when it was first introduced.
I haven’t seen a tube of yogurt in my lunch since grade school, so I don’t know what to expect from this. The white color doesn’t aid me in guessing the mystery flavor, which is frustrating because I’m going to need all the help I can get. I squeeze some out onto a spoon and am surprised to see that there’s enough modified corn starch and gelatin to keep its tubular shape. I take a taste and ponder the mystery.
Mint cotton candy?
Gosh, I’m bad at this. It’s not a typical fruity flavor, so I’m at a loss for a few moments, then it hits me: bubblegum! My pack-a-week gum habit saves me! It’s odd to have a flavor so specific to one product in another, but I’m fairly sure of my guess. I’m also sure that it doesn’t work as a yogurt. There’s not enough tang to balance out the taste, so it seems flat.
These days the market is crowded with a multitude of yogurt options, from Greek to Icelandic to Bulgarian, and even kids varieties tend to claim they’re organic, or with less sugar, or naturally flavored, or something. I’m a bit confused but also impressed that the full sugar Franken-yogurt of my childhood has lasted this long. But then again, what is yogurt but milk persevering?
I tried the Strawberry flavor as well, which tasted more like the yogurt I remember. Go-Gurt is a solid product, but the bubblegum(?) flavor doesn’t work as a yogurt flavor.
Purchased Price: $3.96
Size: 32 oz box (16 tubes)
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (3 tubes) 150 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 22 grams of sugar, 18 grams of added sugar, and 6 gram of protein.
Click here to read our previous mystery flavor product reviews.
Update: We tried the pepperoni one! Click here to read our review.
Remember that time Chuck E. Cheese offered Unicorn Churros at its restaurants/entertainment center? This year, it has a Sour Patch Kids pizza that I hope never makes it to the freezer aisle. (Spotted by Val B at Kroger.)
