Tag: Ben & Jerry’s

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Limited Batch Cannoli Ice Cream

Drew 8 Comments

Ben & Jerry's Cannoli Ice Cream

Oh Ben & Jerry’s, I can never stay away from you.

Yes, I made a big fuss last time about how I wasn’t interested in B&J’s latest offering, Cannoli Ice Cream.  But when it came down to it, I was weak.  For as much as I enjoyed the pumpkin coffee ice cream, I couldn’t wait to get the cannoli flavor home and take a taste.  I hope I don’t sound like a frozen dessert whore when I tell you that the two are sharing space in my freezer right now.  In my defense, I’ve never had a bowl of each in the same night.  A man has to have some morals.

So what convinced me to sample the forbidden ice cream?  Well, the package promises mascarpone ice cream (and fuck you, red squiggly spellcheck line, that IS how you spell it) with fudge-covered cannoli pastry shell chunks, plus a mascarpone swirl.  Actually, spellcheck is not a friend of “cannoli” either, which I think evinces a clear anti-Italian-American bias on the part of Microsoft.  Which in turn reminds me of that Sopranos episode where Paulie Walnuts got upset because schools weren’t properly celebrating Columbus Day, but we’re getting waaaay off topic, so never mind.

To be honest, I’m just a tad disappointed that the cows on the carton aren’t wearing suits or eating spaghetti bolognese or something, but that might’ve been culturally insensitive.  (For obvious reasons, leather jackets were a no-go.)  I do think they missed out on a prime opportunity to give us Ben & Jerry’s “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli” ice cream, although the description on the back does advise you to leave the spoon, take the cannoli.  Which… doesn’t make much sense (how are you going to eat it without a spoon?), but whatever.

Ben & Jerry's Cannoli Ice Cream Closeup 1

When you first remove the lid, you’re met with what looks like chocolate chip ice cream, and that general appearance persists as you dig deeper.  Never fear though, because like that guy you wouldn’t go out with in high school but then he becomes a moderately successful internet writer with cute kids, there’s more going on under the surface than it initially appears.  For starters, the primary flavor is sweeter than vanilla ice cream, with a lingering but pleasant aftertaste. It’s fairly rich and you do have to have a bit of a sweet tooth to properly enjoy it; my wife, who subsists on salt licks and seawater, was not as much of a fan as I was.

Ben & Jerry's Cannoli Ice Cream Closeup 2

The chips/chunks do indeed have that extra little fudge element, plus they taste a bit like waffle cone, which I presume is the “pastry shell” element.  As for the mascarpone swirl, well, it’s not so much a visible swirl cutting through the ice cream as flecks peppered throughout the entire body.  Overall the texture is pleasing, thick and creamy with enough elements to keep it interesting, and the chunks aren’t tough to chew.

It is also super fattening, so you might want to be doing leg lifts or squats while eating it (or bicycle crunches if you’re crazy coordinated).  The calorie count is high though not ridiculous, but the saturated fat content is a cool 55% of your daily recommended value.  It’s okay though, the total fat is only 25%!  So as long as you’re okay with a 1/4 carton of this functioning as your entire lunch, go forth and conquer.

All jokes aside, like most of what Ben & Jerry’s has to offer, this is some good stuff.  It’s limited batch, so if you’re interested, best not delay in grabbing a carton.  Just make sure you’re committed to spending an extra 20 minutes at the gym the next day.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – 280 calories, 140 calories from fat, 16 grams of total fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 23 grams of sugars, and 4 grams of protein.)

Other Ben & Jerry’s Cannoli Ice Cream reviews:
On Second Scoop

Item: Ben & Jerry’s Limited Batch Cannoli Ice Cream
Purchased Price: $3.99 (or 2 for $7)
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Giant
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Very sweet and nuanced.  Good texture.  Effective way to bulk up for wrestling?  Fudge and pastry shell bits are delicious and relatively liberal.  Not too fattening if you only eat two bites at a time.
Cons: Missed Godfather jokes.  Probably even more fattening than most real cannolis.  You do have to have a taste for sweetness.  Cheating on the ice cream you brought home first.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt

Stephanie 3 Comments

Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt

Because I am a nerd and like to read about scientific things as much as I can while science is still legal in this country, I recently discovered an Oxford University experiment involving the relationship between food flavors and sound. Results showed that sweet-tasting foods tended to be matched with high-pitched tones while more savory foods tended to be matched with low-pitched sounds.

If that’s the case, then I would have to compare a spoonful of Ben & Jerry’s Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt to a screeching serenade by a pod of whales. In other words, this frozen yogurt is sweeter than sweet, which was surprising considering that Greek yogurt tends to be tarter than tart. By the way, hyperbole also comes from Greece.

Make no mistake, I prefer sweet frozen yogurt to tart frozen yogurt, just like I’d prefer a friendly whale over any of the homicidal ones. And by “homicidal,” I don’t mean killer whales. I mean whales that commit premeditated murder. Like Moby Dick… or Monstro. Yeah, pretty sure Monstro swallowed his own weight in victims over the years.

However, with Greece being so close to Italy, I think the Mediterranean Sea-dwelling Monstro might enjoy Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen yogurt more than your typical whale would. (Science.) There’s even a chance I can use a fresh pint to lure him and finally pin a spate of horrific maritime swallowings on him. Better yet, we’ll film it and call it Law & Order: WSIU (Whale Swallowings Investigations Unit), and it will not only incorporate sketchy scientific techniques, but it will also be in Italian with English subtitles — “La balena inghiottì il capo!” Chun-CHUNG.

Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt Closeup

Unlike the potential ratings of an hour-long TV procedural starring ocean-dwelling mammals, Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t disappoint when it comes to the texture of their Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt. Bits of real strawberries and shortcake pieces really boost the flavor and add to the richness of the creamy frozen yogurt. An extra bonus is that it only has 180 calories per serving. Molto bene! I did wish there had been more shortcake pieces and that they had been bigger. Often, I couldn’t tell whether I’d even picked up any shortbread in my spoon.

Despite that, I would highly recommend Ben & Jerry’s Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt. For now, this flavor is only available at grocery stores, so don’t go looking for them at a scoop shop. Even if your street contact says they’ve heard whales hanging out around there. It’s not whales, it’s the flavor. (Science.)

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup (100g) – 180 calories, 45 fat calories, 5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 23 grams of sugar, 6 grams of protein, 15% Calcium, 0% Iron, 10% Vitamin C, and 4% Vitamin A.)

Other Ben & Jerry’s Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt reviews:
San Diego Sugar
On Second Scoop
Junk Food Guy

Item: Ben & Jerry’s Strawberry Shortcake Greek Frozen Yogurt
Price: $3.49 (on sale)
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Ralphs
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Tastes like whales sound. 180 calories per serving. Light, creamy and sweet. The Italian language.
Cons: Not enough shortbread pieces. Monstro. Only available at grocery stores. Law & Order: WSIU, coming this fall.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Limited Batch Banana Cream Pie

Kelley 3 Comments

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Banana Cream Pie

When you do a search for something you think is innocuous like “cream pie” and Google Instant suddenly disappears, you know you’re about to learn about something you probably didn’t want to know.

When you do a search for “banana cream pie jokes” and it gets even worse, you just want to give up.

So let’s start over.

Awful sexual terms aside, when I think about cream pies, I think clowns. I think Stooges. I think classic comedy. The pie in the face is right up there with the banana peel on the ground. And this new Ben & Jerry’s Banana Cream Pie ice cream has cream pie and bananas!

While it may be tempting, please do not attempt to use a pint of this ice cream to hit somebody in the face. It will probably not be funny. Also, setting it on the ground will probably not result in a pratfall; whoever you’re trying to prank will probably just wonder why a perfectly good carton of ice cream is sitting on the ground, getting all melty. Also not funny.

Banana Cream Pie is an “Exclusive Batch”, which means it’s only available at Walmart. Which means I had to go to Walmart. The things I do for you TIB readers. It’s not even listed on the Ben & Jerry’s website, so you can sneak out to your local Walmart, pick up a pint, and be the envy of all your neighbors.

“Hey, I’ve never seen that Ben & Jerry’s flavor before!” They’ll say. “Where did you get it?” Then you can look all smug and tell them you’ve got secret ice cream connections. They’ll be so impressed. Also, your neighbors are fucking weird and you should really think about moving. Or, as the cow that just got pied in the face on the front of the B&J’s carton would say, “moooving”.

I’m sorry. In my defense, Ben & Jerry themselves say on the carton, “If you’re a fan of Banana Cream Pie, you’ll love the in-your-face taste of Banana Cream Pie ice cream.” Yes, that’s right. In your face. The puns, they just can’t be helped. You could say they are punstoppable. Someone help me.

Anyways, the official description of Ben & Jerry’s Banana Cream Pie is “banana ice cream with pastry cream swirls, marshmallow swirls & pie crust pieces”.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Banana Cream Pie Closeup

Well, that sounds like a pretty close approximation to a deconstructed banana cream pie. Unfortunately, to me it tasted more “fallen apart” than “deconstructed”. I thought the banana flavor tasted a little artificial, but a quick look at the ingredients revealed that real bananas are used, which makes me wonder if some of the other ingredients tricked my taste buds.

There was a pleasant and authentic pie crust flavor, but there weren’t big chunks like I expected. Instead, it was more of a grainy texture, like the crust had been completely pulverized before being added to the ice cream.

As for the marshmallow and pastry cream swirls, well, I could see swirls, but they looked darker than marshmallows or pastry cream. In fact, they looked more like banana swirls than anything. If I tried really hard, I could taste a bit of marshmallow, but the pastry cream flavor was nowhere to be found, even if I closed my eyes and pretended real hard.

Ben & Jerry’s usually delivers on their flavors – even the wacky ones – but I feel as though they missed the mark on Banana Cream Pie. Without the marshmallow and pastry cream flavors, you’re left with banana ice cream that has some grainy pie crust flavor to it. I love B&J and their constant stream of new flavors, so I won’t threaten to chuck a carton of this ice cream at them. Perhaps if I hit them in the face with a real banana cream pie, they would understand what this ice cream should have tasted like.

(Nutrition Facts — 1/2 cup — 260 calories, 110 calories from fat, 12 grams of total fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 24 grams of sugar, 4 grams of protein, 8% vitamin A, 10% calcium and 2% iron.)

Item: Ben & Jerry’s Limited Batch Banana Cream Pie
Price: $3.25
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 3 out of 10
Pros: Real bananas used. Classic pie-in-the-face joke. Pie crust was tasty and authentic. Classic banana-peel-on-the-ground joke. Tiny hint of marshmallow did taste good.
Cons: No pastry cream taste and barely any marshmallow. Learning from Google that “cream pie” is not an innocent search term. Pie crust was grainy instead of chunky. Clowns. Bananas tasted somewhat artificial even though they weren’t.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurt (Blueberry Vanilla Graham & Banana Peanut Butter)

Marvo 24 Comments

Ben & Jerry's Greek Frozen Yogurt (Banana Peanut Butter and Blueberry Vanilla Graham)

Thanks to the inundation of Greek yogurt products over the past couple of years, I don’t remember what else Greeks are known for. When I try to think of something Greek, all that pops into my head is either Yoplait Greek Yogurt, Chobani Greek Yogurt, Stonyfield Farm’s Oikos Greek Yogurt, Dannon Greek Yogurt, Fage Greek Yogurt, Safeway Lucerne Greek Yogurt, Activia Greek Yogurt, and Tina Fey.

Unfortunately, these new Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurts aren’t helping. Is Julius Caesar Greek? What about Socrates? Damn. I can’t recall. Oh, thank goodness I’m not playing Trivial Pursuit right now. I don’t think I could earn the yellow wedge.

Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurt comes in four flavors: Blueberry Vanilla Graham, Banana Peanut Butter, Strawberry Shortcake, and Raspberry Fudge Chunk. Oh, there’s a Fifth Beatle, but Vanilla Greek Frozen Yogurt is only available at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops. Sadly, I was only able to find the Blueberry Vanilla Graham and Banana Peanut Butter.

Ben & Jerry's Greek Frozen Yogurt Banana Peanut Butter

Like a man who walks around in public in nothing but his tighty whiteys, there’s something not quite right about Ben & Jerry’s Banana Peanut Butter Greek Frozen Yogurt. Ben & Jerry’s says their Greek frozen yogurts are “really Greekin’ good,” but this particular flavor is kind of Greekin’ weird.

To be honest, I’ve never had the pleasure of eating a banana with peanut butter, but it sounds yummy and I’m pretty sure Elvis ate more than enough of it for me. However, the combination of banana Greek frozen yogurt with peanut buttery swirls tastes like a not-quite-ripe banana, which I do not have any affinity for. I’ve had many banana splits ruined by not-quite-ripe bananas, so this Greek frozen yogurt’s flavor hits a sore spot. The flavor doesn’t disgust me, but I can’t see myself buying another pint of it.

Ben & Jerry's Greek Frozen Yogurt Blueberry Vanilla Graham

However, I may buy another pint of Ben & Jerry’s Blueberry Vanilla Graham Greek Frozen Yogurt, which combines blueberry and vanilla Greek frozen yogurt with a graham cracker swirl. The blueberry and vanilla Greek frozen yogurt have a pleasant tanginess, but the graham cracker swirl is what makes this Greek frozen yogurt tasty. It’s sweetness helps counterbalance the yogurt’s tanginess. However, I gotta have more graham cracker swirl. I got a fever. And the only prescription is more graham cracker swirl. Although, the graham cracker swirl did make everything a little gritty.

I can’t believe I’m about to type this, but I have to say I’m not sure if Aristotle was Greek and I’m slightly disappointed with these two flavors of Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurt. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever put “disappointed” and “Ben & Jerry’s” in the same sentence until now. Again, the Blueberry Vanilla Graham is good, but both flavors don’t weaken my willpower and make me want to eat an entire pint in one sitting like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream does.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – Blueberry Vanilla Graham – 200 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 23 grams of sugar, 6 grams of protein. Banana Peanut Butter – 210 calories, 70 calories from fat, 8 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 26 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.)

Other Ben & Jerry’s Blueberry Vanilla Graham Greek Frozen Yogurt reviews:
On Second Scoop

Item: Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurt (Blueberry Vanilla Graham & Banana Peanut Butter)
Price: $3.99 (on sale)
Size: One pint
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Blueberry Vanilla Graham)
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Banana Peanut Butter)
Pros: Blueberry Vanilla Graham is good. Doesn’t use milk from cows treated with rBGH. Yogurt cultures. Has fewer calories and fat than Ben & Jerry’s ice creams. Decent source of protein. More cowbell.
Cons: Banana Peanut Butter is Greekin’ weird because it tastes like not-quite-ripe bananas. I gotta have more graham cracker swirls. Has as much sugar as Ben & Jerry’s ice creams. Not as additive as Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Nougat Crunch and Limited Batch Rocky Road-ish

Drew 9 Comments

Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Nougat Crunch and Limited Batch Rocky Road-ish

Right about now you’re saying, “Seriously Drew, another damn Ben & Jerry’s review?  Do you ever give it a rest, man?” No, shut up.  Ben & Jerry’s is usually awesome, so the more I review, the better it is for you, me, and everyone except my waistline and militant vegans.  (Is that a thing?)  Also, it helps me feel closer to Vermont ever since I stopped skiing back in high school.  It’s either this or gay marriage, and I can’t live with another dude long term — who would keep me from wallowing in my own filth?

Today is a twofer because B&J’s seemingly can’t stop themselves from releasing new ice cream flavors, two of the latest being Chocolate Nougat Crunch and Rocky Road-ish.  I always get a little skittish when the “-ish” suffix is used, because so often it’s used in the context of things like “soon-ish” or “pretty-ish” or “meat-ish.”  But in this case I’m willing to take that chance, because I know you all are counting on me.  -Ish.

Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Nougat Crunch Closeup

The Chocolate Nougat Crunch promises sweet cream ice cream with wafer cookies covered in fudge and a chocolate nougat swirl.  That uncomfortable feeling you have right now is your taste buds needing to change their underwear.  It sounds delicious, but I’m even happier to report that it largely tastes that way too. 

Sweet cream is a personal favorite of mine, and this flavor presents a very good version of it, not simply vanilla masquerading as sweet cream.  The chocolate nougat swirl is rich and forms a nice contrast with the sweet cream.  The part about wafer cookies is slightly misleading, in that you might have been expecting actual large(-ish) cookies floating around inside the carton, but will instead get various small chunks.  I’m not complaining because they’re plentiful, taste good, and provide some nice texture contrast, but there’s not a strong wafer taste to them.  Maybe it’s because I grew up on Nilla Wafers, but I have certain expectations for what a wafer tastes like, and these weren’t it.  Not a big problem since they’re still tasty, but don’t buy the flavor for your wafer fix.  [Insert Catholic Church joke here.]

Ben & Jerry's Limited Batch Rocky Road-ish Closeup

Whereas Chocolate Nougat Crunch is a new flavor, Rocky Road-ish is a limited batch, which in theory means they only created so much of it and they’re not making more.  Not sure what the big difference is — if a new flavor doesn’t catch on, won’t it essentially have been a limited batch too? — but if you want to try some, better do it soon.  And trust me: you DO want to try some.  The description on the back describes it as “kinda like Rocky Road, but different,” and that’s definitely true.  It might be more accurate to call it Reverse Rocky Road, since instead of being chocolate ice cream with marshmallows and almonds in it, it’s toasted marshmallow ice cream with marshmallow swirl and fudge-covered almonds.

Given that, I was downright surprised by how much I liked it — I thought I’d really miss the strong chocolate presence, but the toasted marshmallow flavor ends up being really, really good without tasting precisely like marshmallow.  I know that sounds confusing, but it’s more vaguely evocative of a marshmallow rather than tasting exactly like one.  I’m not complaining, though, because it’s very rich and the fudge-covered almonds are plentiful.  I can’t say the swirl was particularly noticeable, which kind of makes sense since it’s the same flavor as the ice cream, but then why even bother including the swirl?  It’s like a Michael Bay movie poster advertising tons of explosions and zero plot.  I mean… yes, but we kind of knew that already.

If you were waiting for the day Ben & Jerry’s would completely and utterly fail me, it may yet come to pass, but certainly not today.  No, today I got to review two good to very good flavors, the better of which is unfortunately only available for a limited time.  The standard caveats apply — this is far from health food, scoop out a predetermined measure or you’re just going to eat the entire pint like you did the night that jerk/bitch broke your heart — but otherwise, have at it.  Can’t go wrong with either of them.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – Rocky Road-ish – 250 calories, 110 calories from fat, 12 grams of total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 24 grams of sugars, 4 grams of protein.  Chocolate Nougat Crunch — 250 calories, 120 calories from fat, 13 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 25 grams of sugars, 4 grams of protein.)

Other Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Nougat Crunch reviews:
On Second Scoop

Other Ben & Jerry’s Limited Batch Rocky Road-ish reviews:
On Second Scoop
A Sweet Score
Ben & Jerry’s Fanatic

Item: Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Nougat Crunch and Limited Batch Rocky Road-ish
Price: $4.59 each
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Giant
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Chocolate Nougat Crunch)
Rating: 9 out of 10 (Rocky Road-ish)
Pros: Another damn Ben & Jerry’s review.  Feeling closer to Vermont.  Sweet cream that tastes like sweet cream.  Reverse Rocky Road.  Good texture both, with plentiful wafer chunks/almonds, respectively.  Going two for two.
Cons: Militant vegans.  The “-ish” suffix like 99% of the time.  Not the prettiest photographs.  Doesn’t taste like Nilla Wafers.  Michael Bay movies.  Temptation to eat until you’re scraping the bottom of the carton is strong.