Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Get homemade flavor from your freezer

I visited several grocery stores in search of coffee ice creams. But, after wading through shelves of mint-chocolate chip containers, I decided to change course.

By KATHY SAUNDERS
Published January 25, 2006

When the shopping was complete, Taster's Choice had a freezer full of 13 cartons of mint-chocolate chip ice creams.

All four of our judges were quick to pick their favorite brands from unmarked samples. They were right on every guess.

Haagen-Dazs (3.59) was the top pick. Judges gave the brand 67 out of 80 points. All four said they regularly buy Haagen-Dazs ice creams and they will continue to do so.

The winning dessert had plenty of chocolate flecks as well as a mild but not overpowering mint taste. It was creamy and not too sweet.

"This has an excellent fat-to-cream-to-sweet balance," said one panelist. "It's like homemade - right out of the churn. I would like a third or fourth cup."

Right behind Haagen-Dazs was "Give in to Mint" from Dove ($2.99), perhaps more well known for chocolate candies than for ice cream. For starters, the container was topped with a hard chocolate layer stamped with the company logo. It was, by far, the most enticing packaging.

That said, the chocolate on the top might have been the reason our judges found themselves digging around for chocolate bits in their samples.

Unlike some of the other brands, the Dove sample was white instead of food-coloring green.

"This made me think of ice cream shop desserts," said one judge.

Another panelist described Dove as "elegant."

Judges gave Dove 63 points and said they would buy the brand.

Edy's ($4.49) placed third with 54 points. Edy's, a favorite of my family, was praised for its chunks of chocolate and creamy texture.

"This is very refreshing," said one panelist, who said he would like the ice cream better if it weren't light green.

"You don't find that color much in nature," he noted.

Three of the four judges said they would buy Edy's.

Also sampled were Healthy Choice ($3.49); Breyers ($4.99), Blue Bell ($5.39); Publix Premium ($4.19); Great Value ($2.38); Good Humor ($2.50); Mayfield ($3.87); Nestle ($1.75); Hood ($3.69); and Albertsons ($3.59).

Panelists were: Nan Jensen, registered dietitian with Pinellas County Cooperative Extension; Bob Devin Jones, artistic director of Studio@620 in St. Petersburg; Gary Kawalec, chef/owner of the Tampa Bay Supper Club in Safety Harbor; and consumer Carol Hodnett.

- Send suggestions for product testing to Taste section, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731 or e-mail them to krieta@sptimes.com Please put TEST SUGGESTION in the subject line. To read past Taster's Choice columns, go to www.sptimes.com/food

No. 1: Haagen-Dazs.

No. 2: Dove.

No. 3: Edy's.

[Last modified January 24, 2006, 15:46:25]