Taste Test: Breyers Natural Vanilla Bean with and without Tara Gum
October 16th, 2006Now that the tara gum and other additive controversy has taken hold, I have made a point to check labels when at the supermarket. Not long ago I was at Whole Foods and noticed that their Breyers Natural Vanilla didn’t have tara gum in it. I immediately purchased it. At home I compared it to the Breyers Natural Vanilla I already had in my freezer (with tara gum). The containers look virtually identical (though not quite). However, the expiration date on the more recently purchased ice cream (without tara gum) was 6 months earlier than the date for the container with tara gum. This lead me to conclude that either a) the ice cream I had gotten without tara gum was made before the ice cream with tara gum and had just been distributed later b) the ice cream without tara gum goes bad more quickly than that without and/or c) Whole Foods can still get the ice cream without the tara gum. Quite frankly, I have no idea what the answer is. I can, however, tell you the difference in taste as I tasted them side by side (in a blind taste test so I didn’t initially know which was which).
Breyers with tara gum tastes different than that without. No question. It is creamier, but not it a good way. It has an artificial texture to it. You know when you’re eating the inside of an Oreo or Twinkie and you just know it isn’t natural, it’s got a lard-ish texture, creamy, but in a sticky way. That’s what it feels like– a little sticky. It also tastes slightly less intensely vanilla. I’m not sure if that is because of the tara gum or a new freezing method. Breyers Natural Vanilla with tara gum doesn’t taste like Breyers Natural Vanilla anymore. It reminds me more of the yellow-colored artificial vanilla ice creams. It’s not nearly as bad as those, but it’s not very good. Unilever needs to bring back Breyers Natural Vanilla Bean without tara gum.
From now on I am going to start buying Turkey Hill Vanilla Bean. I don’t know how extensive their distribution is in DC I have only found it at Shoppers. But, it doesn’t have tara gum and tastes much better than the new Breyers. Actually, my top choice for vanilla would be Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean. Unfortunately, that has too many calories for a daily scoop. What other gum-free vanilla ice cream brands have you found that you would recommend?
The ice cream container on top contains tara gum, the one pictured below it does not.
November 16th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
I agree,
the Breyers all natural vanilla used to be the best vanilla ice cream on the market (among national brands)
The Tara Gum definitley degrades both the texture and taste.
Now I am not very happy. What can be done to contact Breyers to get them to go back to the original formula?
Steve Coulter
Ice Cream Lover
Orangevale California
December 13th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
I recently bought a half gallon of Breyer’s Vanilla Fudge and immediately noticed a difference in texture. I checked the ingredient list and realized that there was something I had never noticed before: tara gum. This brought me to your website.
I had been extremely frustrated by Edys’ recent purchase of Ben and Jerry’s and their use of preservatives. I think that these additives make for an undesirable texture and taste in my ice cream. I, too, will now be searching for other ice creams without these ingredients or may even resort to making my own.
December 20th, 2006 at 12:08 am
It’s ruined. I’m ruined. What replaces it? I’m in the middle of writing Unilever to express my displeasure. Flavor and texture are now mediocre. Yes, it WAS the best. The UNILEVER address is on the box - please write. I THINK I saw Turkey Hill at Safeway; I’ll be checking next time I’m there. But I also remember checking it out a while back and it listed more sugar grams than Natural Vanilla. I’m still tasting that fake flavor from 30 minutes ago.
December 28th, 2006 at 9:10 pm
I too tried the Breyer’s Vanilla ice cream with tara bean gum and felt that it is another mass market process food. While it used to be my favorite, I will never buy Breyer’s ice cream again, unless they realize they did a “New Coke” and get the gum out!
January 1st, 2007 at 2:19 pm
I did write Bryers complaining about the change. This “… helped to protect the product’s texture while staying true to our all-natural commitment…Because ice cream is temperature-sensitive…” (Phew, and maybe I though I could leave it in the pantry?). Pretty much ‘blah, blah, blah’. Their reply was quick; if you want to write:
Unilever
Ice Cream
P.O.Box 19007
Green Bay, WI 54307-9007
February 11th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
I had the same reaction as the rest of you, except with the chocolate ice cream. I Was wondering why it tasted wrong - now I know! I wrote a comment to Unilever on their website, but I don’t have any faith that they are going to go back to the good old days.
February 24th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Tara Bean Gum is a legume, a bean. Same family as peanut, soy, peas, lentils…If you are allergic to any of these you can slowly become sensitive to all bean gums. Breyers WAS the only maker that didn’t contain beans in one form or another. when I saw this NEW ingredient I called them and got the same “it prevents crystalization if the ice cream thaws some in transport”. I ended the complaint call with “Initiate a safe handling campaign instead of tainting your ‘pure’ ice cream”. We are boycotting and searching for alternatives.
February 26th, 2007 at 12:03 am
I actually found this website in my search to find a “customer feedback” site to leave a comment about the Breyer’s Vanilla Bean. I bought the “new” version, with tara gum, by mistake and when I tried it, I thought that something was wrong with it. Well there IS something wrong with it in my opinion. It tastes disappointingly artificial and gluey. Breyer’s Natural Vanilla, without tara gum, was my favorite. I’ll have to heed the advice of other folks and search for an alternative. In the meantime, if anyone knows how to contact Unilever online with comments, please post here!
February 26th, 2007 at 12:28 am
I switched to Turkey Hill all natural ice cream…. Breyers sold themselves out…..
March 9th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
I am new to this site. Can anyone tell me if they have had any kind of allergic reaction to Breyers ice cream since they added tara gum? I have been dealing with a sinus condition and I suspect the ice cream is causing it.
Thanks!
March 14th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
At last! When I tasted my once-favorite Breyer’s vanilla, I thought it was spoiled! It tasted awful! Just to be sure, I bought another, only to find it was just as bad. I wondered what had happened…so now, I don’t have a clue what brand of vanilla to buy that doesn’t have this yucky artificial taste–almost like bad medicine…what a disappointment!
April 20th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Not only is the “new” Breyers no longer very good -and no longer All Natural -but the worst is that they never made an announcement to their customers (retailers) or to their loyal consumers -may whom have been committed to the ideal of all natural foods. Shame on them!!
I switched to the Turkey Hill All Natural Recipe last year. Its better than the “old” Breyers and is truly all natural -milk, cream, sugar.
Their chocolate is the best in the market!
April 24th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I noticed the “marshmallow fluff” taste and texture right away. I wrote to the company through their website and got what looked like a personal, thought-out response from some “Jill Dougherty.” Reading quotes here I believe it was nothing more than a form letter. Unbelievable. Well, they’ve lost me as a customer. I guess I’ll have to try Turkey Hill. I bet I can’t find it up here in northern Michigan.
May 7th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
I am bitterly dissapointed in Breyers….did they think that no one would notice the change in the ice cream flavor and texture!?
May 31st, 2007 at 4:38 am
I agree that the taste of Breyers has changed. It tastes horrible. I am going to switch to Turkey Hill All Natural Recipe. Unilever is too greedy to change Breyers back to its all natural recipe.
June 10th, 2007 at 3:07 am
I personally thought blue bell natural vanilla bean was the best hands down .. til tonight. tonight it was thicker almost the consistency of regular vanilla(yuck) and didn’t taste as pure… this along with a price increase has made me decide I will just try to build my own which brought me to this site in my quest for a natural vanilla bean recipe … good luck to us all in our search for a decent natural vanilla bean ice cream .. the best in the world
July 1st, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Breyers has failed to keep their ice cream natural. I am looking for a new brand. It now has
a lard taste-I was so happy to find this web-site
as I thought maybe I was the only one who noticed. Thank you for the opportunity to express
my opinion.
July 5th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Hello
Great book. I just want to say what a fantastic thing you are doing! Good luck!
G’night
July 10th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Sadly, I’ve never seen the Turkey Hill ice cream for sale in Southern California.
Nor does Whole Foods around here stock Breyers.
Even if they remove the Tara gum, they’ve stopped using real vanilla beans for flavor, instead it’s “Natural†Flavors. If you’ve read any of the recent food expose books like Fast Food Nation, or The Gospel of Food, then you know how little the word “Natural” means when applied to industrialized food flavoring.
August 10th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
So that’s it!!
My wife and I loved the old stuff (without tara gum) and don’t like the new stuff. We did get the “icy” crystals once in a while on the old stuff, but even that was better.
August 11th, 2007 at 2:47 am
(Wife of the above Matthew.) Matt and I had been eating a small custard dishful of Breyer’s natural vanilla ambrosia almost every night before bed as a nightime ritual–obviously to cleanse the mental palate from a frenetic day at work (for Matt) and home with three toddlers (for me).
No longer. How terribly sad. When evening comes now, and I walk to the cubbard to retrieve the custard dishes, I remember that the uneaten chewy, overly creamy concoction in the freezer is the altered version of a bygone era.
This new imposter of perfection has just arrived to our neck of the woods as of a month ago, and after noticing the change, I thought for sure, something was just wrong with that carton, but NO, (GASP!) the second carton was the same and is still waiting lonesomely in the freezer to tempt a taker, but the call of the snowy goodness–speckled liberally with vanilla beans–is over.
Alas, it was too good to last.
August 12th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
As with all of you, my fellow “Natural” ice cream lovers, I too feel duped to find out now (through this post) that the recipe has changed. There was a defnite difference on the palate of then vs. now. I was looking to start a restaurant using Bryer’s for the milkshakes. Since they don’t sell it in bulk I was searching for an alternative brand. I am glad I stumbled across this site because I thought something was wrong with my milkshakes as the texture was definitely off from what I had expected. I will seek out Turkey Hill locally or any other natural ice cream manufacturer. Hmmm, maybe I should go into the “ALL NATURAL ICE CREAM” business. As one who was a Bryer’s vanilla devotee for more than 12 years, I am sorely disappointed with Unilever and all who had a art in destroying such a good product. Good luck to all of you, my fellow ice cream aficionados.
August 20th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
Year ago, I read that Philadelphians judged vanilla ice cream by the amount of vanilla bean specks they could see in the ice cream. That’s because we were used to the appearance of our own Breyer’s Ice Cream. It was chock full of specks. It wasn’t until I remembered this fact and “checked the specks” that I happily realized I wasn’t losing my sense of taste. They’ve taken a delicious treat and “improved” it into a white, slimy, gloppy, almost speckless, mess.
Everyone I know has stopped buying Breyer’s because “it just doesn’t taste right anymore”. I wrote to Unilever expressing my (& others) disappointment and suggested that it might be a good financial decision to bring back the “origianl Philly style” vanilla ice cream. I could tell the company was really interested in my opinion. They sent me a form letter, having nothing to do with my complaint and a coupon for their ice cream.
Any body want a $1 off coupon for Breyers?
September 13th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Breyers all natural is not good now. That Tara gum may be natural to the tree but it’s not natural to the human body. I onced worked in a lab where we studied rats & mice feed carrageenan. They put on wt. and got tumors. In low amounts they say it’s safe.But with Breyers All Natural, which I always buy and have for many many years becauce it never had gums and other additives, most every day I was consuming more than 2 1/2 cups a day and I got sick with something that lasted over a month and a half. I tried Aleve, the doctor put me on meds. Nothing touched it or gave me any help. I saw another doctor who told me to stop eating that ice cream. It went away! If anyone else eats a lot of that ice cream, and you have a health problem, tell me if you want to talk about it. My e-mail is DustyFellow@aol.com Thank you.
September 26th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
This is Sue just above. My first comment was deleted, maybe becuse the person after me used a word inappropriate?
November 1st, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Unilever has a web form where you can submit your feels about Bryer’s “new and improved” flavors. Perhaps a thousand posts would help convince them that this changes were not for the best.
http://www.icecreamusa.com/contact_us/question.cfm
November 26th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
I’ve been meaning to write Unilever for months and finally did it. Like most of you, Breyer’s Vanilla was my favorite treat. I make homemeade ice cream fairly often and was amazed how close Breyer’s was to the real thing. How disappointing. I don’t eat a lot of sweets but Breyer’s was my thing. Why do companies insist on alienating their long-time loyal customers in order to gain new fickle ones that buy whatever’s cheapest?
December 23rd, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Yup no doubt about it.I was late to the show because I don’t buy ice cream that often but when I do its usually Breyers.It is similiar to when Coke changed their formula years ago.I think is theirs enough people who complai we could get them to make the “classic”Breyers again.Everyone who reads this please email them at icecreamusa.com
December 23rd, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Yup no doubt about it.I was late to the show because I don’t buy ice cream that often but when I do its usually Breyers.It is similiar to when Coke changed their formula years ago.I think is there are enough people who complain we could get them to make the “classic”Breyers again.Everyone who reads this please email them at icecreamusa.com
January 4th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Another of life’s disappointments.
I like to treat myself to Breyer’s natural vanilla, but try not to do it too often (for obvious reasons), so I was unaware of the tara gum travesty. Congratulations, Unilever, on ruining the best vanilla on the planet.
January 12th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Up until a half gallon ago, I was still able to buy Breyer’s Natural Vanilla without tara gum.
I was confused when I scooped some into my bowl…there were no vanilla bean specks. Then I tasted it and thought, I bought the wrong Breyers. Checked the box and low and behold they had sold out! Tara Gum?! What is it and why are they using it? Why did they have to mess up a good thing? It was the only ice cream that I ever bought. Thanks for their website address, I’m going to email them. Hopefully, they’ll get enough complaints and start making the real stuff again.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Mary (from 8/20) summed it up perfectly - anyone from the Philly area has been enjoying Breyers their entire life and can recognize an imposter immediately. While it has been at least a year since my last purchase of Natural Vanilla, I noticed the difference right away. My wife told me I was crazy but having enjoyed Breyers vanilla for over 35 years, I was positive that the taste was lacking vanilla intensity (far fewer bean specks) and the mouth feel was noticeably different. I honestly thought I was eating Sealtest, the longtime nemesis and now owner of Breyers. Finding this site was a relief - I now know I’m not crazy.
Whenever I’m in the mood for Natural Vanilla, I’ll check to see if Unilever corrected their horrible mistake. If not, I’ll take the advice of many contributors here and grab some Turkey Hill. Thanks for the head’s up.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:57 am
My daughter is allergice to eggs & legumes. The only ice cream she could eat was bryers natural vanilla. She’s been breaking out in hives again- so I decided to read the ice cream ingredients & to my surprise saw they had changed their ingredients! I don’t think they should be allowed without some type of label on the package. We will be buying an ice cream maker!
March 6th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
The best ice cream floats in the world USED to be “A&W n’ Bryer’s.” Well, I made some last weekend, and my husband and I were both like, “Something’s off. It’s gummy, doesn’t have it’s usual ‘cool’ texture, and where were all the bean specks?!” It was totally obvious … Even drowned in root beer!!! Didn’t they taste-test or test-market this crap?! I’m glad I didn’t feed it to my son who’s allergic to peanuts!!! I feel so betrayed! Violated! (As far as one can be when ice cream is concerned.)
I’m writing the company and refuse to purchase ANY Bryer’s unless they return to the REAL recipe!
March 11th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
We have been enjoying breyers vanilla for 12 years. It was the ONLY ice cream my husband would eat. He hasn’t had any since the change.
It was the only treat he had. He’s suffering. They have to change it back!!
March 12th, 2008 at 11:36 am
The list of truly natural, non-allergenic foods continues to shrink at an alarming rate here in the U.S.
Very sad..
March 28th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Like many others, I love ice cream but don’t buy it frequently. A couple of days ago I bought a
half-gallon1.75 quart container and brought it home, expecting to enjoy the clean taste of a decades-long appreciation of Breyer’s vanilla.Sadly, that didn’t happen. After two nights of eating a couple of scoops after dinner and sensing that something just wasn’t “right,” I went and dragged thwe box out of the freezer to read the ingredients. “Tara bean?!” WTH? This ice cream has a terrible after-taste that lingers and is quite artificial. Horrible, horrible.
Last night, I dropped a big scoop on the floor and chunked it into the sink drain. An hour and a half later, the scoop had retained its shape. “All natural?” Maybe that is technically correct, but it is the last Breyer’s ice cream that I will ever purchase. Back to Blue Bell for me.
April 19th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I noticed that in Canada Unilever is selling both the artifical Breyer’s ice cream (Breyer’s All Natural in the U.S.), as well as a new brand called “Naturals” which doesn’t have the gum aded (at least according to their web site). “Naturals” is sold in quarts, but considering that Breyer’s recently shrunk the U.S. package size (again) to 1.5 quarts, maybe the size isn’t as much of an issue any more.
Retailers could import Canadian Breyer’s to the U.S., just like major U.S. retailers are now importing Mexican Coca-Cola, but admittedly importing ice cream is a lot more complicated.