Edy’s Dibs have been heavily marketed and there are often coupons in the Sunday paper. I didn’t want to buy a giant carton because I knew I would get addicted and eat them all in one sitting. Instead I found a small size at 7-11. The small size (4.5 oz) had about 20 pieces in it. There’s really nothing special about Dibs. There pretty much regular ice cream bars in bite size pieces. If you like ice cream bar coating, in this case Crunch bar, you’ll enjoy Dibs. I liked them, but I wouldn’t necessarily buy them again.

• Flavor: 3.5
• Flavor Intensity: 3
• Texture: 3
• Originality: 4.5
• Overall: 3

The ice cream section at Whole Foods was unusually well-stocked today. Every other time I’ve been there the ice cream section is chaotic with brands and flavors either out-of-stock or in the wrong place. So, while I was there I made a point to look at all of the flavors. I found Edy’s pints (again!!!), so I felt compelled to buy one. Though, like at 711, it only came in Strawberry, Vanilla, and Chocolate. Unlike 711, the pint was labeled as costing mere $2.29 (at 711 it was $4.29). Better yet, it rang up at the register as $1.97—not a sale price.

I haven’t had plain chocolate ice cream in awhile, and forgot how much I enjoy it. The flavor of Edy’s Grand chocolate was excellent. The texture, however, was lacking. It was a little grainy and far too light and airy for my liking. It doesn’t really fill you up or satisfy a real ice cream craving the way Haagen Dazs or a homemade variety would. But, I did really enjoy the flavor.

As a final note, I’ve realized that I like ice cream so much it’s hard for me to give any of it a bad review, and thus, my ratings may have become a little inflated recently. So, beginning today, I am going to try to hold the standard a little higher…

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 4
• Texture: 3
• Originality: 1
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $1.97 at Whole Foods

The ice cream gods must have heard me when I remarked just a few days ago that Edy’s needs to have pint size containers. Because, I stopped in the 711 down the street from my house today and discovered pint size Edy’s. No joke! They only carry three flavors— Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry—I opted for the strawberry. (711 also carries flavors of Ben and Jerry’s and Haagen Dazs that they don’t have at my local Safeway or Whole Foods (correction: they do carry 3 flavors at Whole Foods)). So, now I can throw out only half a pint and not half a quart. But, it comes at a price: $4.29. For a pint of ice cream this is outrageous. Safeway sells quarts of Edy’s for just over $5 and when it’s on sale it’s under $4. I guess we know where my priorities lie. From now on I’ll most likely buy Edy’s wherever it’s cheapest. (At Shopper’s in VA it only costs $3.99 for a quart! Oh the joys of living in DC…)

The strawberry ice cream was very good. It’s light and not very dense, but has a nice flavor. Because it’s not dense and rich, I don’t think it was a good as the Breyers I previously tested. As I said, the Edy’s Grand Strawberry ice cream was good, but I was left feeling very confused. It’s called “Edy’s Grand” which implies that it’s rich and thus bad for you. But, this strawberry flavored Grand only came in at 130 calories and 6 grams of fat. Yes, that’s more fat than their new “Slow Churned” flavors, but not any more calories. Are all Edy’s Grand ice creams this good for you? If so, then what’s with the new Slow Churned / Double Churned craze?

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor Intensity: 4
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 2
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $4.29 at 711

I love Drumsticks, Sundae Cones, whatever you want to call them.  So, I couldn’t believe my luck when I found Edy’s Sundae Cone ice cream at Shoppers.  Unfortunately, Sundae Cone wasn’t all I thought it would be.  There just weren’t enough chunks of nuts, chocolate, cone—all the things that make a Drumstick so good.  It wasn’t terrible, but it was in no way a substitute for a Drumstick / Sundae Cone.

• Flavor: 3.5
• Flavor Intensity: 3
• Texture: 3.5
• Originality: 4.5
• Overall: 3.5
• Cost: $4.29 at Shoppers

As I mentioned in one of my Breyers reviews, the slow churned low fat ice cream is taking over America’s ice cream.  Soon, there will be no full-fat ice creams left.  Well, maybe not; but there are just as many (if not more) flavors of Edy’s Slow Churned in Safeway’s freezer as there are of regular Edy’s ice creams.  Since I was pretty impressed with the French Vanilla I had yesterday, I decided to give Edy’s Slow Churned French Silk a try.  I tasted this ice cream and was a little taken aback.  It tastes like coffee.   No French silk pie I have ever had tastes like coffee, but apparently that doesn’t matter.  Had I read the carton I would have noticed that it says “Mocha Mousse.”  The flavor of this ice cream is excellent.  And the texture is better than that of the vanilla.  It’s still kind of fluffy, but I’d expect that from something French Silk flavored.  At 140 calories and 4.5 grams of fat, Edy’s French Silk isn’t quite as good for you as Edy’s Slow Churned Vanilla, but it tastes much better.

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 4.5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 4
• Overall: 4.5
• Cost: $5.79 at Safeway

I actually said “wow” when I tasted this ice cream.  Not because it’s the greatest vanilla ice cream out there, but because there are only 100 calories and 3.5 grams of fat in a half a cup of it.  Seeing as I’ve been eating Ben and Jerry’s and Haagen Dazs with 300 calories and 20 grams of fat in a half a cup, this is unbelievably better for me.  Now this ice cream doesn’t even begin to compare with full fat ice creams, but if you were adding hot fudge or putting Edy’s Slow Churned Vanilla on apple pie, it wouldn’t really matter.  The Edy’s vanilla that I’m reviewing today is French vanilla with specks of real vanilla bean.  I can’t remember a time I’ve had French vanilla ice cream that has vanilla beans in it.  The flavor is pretty good, but not amazingly vanillay.  It isn’t rich, instead it’s light and fluffy.  Thus, it doesn’t melt in your mouth quite the same way regular hard ice cream does.  Edy’s Slow Churned French Vanilla tastes remarkably better than any low fat ice cream I’ve ever had.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor Intensity: 2.5
• Texture: 3.5
• Originality: 2
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $5.79 at Safeway

In the past two days I have learned far more about myself than I expected when trying vanilla ice cream. First, I really like vanilla ice cream. I usually just eat it with chocolate cake or hot fudge sundaes; but maybe I need to start eating it plain to truly appreciate the flavor. The second, more unexpected revelation is that apparently my personality can tell me which ice cream I will like the most.
After a series of questions Vanilliology spits out this answer:

“Nothing slips by you because you’re on your game at all times. You know what’s right and what needs to be done and you take charge to make sure it happens. When it comes to vanilla ice cream, the perfectionist in you demands that it taste exactly like vanilla ought to taste. If it doesn’t have the obvious presence of real vanilla, it won’t pass your test.
Your vanilla is Edy’s Vanilla Bean. You’re most likely to swap spoons with other Vanilla Bean lovers or entertaining Vanilla enthusiasts.

And:

Flavor Profile: Cool and Spicy with Real Vanilla Specks
The Personality: A Real Go-Getter

Detail oriented, perfectionist, the Vanilla Bean lover is conscientious almost to a fault. While their devotion makes them the perfect employee, their love life may suffer if they’re not mindful of the balance in the life. They are the “take charge” sort of people who hold strong opinions as to how things should be done. Ethical, moral and of the highest integrity, Vanilla Bean lovers have a clear sense of right and wrong. Vanilla Bean lovers are most romantically compatible with those who refer either Vanilla or Vanilla Bean ice cream.

Now, I know you are thinking that this must be some kind of joke. But, real live researchers worked on this quiz: Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation. Interesting.

Now, the flavor I tried today was not Edy’s Vanilla Bean, but Edy’s Double Vanilla, which is “sweet and intense.” Now, according to the quiz I would like this vanilla if I was

“Agreeable, easy-going, well-adjusted. Patient, understanding and empathetic, the Double Vanilla lover is the perfect spouse, parent and friend. They truly care about the feelings of others above their own. As an occupation, they would make an ideal teacher, psychiatrist, coworker or an sort of supervior. In any capacity they are a pleasure to be around. Those who prefer Double Vanilla are the universal romantic, compatible with everyone.

While Double Vanilla is not “my vanilla” according to Edy’s and the researchers at Smell and Taste, I still enjoyed it immensely. It was both sweet and intense. Very vanilla-y, but not in the vanilla bean sort of way. More like a vanilla extract sort of way. It was pretty smooth and generally very good. But, I still enjoyed yesterday’s Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean more. So, I guess I will have to give Edy’s Vanilla Bean a try and see if “Vanillaology” has me pinned.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor intensity: 5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 3 (Vinillaology, Double Vanilla; maybe it’s desperate marketing, but at least they try to say it’s not your plain old vanilla)
• Overall: 4.5
• Cost: $3.00 on special at Safeway

Sitting here in the Ronald Reagan Airport I just finished my first official ice cream taste test.  Up for review is Edy’s Butter Pecan.  The flavor is a little caramely and it has a fair number of pecans.  On purpose or not, the ice cream was a little melted and therefore soft, but not too soft, there were no pools of melted ice cream at the bottom of the cup.  Let’s face it, I wasn’t going to start my “Ice Cream Project” today, but after arriving two hours early for our flight to Dublin through JFK and waiting in line for 30 minutes only to find out that the flight to JFK did not have a pilot and thus we would miss our connection, I needed some ice cream.  Edy’s Butter Pecan satisfied that need and helped me feel a little less stressed.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor Intensity: 4
• Texture: 4.5
• Originality: 3.5
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $2.65