According to the website, Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie is one of the most popular flavors. I understand why. This ice cream is awesome. It is extremely fudgy in flavor and brownie-like in texture. The texture is rich and dense, yet still creamy. (It’s very hard to describe; but trust me, it’s good.) I had the mini sized container and like yesterday’s mini chocolate chip cookie dough, the pieces were tiny. I’m now convinced that these miniature sized brownie pieces are cut small on purpose—exclusively for the mini ice cream containers. Very cute. Also, did I mention that the miniature ice cream containers also have a secret compartment on top that holds a miniature spoon? And this isn’t a crappy flat wooden “spoon.” This miniature spoon actually has a spoon shape and can hold melted ice cream in it. I’m impressed.

• Flavor: 5
• Flavor Intensity: 5
• Texture: 4.5
• Originality: 4
• Overall: 5
• Cost: $1.00 at Safeway

Today I picked up 3.5 ounces of Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream. That’s less than a half a cup. The package is extremely cute and it even comes with a mini spoon. I don’t know why there aren’t more brands and flavors available in single serving sizes because really this is the greatest idea ever. If I were in charge of an ice cream company, I would sell “variety packs.” Just like you find with cereals, variety packs of ice cream would be easy to grab on the go and would have enough flavors to satisfy any craving. It would even solve family disputes when the kids are fighting over which ice cream to buy at the store. Finally, the ultimate American reason for ice cream variety packs: controlled portions. That’s right, market to the 85% of the American population who are on a diet. Wow, I didn’t even realize what a great idea it is; maybe I should try to sell it…

I was very pleased with my choice today. Not only was it the perfect size, but it tasted great too. The vanilla ice cream was vanilla bean-y and the cookie dough was really cookie dough-y. I’ve come to realize that Ben and Jerry’s ice cream isn’t the smoothest ice cream. It’s pretty smooth, just not as smooth as Haagen Dazs, for example. But, it more than makes up for that in flavor. If I had to complain about one thing in Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream, it would be the size of the cookie dough pieces. They are tiny. We are talking pea sized, maybe even smaller. This is good in that there is some cookie dough in almost every bite. But it’s bad because there is no excitement when you discover the chunks. In my mini sized serving, I didn’t find one giant chunk. Personally, I always love finding that big chunk.

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 4
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 3
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $1.00 at Safeway

Since Edy’s slow churned thing has created such excitement, it seems everyone wants a share.  After trying Breyers Double Churned Chocolate, I’m not so convinced that it’s anything special.  The only thing I can really say about the consistency is that it is softer.  This ice cream wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be.  It was softer and a little fluffier (not a lot, just a little fluffy).  The flavor was good.  A hot coco milk chocolate flavor.  I just wasn’t left feeling like Breyer’s double churned was anything different.

• Flavor: 4
• Flavor Intensity: 4.5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 2
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $1.79 on special at Safeway

There’s nothing quite like ice cream to soothe a sore throat and tonsillitis. Who needs chicken noodle soup when you have Breyers Natural Vanilla? Continuing with the saga of super cheap Breyers ice cream on sale at Safeway, today I went for the “pure” stuff: just milk, sugar, cream, and vanilla bean. It is this simplicity that lends the “natural” to Breyers Natural Vanilla. (Breyer’s Natural Vanilla now contains additives.  See discussion below). The vanilla flavor isn’t extremely strong, it’s more of a plain flavor (like when you buy plain instead of vanilla yogurt). It was still quite good, but there is something about the texture that makes it different from other vanilla ice cream. I think it’s maybe that they use skim milk. Like the Breyers Cookies and Cream, it’s just tastes a little watery. But overall, it’s a light tasting, not too vanillay, vanilla ice cream that I really enjoy.

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 3.5
• Texture: 3.5
• Originality: 1
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $1.79 on sale at Safeway

I wouldn’t call it Rocky Road, I’d call it Chocolate and Almonds. But, who am I to decide what to name Breyers ice creams? This is day two of four in my taste tests of Breyers ice creams. It’s not that I was dying to try any of the Breyers flavors, but the Safeway down the street had its grand re-opening this weekend and half gallons of Breyers were $1.79; down from their usual price of $5.99. I would have purchased more than four, but there’s not enough room in my freezer for all of this ice cream…

The Breyers Rocky Road looked particularly “gourmet” and so I decided to give it a shot. It is chocolate ice cream with marshmallow twirls and chocolate covered almonds. The difference between a “twirl” and a “swirl” is unknown to me, but either one wouldn’t have replaced real marshmallows in my ice cream. The twirls of marshmallow had no distinctive flavor or consistency and I think the ice cream would have been better off without them. However, the chocolate covered almonds were amazing. The chocolate covering was on the sweet side and was about the thickness and texture of the chocolate that covers chocolate covered raisins. And, there were a lot of them. Truly, the chocolate covered almonds were good. While it was littered with these wonderful “accessories”, the chocolate ice cream still stood its ground. It was rich and flavorful and even creamy. Overall, though Breyers Rocky Road wasn’t really deserving of the “rocky road” title, it was still quite scrumptious.

• Flavor: 4.5
• Flavor Intensity: 4.5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 3
• Overall: 4.5
• Cost: $1.79 on sale at Safeway

Very Mediocre. That’s the way I’d describe Breyers Cookies and Cream. The cookies don’t have a very strong, or tasty, cookie flavor. I mean what we are really going for when we say “cookies” is Oreo cookies, right? All cookies and cream ice cream uses cookies that try to taste like Oreos. But they never seem to measure up. That is especially the case with the cookies in Breyers Cookies and Cream. They are almost flavorless and very mushy. But there are a lot of them in there, and the ice cream itself is pretty good. My only complaint about the ice cream itself (as opposed to the stuff in the ice cream) comes from a general feeling about Breyers ice cream: it’s kind of watery. I’m not sure what it is, but Breyers has always tasted a little less than creamy. It’s more like drinking skim milk when you’re used to 2% or maybe even whole. When it comes to ice cream, I usually prefer the 2%.

• Flavor: 3
• Flavor Intensity: 2.5
• Texture: 3.5
• Originality: 2
• Overall: 3
• Cost: $1.79 on sale at Safeway

Need more proof that Ben and Jerry’s caters to the young adult population? Ben and Jerry’s Dave Mathews Band “Magic Brownies.” This ice cream flavor name employs a popular band, a good cause, and of course, the mood altering dessert to gain attention. The ice cream is good and the cause is even better. Who needs a better excuse to eat ice cream than knowing that you’re doing it for a good cause? A portion of the sales of this ice cream goes to help fight global warming, that is- “lick global warming.” You can read all the details here.

The ice cream itself is pretty decent. It actually reminds me of a flavor Ben and Jerry’s used to carry, I think it was Black Raspberry Frozen Yogurt. I used to get it every so often, but I haven’t seen it in awhile. There’s not much plain vanilla ice cream in Magic Brownies. The raspberry swirls are fairly well integrated with the vanilla for an overall intense raspberry flavor. The brownies were good, as Ben and Jerry’s brownies usually are. But, I thought that the flavor could have been better. Maybe the brownies were too much, or maybe brownies and raspberry just don’t mix. In any event, I enjoyed Ben and Jerry’s Dave Mathews Band “Magic Brownies” and would get it again. Especially knowing that I was eating ice cream to save the environment.

• Flavor: 3.5
• Flavor Intensity: 4.5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 4.5
• Overall: 4
• Cost: $3.00 on sale at Safeway

I’ll be honest here. When something is called “Very Chocolate Cherry” I expect it to be “very chocolate” with some cherry; not very cherry with a little chocolate. But that’s what this is: very very cherry. If you like cherry flavored things, than this is for you. If you don’t stay away. Personally, I love Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. It was the first ice cream I ate when I came home from Ireland. Why? Because it’s practically one of my comfort foods. However, I don’t like all cherry flavored things, say Cherry Runts. Not a fan. Regardless, I could have gone either way with the cherry part of Breyer’s Very Chocolate Cherry. Well, turns out I didn’t like this cherry. I don’t know what it was about it, maybe it tasted too much like real cherries to me. It was intense. It was also smooth and the chocolate chunks weren’t too bad. But, I didn’t like it. It might be good in an ice cream sundae or maybe in a malt, but not on it’s own.

• Flavor: 2
• Flavor Intensity: 5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 3
• Overall: 2.5
• Cost: $5.99 at Safeway

I’m not sure why this flavor jumped out at me when I was browsing the freezer section at Safeway tonight. I actually had Breyer’s ice cream in my freezer that I was planning on eating, but we had to make an emergency run to the store since the dog was out of food and her “prescription dog food” for kidney disease doesn’t get in until Thursday. So, as I usually do when I’m at a grocery store these days, I went to the ice cream section to see if anything was on sale. Haagen Dazs wasn’t on sale, but the mint chip looked too good. And it was. I’m usually not a big fan of mint chip. When I was little both my mom and brother would usually order mint chip when we went for ice cream, while my dad and I would get some sort of chocolate. However, I’m glad I picked out mint chip tonight. It was some of the most refreshing ice cream I’ve ever had. It was almost like the middle of a York Peppermint Pattie. It was extremely cool. And it was smooth. And the chocolate chunks were high quality chocolate. And it wasn’t flavored with gross green coloring. All in all in was a perfect choice. My only complaint: because it’s not heavy tasting, I ate a lot more than I should have…

• Flavor: 5
• Flavor Intensity: 4.5
• Texture: 5
• Originality: 2
• Overall: 5
• Cost: $3.99 at Safeway

Tonight I decided to try something different, frozen yogurt. To put it lightly: it was a terrible idea. I’ve had Ben and Jerry’s frozen yogurts in the past, at least a half dozen times. So, I expected to enjoy Ben and Jerry’s Half Baked frozen yogurt at least a little bit. But, I didn’t. First, it was extremely icy. While ice build-up sometimes occurs from improper freezing by the store, I don’t think I’ve ever had ice cream (or frozen yogurt) this icy. Moreover, there just weren’t enough chunks of cookie dough or brownie. I dug around in the container, but I ended up with only eight or nine chunks and a pint of ice cream that looked like a plowed up field. However, the cookie dough and brownie chunks that I did find were very tasty; possibly the only redeeming things about it. Oh, and I like the colors of the container too.

• Flavor: 3
• Flavor Intensity: 2.5
• Texture: 1
• Originality: 3.5
• Overall: 1.5
• Cost: $3.00 (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

The best dessert to soothe a mouth stung by spicy red curry? Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Hands down the best vanilla bean ice cream I’ve ever had. (Besides the homemade vanilla bean my mom makes me every year for my birthday.) Haagen Dazs Vanilla Bean Ice Cream exudes vanilla bean flavor. It is smooth and creamy and extremely rich. I’m usually not a big fan of plain vanilla ice cream, but this may have converted me. There is not much more to say about it. Absolutely amazing.

• Flavor: 5
• Flavor intensity: 5
• Texture: 4.5
• Overall: 5
• Originality: 1
• Cost- $3.00 on sale at Safeway

Can’t decide between a pint of Guinness and a pint cup of ice cream? Try a pint Ben and Jerry’s new Black and Tan. While the name is extremely offensive to the Irish, Black and Tan cream probably wouldn’t offend their tongues. (As a side note, Ben and Jerry’s did issue an apology and it’s not clear as to whether they will discontinue/rename the ice cream) You can read much more about the controversy in the comments here.

Tasting Black and Tan brought me straight back to my trip to Ireland two weeks ago. The stout tasted just like Guinness. Seriously, I don’t know how they did it. Maybe I was so impressed just because I was extremely skeptical, but the stout flavored ice cream tasted just like a stout beer. Now, I will say that this did not taste like any Black and Tan beverage (Guinness and Bass Ale) I’ve ever had. Quite frankly I think they should have just stuck to the stout. The “black” was chocolate ice cream and the two just didn’t seem to go together. So, while the flavor was good, it was not great. A better word to describe Black and Tan ice cream would have been interesting. Impressive would describe the “stout” part of it. It was about what you would have expected from B&J’s in terms of texture: smooth, but not the smoothest of their ice creams. In terms of flavor intensity, I wasn’t overpowering, but strong enough.

Back to deciding between Guinness and ice cream. I’ve always felt that since there are root beer floats, there should also be beer floats. Never have I thought of an ice cream flavor that would work well in a pint of beer though. I think I’ve found it. If you happen to really want both Guinness and ice cream I suggest creating your very own “beer float,” then let me know how it tastes…

• Flavor: 3.5
• Flavor Intensity: 3.5
• Texture: 4
• Originality: 5
• Overall: 3.5
• Cost: $3.99 at Whole Foods

The perfection is really lacking in Dove’s Caramel Pecan Perfection.  I’m a huge fan of the Miniature Dove Bars and was hoping to be a fan of Dove’s line of regular ice cream flavors.  Thus far, that’s not going to be the case.  The flavor of Caramel Pecan Perfection is bad and the texture is worse.  The only thing I liked about this ice cream was that it had a hard chocolate coating on top.  I think I’ll stick to the Dove Minatures from now on

• Flavor: 2.5
• Flavor Intensity: 3
• Texture: 3
• Originality: 3
• Overall: 2.5
• Cost: $3.99 at Safeway