What brand of ice cream do you buy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Costco Kirkland premium vanilla is really good. Otherwise we buy whatever is on sale and is real ice cream (as opposed to frozen dairy desert). Also agree about Talenti, yum and the containers are reusable.

+1 for the Costco vanilla. This was surprising to me, but true. I bought it for the "bulk savings" -- but found its really superior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started making my own. It's very, very difficult to buy it now. I LOVE making it and the flavors are unreal. I want to start a business doing it.

that said, when I DO buy it, I like B&J's and Talenti. Local scoop shops are basically terrible, but I enjoy Dolcezza the most.

Not meant to sound snobby (heck, hire me to make you a custom flavor!), but it's funny how once you have real homemade ice cream it's hard to eat the stuff from the market. But somehow I manage. And if I am the one buying, it's usually chubby hubby or NY super fudge chunk. I could eat a pint of those easily!

Why would anybody leave a country with great ice cream and yogurt, to come to a country with bad ice cream? I don't get it. Did you also own a pony in your home country?

[Anonymous]

PP from above, I obviously meant to reply to the "your American ice cream sucks" poster. Rock on with your homemade ice cream!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ strange, but I have found that the ice cream I make is good, but not that much better than premium brands for the amount of mess/time it takes. Probably yours is much superior. . .

Not PP, but do you make the custard type? We only make the simple type at home (cream, milk, sugar, flavoring), and I think that's why ours is not as good.

Ice cream making PP here - I use custard. Without egg yolks, the base has a greater chance of getting "icy", if that makes sense (more ice crystals form vs a very smooth texture). I've made without egg yolks and I don't enjoy it as much. I also have messed around with the combination of dairy (milk/heavy cream/half and half) and found a combo that isn't too thick that it leaves a weird texture in your mouth. And if course, for me, different flavors require a different amount of egg yolks. It's trial and error.

I agree, making it from scratch unless you have a favorite method can be a pain in the ass. However, I went through a phase where I was making SO much of it (for friends, for gatherings, etc) that it's become very easy for me. I've had people ask to pay for it before. If only I had a business partner But if you stick with it - assuming you want to - it's a very easy skill and just requires a few minutes of active prep time and few tastes are as good as the ice cream just after it's churned and not yet set.

FWIW, I'm a terrible baker! That's why I love making ice cream - I don't have to bake!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP from above, I obviously meant to reply to the "your American ice cream sucks" poster. Rock on with your homemade ice cream!

no worries - the only "ice cream" outside of the US I like was gelato in Italy and even that got old after a while. Now, having lived in a few different places, I hate how crappy DC's ice cream is. New England has the best I've had from shops. It was dangerous to live there. And in college, I ate my share of Dave and Andy's birthday cake ice cream!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Graeters! Whole Foods carries it now. So amazing. Delicious ice cream from Cincinnati with many "chip" flavors that actually have large chunks of bittersweet chocolate that's so good I would eat it on its own. It's definitely creamy!

The Safeway on Harrison Street in Arlington carries Graeter's too. I got a "chip" in my Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream that was about 5 inches long. Seriously!

If you want to go out for ice cream, Lazy Sundae in Falls Church is really good. The storefront is pretty terrible looking (connected to a 7-eleven), but they have a Honey Baklava flavor that is amazing.

[Anonymous]

Whatever is on sale. Preferences are: Blue Bell, Edy's/Dreyer's, Blue Bunny. I don't like the texture of Breyers or Ben & Jerry's. Occasionally I will buy a pint or quart at Culver's if its a flavor we like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^ strange, but I have found that the ice cream I make is good, but not that much better than premium brands for the amount of mess/time it takes. Probably yours is much superior. . .

Not PP, but do you make the custard type? We only make the simple type at home (cream, milk, sugar, flavoring), and I think that's why ours is not as good.

Ice cream making PP here - I use custard. Without egg yolks, the base has a greater chance of getting "icy", if that makes sense (more ice crystals form vs a very smooth texture). I've made without egg yolks and I don't enjoy it as much. I also have messed around with the combination of dairy (milk/heavy cream/half and half) and found a combo that isn't too thick that it leaves a weird texture in your mouth. And if course, for me, different flavors require a different amount of egg yolks. It's trial and error.

I agree, making it from scratch unless you have a favorite method can be a pain in the ass. However, I went through a phase where I was making SO much of it (for friends, for gatherings, etc) that it's become very easy for me. I've had people ask to pay for it before. If only I had a business partner But if you stick with it - assuming you want to - it's a very easy skill and just requires a few minutes of active prep time and few tastes are as good as the ice cream just after it's churned and not yet set.

FWIW, I'm a terrible baker! That's why I love making ice cream - I don't have to bake!

I find this all very interesting (as someone who dislikes ice cream but loves a really good frozen custard). What sort of flavors have you come up with at home?

[Anonymous]

I know I am in the minority but I think Ben and Jerry's is really is overrated. It tastes too sweet to me. I love Haagen Daz and Blue Bunny!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whatever is on sale. Preferences are: Blue Bell, Edy's/Dreyer's, Blue Bunny. I don't like the texture of Breyers or Ben & Jerry's. Occasionally I will buy a pint or quart at Culver's if its a flavor we like.

CULVER's! You get out! No fair waving the fact that you live near a Culver's at us. What are you in WI? IL? I am JELUS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ice cream making PP here - I use custard. Without egg yolks, the base has a greater chance of getting "icy", if that makes sense (more ice crystals form vs a very smooth texture). I've made without egg yolks and I don't enjoy it as much. I also have messed around with the combination of dairy (milk/heavy cream/half and half) and found a combo that isn't too thick that it leaves a weird texture in your mouth. And if course, for me, different flavors require a different amount of egg yolks. It's trial and error.

I agree, making it from scratch unless you have a favorite method can be a pain in the ass. However, I went through a phase where I was making SO much of it (for friends, for gatherings, etc) that it's become very easy for me. I've had people ask to pay for it before. If only I had a business partner But if you stick with it - assuming you want to - it's a very easy skill and just requires a few minutes of active prep time and few tastes are as good as the ice cream just after it's churned and not yet set.

FWIW, I'm a terrible baker! That's why I love making ice cream - I don't have to bake!

I find this all very interesting (as someone who dislikes ice cream but loves a really good frozen custard). What sort of flavors have you come up with at home?

PP here....First, the "custard" refers to the stuff you make before you churn. So I'm not making custard, per se, but the base is a custard because of the egg yolks. However, the custard base for chocolate ice cream is pretty amazing, like delicious homemade chocolate pudding.

Our favorites.....
-chocolate with homemade peanut butter patties and fudge ripple
-chocolate with salted caramel
-chocolate brownie
-coffee chip (me, husband doesn't like coffee)
-red velvet cake with a cream cheese base
-stracciatella (vanilla chip)
-french vanilla (husband's favorite)
-salted caramel
-cookies and cream (and chocolate cookies and cream)

these are the standbys that we make. I've made fruit flavors, but they aren't my favorite so I just don't really make them. Salted caramel is the most difficult, vanilla is the easiest. I personally like flavors with chunks of stuff, like chocolate covered pretzels and brownie bits. My husband likes basic flavors, so I will make stracciatella or cookies and cream for him and he'll finish a quart in a few days. Red velvet is always a huge hit when we make it for company.

[Anonymous]

Ice cream making PP here....I also really, really love the custard at shake shack. It's very good, high quality, and their flavor rotation keeps it interesting. If you're near one and want a treat....GO!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know I am in the minority but I think Ben and Jerry's is really is overrated. It tastes too sweet to me. I love Haagen Daz and Blue Bunny!

I agree that B&J is overrated. Haagen Dazs fan here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here we go.

Huh? Not sure what that means.

"I don't buy it. It's sooo unhealthy. My kids literally BEG for cauliflower!"

"Whichever brand has no HFCS and can tell me where the cows were raised."

"Never. Terribly overpriced. I am 23 and have $57 million saved for retirement."

Your post is terribly ironic given the chip on your shoulder. You're nastier than these imaginary DCUM people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Graeters! Whole Foods carries it now. So amazing. Delicious ice cream from Cincinnati with many "chip" flavors that actually have large chunks of bittersweet chocolate that's so good I would eat it on its own. It's definitely creamy!

The Safeway on Harrison Street in Arlington carries Graeter's too. I got a "chip" in my Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream that was about 5 inches long. Seriously!

If you want to go out for ice cream, Lazy Sundae in Falls Church is really good. The storefront is pretty terrible looking (connected to a 7-eleven), but they have a Honey Baklava flavor that is amazing.

I AM FROM OHIO. DID YOU JUST TELL ME I CAN BUY GRAETERS AT SAFEWAY IN ARLINGTON? I WANT TO HUG YOU AND KISS YOU NOW.