Taste Test: Vanilla Ice Cream

 Ice cream is one of the most versatile desserts of the world; you can put it on pies, cobblers, pair it with a soda to make a float, it is very flexible. The most flexible flavor in my opinion is vanilla. A good vanilla ice cream should be… creamy and a little light, fluffy, and most importantly the vanilla flavor should be prominent over everything. After all, it is vanilla ice cream. Another thing to consider with a good ice cream is the flavor when it melts. It has happened to all of us: it’s a hot summer day and you stop by somewhere to get ice cream, but it gets so hot that the ice cream begins to melt. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the enjoyment of ice cream to purely come from the temperature, the flavor is paramount. I will be letting each contestant sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes to get all the ice melted and loosen up in texture. But let us dilly dally no more, let the games begin. 

Our first WONDERFUL contestant is HEB’s Creamy Creations vanilla bean ice cream.  The texture on this contestant really butters my biscuit: perfectly creamy, but hard enough to slowly melt on my tongue. Rarely do you get an ice cream with the perfect texture, but Mr. Creamy Creations has nailed it! This is where I would usually put a “however”, but that word has no place near this contestant! Creamy Creations has the sweetest and richest vanilla flavor I have had in a while. Sometimes I think the vanilla beans in some ice creams are trying to placebo you into thinking it taste like vanilla, not this one. The vanilla is there, the sugar is not too distracting, and the melted version has all the same perks. Contestant number 1 gets a 9/10!

Our second contestant is Swoon, by HEB…again. Contestant number 1 may have spoiled me, because my biscuit is not buttered by the texture of this ice cream. Although cream is in the name, it feels as if HEB slapped a cup of heavy whipping cream in there after the product was done. I am almost suffocating by how thick this ice cream is, this will lose contestant number 2 a lot of points. The flavor does make up for the texture in some ways; the vanilla beans in this ice cream are not placebo at all. Though not as rich as Mr. Creamy Creations, the sweetness is very well balanced, and I am not overwhelmed by the sugar within this ice cream. Although we have a happy ending, contestant number 2 still gets a 5/10.

The last contestant is Haagen-Dazs’s vanilla ice cream. Dear Lord, where do I start? I have never had any Haagen Dazs ice cream, but the advertising they do has to come from people who do not try the ice cream. To be honest, Haagen Dazs starts off fairly well: decent texture, even a good melted texture and taste. The vanilla flavor is there, but a little faint. Then we get to the horrendous after taste. It feels like sour cream was shoved in my mouth after I swallow a scoop. The rotten taste I get after enjoying the ice cream drops this down to the bottom of the bin. Contestant number 3 gets a 3/10. 

Besides Haagen Dazs, this was a very enjoyable experience. Ice cream is a perfect sweet treat and will hold its place at the top of the dessert world until the end of time.