Ice Cream

Best vanilla ice cream

When it comes to ice cream, everyone has their own particular favorites -- which makes it especially difficult to establish consensus, even among "scientific" tasting panels. Still, no full-fat vanilla ice cream is picked more often by reviewers than Häagen-Dazs Vanilla (*est. $4/pint), which is the top choice of one national consumer magazine (though its roundup of chocolate and vanilla ice creams is over five years old) and also scores recommendations from such disparate sources as Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine and the foodie site Chowhound.com.

Because of its exotic name, a lot of people believe that Häagen-Dazs is imported from Scandinavia; actually, it's churned out in a big factory in New Jersey. Reviewers say Häagen-Dazs Vanilla is especially rich, sweet and dense ("decadent" is a word sometimes used), but has a pleasing texture and authentic vanilla flavor. Says Every Day with Rachael Ray reviewer Jane Black, "We love the vanilla-bean taste; experienced tasters picked up subtle caramel and maple notes. The creamy texture convinced all of us that pain old vanilla can be anything but."

However, the denseness and sweetness that makes Häagen-Dazs Vanilla a favorite of some reviewers gives others pause. The top source in our All Reviews chart, Cook's Illustrated, rates Häagen-Dazs Vanilla and Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean (*est. $4/pint) below both Turkey Hill All Natural Flavor Vanilla Bean (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts) and Dreyer's/Edy's Dreamery Vanilla (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts), saying the Häagen-Dazs has a strong, "boozy" flavor and a rich, creamy, high-fat texture. The Häagen Dazs flavors still merit a "recommended" tag; whether you like them or not clearly depends on your own preferences.

Although Turkey Hill only shows up in this Cook's Illustrated review, Dreyer's/Edy's Dreamery Vanilla is also recommended by the same consumer magazine that touts Häagen-Dazs. (This ice cream brand is called Dreyer's on the west coast, Edy's on the east coast.) Cook's Illustrated praises Dreamery Vanilla for its "ultra-creamy and yummy" texture and strong vanilla flavor. However, since we found more convincing recommendations for Dreyer's/Edy's Grand Chocolate ice cream, we refrained from including Dreamery Vanilla in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers in that category.

Only two other vanilla ice cream brands receive nearly as many picks as Häagen-Dazs: Ben & Jerry's Vanilla (*est. $4/pint) and Breyers Natural Vanilla (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts). Real Simple praises Ben & Jerry's "sturdy, old-fashioned firmness" and "unmistakable vanilla flavor," and this brand sweeps a taste test by the Dayton Daily News (which didn't include Häagen-Dazs). In this case, however, we're inclined to go with the judgment of Cook's Illustrated, which concedes that Ben & Jerry's is "creamy, rich and subtly flavored," but says its vanilla doesn't stand out enough to make for a satisfying experience. In the words of one of this magazine's tasters, it's "fatty but flavorless."

Cook's Illustrated is also ambivalent about Breyers Extra Creamy Vanilla (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts): "The problem with this ice cream wasn't texture or richness; there just wasn't enough vanilla flavor." However, this hasn't kept Breyers from being the top pick of other sources, such as Local10.com, whose taste testers call Breyers Natural Vanilla "absolutely sublime," with a "near-perfect mouth feel." This all-natural version is also a top pick among foodies posting on Chowhound.com, who compare it favorably to Häagen-Dazs. However, in light of the huge popularity of Breyers Double Churn Light Creamy Vanilla (about which more below), we decided not to include its full-fat vanilla in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers. Given the price difference between it and Häagen-Dazs, however, the Breyers vanilla ice cream could be a better pick for a family or party.

Best chocolate ice cream

For whatever reason -- possibly because it's easier on the palate over extended periods of time -- vanilla ice cream is the subject of many more taste tests than chocolate ice cream. Eight of the sources in our All Reviews chart devote themselves entirely or primarily to vanilla ice cream, while only four concentrate on chocolate (the rest conduct taste tests with both chocolate and vanilla ice creams, or various other flavors). For this reason, it's a bit harder to establish a consensus, as there's less differentiation between the top-ranked brands.

Whatever the case, it's clear that Häagen-Dazs doesn't fare nearly as well in the chocolate category as it does in vanilla. In a taste test by Cook's Country (the sister magazine of Cook's Illustrated), Häagen-Dazs Chocolate (*est. $4/pint) is ranked near the bottom: the panel says its "boring" flavor can't compensate for its rich, creamy, high-fat texture. The only source we found that recommends Häagen-Dazs Chocolate is The Detroit News, whose panel still rates it behind Kroger's Private Selection Chocolate (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts) and one regional brand. From reading these reviews, it appears that Häagen-Dazs' trademark texture and fat content work better with vanilla than with chocolate -- not an unusual occurrence in the world of ice cream.

To identify the best chocolate ice cream, we looked to Cook's Country, the highest-ranking source on our All Reviews chart to conduct the most recent chocolate-only tasting. This magazine's two top picks are about as diametrically opposed as two ice creams can get: Ben & Jerry's (*est. $4/pint), with its "fudge-like," "almost-chewy" texture and high fat content, and Dreyer's/Edy's Grand Chocolate (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts), which is much less dense, "like something you'd get from the ice cream truck, but better." Cook's calls Dreyer's/Edy's the ideal choice for kids, and it's certainly cheaper than Ben & Jerry's, which prompted us to make it the top chocolate pick in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers.

As you may have guessed, not everyone is a fan of the texture of Dreyer's/Edy's Grand Chocolate. The Detroit News downgrades this brand for its "unusual color and texture," and points out that it's prone to develop ice crystals if refrigerated improperly (still, the newspaper has no issue with its "good, deep chocolate flavor"). On the same note, this ice cream does well in a taste test by teens on York Blog who praise its rich flavor, though again there are some complaints about its texture.

Once you get past Dreyer's/Edy's, Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's, reviews (and recommendations) of full-fat chocolate ice creams are thin on the ground. One national consumer magazine praises Godiva Belgian Dark Chocolate (*est. $4/pint), a brand that doesn't pop up in any other reviews, while the only other national ice cream brand -- Breyers -- keeps a low profile in this category. Indeed, we found that the top chocolate picks of reviewers often tend to be regional brands, like Berkshire (*est. $4/pint), the choice of Real Simple, or regional and/or mass-market brands like Kroger's Private Selection (The Detroit News) or Friendly's (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts), the pick in a review at The Dayton Daily News. Lacking any strong consensus for other brands, Dreyer's/Edy's Grand seems to be the best (and cheapest) choice.

Low-fat ice cream

Once you get past the never-ending vanilla/chocolate debate, the real action in ice cream is in low-fat formulations. For years, manufacturers have been perfecting new techniques to whip up a froth of low-fat ingredients into fluffy, nicely textured, richly flavored ice creams.

The hottest technique now is "churning," which (as The New York Times' Julia Moskin phrases it) "refers to a process called low-temperature extrusion, which significantly reduces the size of the fat globules and ice crystals in ice cream." The phrases "slow churned," "double churned," etc., have been popping up on ice-cream cartons with increasing frequency. The advantage of churning is that ice-cream makers don't have to compensate for lack of fat (which might otherwise adversely affect the ice cream's texture) by adding artificial ingredients.

By far the most popular brand (and flavor) of low-fat ice cream is Breyers Double Churn Light Creamy Vanilla (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts), which is a top pick of both Good Housekeeping and Real Simple magazines. In its roundup of low-fat vanilla ice creams, Good Housekeeping says testers were amazed that Breyers was low fat, and praised its "fresh dairy flavor" and "pleasant vanilla taste." Real Simple's panel concurs: "Testers were amazed that this 'unbelievably rich-tasting' ice cream was actually low in fat." The New York Times also plumps for Breyers Double Churn (albeit in ice-cream bar form), and it's also a favorite of Boston.com, one of the tasters for which calls it "pretty much close to perfection, especially with less fattiness." (However, Boston.com warns against the Vanilla Bean variety, saying it's "distractingly gritty.")

No other brand of low-fat ice cream (churned, vanilla or otherwise) even comes close to Breyers Double Churn Light Creamy Vanilla. Boston.com's taste test of low-fat vanilla ice cream is typical: one panelist says Hood Light (*est. $4 for 1.75 quarts) "tastes like the carton," while others agree that Healthy Choice (now only available in ice cream sandwiches and bars) "doesn't taste like vanilla." Another churned variety, Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned Rich & Creamy Light Vanilla Bean (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts), earns mixed reviews, with some panelists calling its taste either "innocuous" or "dreadful."

And then we get to Häagen-Dazs Light Vanilla Bean (*est. $4/pint) and Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Light (*est. $4/pint), which exemplify the pitfalls of judging a "low-fat" ice cream by its carton. Boston.com notes that the Häagen-Dazs has "twice the calories and fat of the others" and is also "the most expensive of the lot;" not surprisingly, many of its tasters vote for the Häagen-Dazs, though not as many as for the (lower-fat) Breyers. And in its roundup of low-fat vanilla ice creams (which seems to have been published before the debut of Breyers Double Churn), Eating Well puts Ben & Jerry's in the "excellent" category, but admits that "it is really only light in comparison to Ben & Jerry's ultra-rich, super-premium vanilla and its extravagant competitors, such as Häagen-Dazs."

Clearly, if you're sticking to a diet, it's important to examine the "low-fat" claims of ice cream brands with extreme skepticism. The editors at Cook's Illustrated and other experts report that federal labeling laws let manufacturers use the term "light" on ice cream with no more than half the fat and two-thirds the calories of the company's regular ice cream. Thus, light ice creams from premium brands tend to have more fat because the regular versions have so much more fat to begin with.

Other terms to watch for are "reduced fat" (the ice cream has at least 25% less fat than regular ice cream), "low-fat" (the ice cream has three grams of fat or less) and "fat-free" (less than .5 gram of fat per serving).

Important Features: Ice cream

Reviewers say the following about shopping for ice cream.

• Consider texture as well as flavor. Ice cream is a very sensual experience; even the best-tasting variety can be ruined by a coarse, grainy, too-dense or too-fluffy texture. In ConsumerSearch Fast Answers, Häagen-Dazs Vanilla tends toward the dense side, Dreyer's/Edy's Grand Chocolate and Breyers Double Churn Light toward the fluffy side.

• Be skeptical about "reduced-fat" claims. As explained above, some reduced-fat ice creams (especially from Ben & Jerry's and Häagen-Dazs) only merit that label in comparison to full-fat ice cream of that same brand. Sources say the reduced-fat versions of both of these brands have about twice the fat content of competing brands from Breyers and Dreyer's/Edy’s.

• Don't assume a brand's chocolate is as good as its vanilla. Oddly enough, no brand sweeps the board for both chocolate and vanilla flavors: Häagen-Dazs Vanilla is a near universal favorite, but Häagen-Dazs Chocolate barely shows up on the radar. You'll have to do some tasting of your own to determine the best of the "exotic" flavors, like coffee or mint chocolate chip.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

# of picks	Model (with Retailer Links)
4	Häagen-Dazs Vanilla (*est. $4/pint)
4	Breyers Double Churn Light Creamy Vanilla (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts)
3	Ben & Jerry's Vanilla (*est. $4/pint)
3	Breyers Natural Vanilla (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts)
2	Dreyer's/Edy's Dreamery Vanilla (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts)
2	Dreyer's/Edy's Grand Chocolate (*est. $5 for 1.75 quarts)
2	Stonyfield Farm Organic Vanilla (*est. $4/pint)
1 each	Turkey Hill All Natural Flavor Vanilla Bean, Ben & Jerry's Chocolate, Breyers No Sugar Added Vanilla, Godiva Belgian Dark Chocolate, Blue Bunny No Sugar Added Reduced Fat Vanilla, Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned Light Strawberry, Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Lite, Dreyer's/Edy's Grand Light Vanilla, Breyers Brownie Mud Pie, Ben & Jerry's Fair Trade Vanilla, Julie's Organic Vanilla, Dreyer's/Edy's Grand Vanilla, Häagen-Dazs Extra-Rich Light Chocolate, Kroger's Private Selection Chocolate, Häagen-Dazs Chocolate, Blue Bunny Chocolate, Berkshire Chocolate, Friendly's Chocolate

Häagen-Dazs Vanilla and Breyers Double Churn Light Creamy Vanilla are the two specific brands and flavors that receive the most recommendations from reviewers. Because experts say the chocolate and vanilla varieties of the same brand have their own quirks, we've listed each brand and flavor separately.

Sponsored links