Reader Request: Graeter's Strawberry Chocolate Chip
My friend Sarah requested that The Big Muddy Ice Cream Blog review Graeter's Ice Cream. Madeline already had, but I hadn't, so I took that as an excuse to go buy some. With Graeter's you normally need some excuse or occasion to buy some, because it can be pricey! However, I when I made a quick trip through the Fenton Dierberg's ice cream aisle, I couldn't believe my eyes. The pints of Graeter's were on sale for 2 for $5!!! What a steal. I obviously bought two and had to try really hard not just grab a cart and clean them out of all their Graeter's. One of the pint's I bought was Strawberry Chocolate Chip. Although there is nothing very interesting about strawberry or chocolate chip ice cream, I have never actually seen this pairing before. Which is odd because everybody loves chocolate covered strawberries! More brands should make this flavor. This pint was also a limited edition flavor, so get it before it's gone!
So a little bit about Graeter's. They use a French Pot process to make their ice cream 2.5 gallons at a time. What is the French Pot process you ask? Basically it is a slightly bigger version of what you would do to make ice cream in the old fashioned bucket style. So basically they are making their ice cream the exact same way for the last 140 years! See their website: http://www.graeters.com/french-pot-process (One thing that makes me mad though, is on that page those are definitely blackberries in the picture not black raspberries as they claim them to be. Now that I know the difference this is a big deal to me). Also watch this cool little video to see a tour of how they make and by hand package their ice cream! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GucCKnFq3_4
So this ice cream was pretty fantastic. The base tasted like real strawberries, and as you can see from the ingredients list that was all they used to get the strawberry flavor!
The ice cream itself was on the harder side, but nothing too hard. Very traditional, but really good. When you've been doing something for 140 years, you better have perfected it, and Graeter's sure has! Now to talk about the chips. They make their own chocolate, which is very good. It's a pretty sweet chocolate and very chewy. Not hard and crunchy like most chocolate chunks in ice cream. And as you can see from the video, they pour in liquid chocolate to the ice cream while it is churning, as opposed to already solid chocolate chunks or chips. This is why it freezes into the irregular sizes and shapes. This is also probably why it is softer than most chocolate chunks in ice creams. All in all, nothing about this flavor was crazy or outlandish, but it was just what Graeter's is known for. Doing something simple, but doing it better than everybody else.
So a little bit about Graeter's. They use a French Pot process to make their ice cream 2.5 gallons at a time. What is the French Pot process you ask? Basically it is a slightly bigger version of what you would do to make ice cream in the old fashioned bucket style. So basically they are making their ice cream the exact same way for the last 140 years! See their website: http://www.graeters.com/french-pot-process (One thing that makes me mad though, is on that page those are definitely blackberries in the picture not black raspberries as they claim them to be. Now that I know the difference this is a big deal to me). Also watch this cool little video to see a tour of how they make and by hand package their ice cream! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GucCKnFq3_4
So this ice cream was pretty fantastic. The base tasted like real strawberries, and as you can see from the ingredients list that was all they used to get the strawberry flavor!
The ice cream itself was on the harder side, but nothing too hard. Very traditional, but really good. When you've been doing something for 140 years, you better have perfected it, and Graeter's sure has! Now to talk about the chips. They make their own chocolate, which is very good. It's a pretty sweet chocolate and very chewy. Not hard and crunchy like most chocolate chunks in ice cream. And as you can see from the video, they pour in liquid chocolate to the ice cream while it is churning, as opposed to already solid chocolate chunks or chips. This is why it freezes into the irregular sizes and shapes. This is also probably why it is softer than most chocolate chunks in ice creams. All in all, nothing about this flavor was crazy or outlandish, but it was just what Graeter's is known for. Doing something simple, but doing it better than everybody else.
I can't believe you FORCED me to try this, you evil diet buster you.
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