New-to-me Brand: Bridgeman's Raspberry Fudge Torte
You think you're an ice cream expert and then you discover a new-to-you-but-actually-very-old brand based in your state and you question your whole identity! This happened to me last week when I saw a few flavors by the brand Bridgeman's at Tim and Tom's Speedy Market. This brand was started by two brothers in 1936 in Duluth, Minnesota and from there expanded across the state and Midwest with ice cream shops and retail products. It looks like they no longer have any shops in the Twin Cities, but do sell in several places including Tim and Tom's and Kramarczuk's.
I picked up a 48 oz (3 pint) container of Raspberry Fudge Torte, and have my eye on several flavors to try in the future. If I remember correctly, this ice cream cost somewhere in the range of $6-8 (making it really cheap!), but I'll double check next time I'm at Tim and Tom's.
Before I give my review, I want to share Bridgman's description of their ice cream:
Bridgeman's Ice Cream is prepared with fresh milk and cream, wholesome fruits and nuts, rich cocoas and dark chocolates, sweet caramel and delicious candies. Our special recipes create a smooth and creamy, not too sweet, not too heavy taste that only can be described as original ... the original, premium and quality taste of Bridgeman's!
I have to agree. This had a really interesting and unique texture. It was quite airy, but not at the expense of any richness. I think if you make really rich, creamy, heavy ice cream you don't lose anything, and sometimes even gain edibility with an airier texture, which is the case here. I could also tell there was a high fat content as the ice cream left that nice, fatty residue on my spoon.
In addition to the great texture, the flavor was wonderful. I loved the vanilla base because it was very light on the vanilla flavor and let the raspberry and chocolate take the lead. The flavor of the raspberry swirl permeated the base, so it was almost as if this ice cream had a lightly raspberry flavored base. The raspberry flavor intensified when I got a bit of swirl, which wasn't so much as a swirl as wisps of raspberry sauce.
The fudge pieces were the standout for me. They were square and about the size of an iPhone home button (I'm trying for creative metaphors and failing miserably), and were frequent enough that I got at least one in every bite and more often got 2 or 3 in a bite. They were somewhere between fudge and a Hershey's bar in texture, hitting that sweet spot of soft but still crunchy. The chocolate was also darker than your average ice cream mix-in, but I wouldn't call it 'dark chocolate.'
Overall, I'm very pleased with my first Bridgeman's experience and I think I can easily say it's the best ice cream I've had for this price, and it definitely holds its own against ice cream outside of its price bracket as well.
I picked up a 48 oz (3 pint) container of Raspberry Fudge Torte, and have my eye on several flavors to try in the future. If I remember correctly, this ice cream cost somewhere in the range of $6-8 (making it really cheap!), but I'll double check next time I'm at Tim and Tom's.
Before I give my review, I want to share Bridgman's description of their ice cream:
Bridgeman's Ice Cream is prepared with fresh milk and cream, wholesome fruits and nuts, rich cocoas and dark chocolates, sweet caramel and delicious candies. Our special recipes create a smooth and creamy, not too sweet, not too heavy taste that only can be described as original ... the original, premium and quality taste of Bridgeman's!
I have to agree. This had a really interesting and unique texture. It was quite airy, but not at the expense of any richness. I think if you make really rich, creamy, heavy ice cream you don't lose anything, and sometimes even gain edibility with an airier texture, which is the case here. I could also tell there was a high fat content as the ice cream left that nice, fatty residue on my spoon.
In addition to the great texture, the flavor was wonderful. I loved the vanilla base because it was very light on the vanilla flavor and let the raspberry and chocolate take the lead. The flavor of the raspberry swirl permeated the base, so it was almost as if this ice cream had a lightly raspberry flavored base. The raspberry flavor intensified when I got a bit of swirl, which wasn't so much as a swirl as wisps of raspberry sauce.
The fudge pieces were the standout for me. They were square and about the size of an iPhone home button (I'm trying for creative metaphors and failing miserably), and were frequent enough that I got at least one in every bite and more often got 2 or 3 in a bite. They were somewhere between fudge and a Hershey's bar in texture, hitting that sweet spot of soft but still crunchy. The chocolate was also darker than your average ice cream mix-in, but I wouldn't call it 'dark chocolate.'
Overall, I'm very pleased with my first Bridgeman's experience and I think I can easily say it's the best ice cream I've had for this price, and it definitely holds its own against ice cream outside of its price bracket as well.
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