Tillamook Oregon Marionberry Cheesecake.
Fuuuucccccckkkkkkkk. You guys. Fuuuucccccckkkkkkkk. Tillamook ice cream is so good and I can't get it where I live. I'm planning to just gorge myself on the stuff until I leave Utah.
For those who don't know, Tillamook is a dairy coop based in Oregon that makes products ranging from cheese to ice cream to butter. Obviously, I'm most interested in their ice cream and frozen custard. One thing Tillamook does that I find super interesting in awesome, is produce both a super-premium line as well as a premium line. The super-premium flavors come in pints, and the premium flavors come in larger containers, keeping the cost down. I think it's really cool that this is both a fancy brand and a more accessible brand.
I picked up a pint of Oregon Marionberry Cheesecake Frozen Custard, described as
Sweet mascarpone frozen custard swirled with an Oregon marionberry ripple and pieces of graham cracker crust.
I took my first bite of this flavor and literally almost cried because it was easily the best blackberry flavor I've ever had AND I CAN'T GET IT. God, I'm fucking dying.
For those who don't know, a marionberry is a cultivar of blackberry developed by Oregon State University and commonly grown in Oregon. It is a popular blackberry because it has a stronger and more palatable flavor than other blackberry cultivars. (Side note, I've learned so many blackberry-related words in the past few days - drupelet, cultivar, torus - which is also delightfully math-related.)
I'll talk about the texture first because this was the only part that was slightly not perfect. As this was marketed as a frozen custard, I was expecting a super dense and creamy texture, but it was actually a bit airy. This didn't necessarily detract from the flavor, it was just unexpected.
This had the perfect cheese/berry balance. It was definitely an interesting choice to use a mascarpone base instead of a cheesecake base, but I the delicacy of the mascarpone kept the cheesiness from overwhelming the berry.
On to the star of the show. Oh my god the blackberry ripple was perfection. I almost wouldn't describe this as a ripple, as it filled at least half the pint. This is exactly how you want blackberry ice cream to taste. Too often the blackberry flavor is diluted to the point of being unrecognizable or is overly sweetened leading to a generic berry taste lacking the distinct complexity of the blackberry. Tillamook gracefully avoided all of these obstacles to produce absolute berry nirvana. The blackberry ripple was primarily sharp and tart without being sour or unpalatable, and it was juicy and sweet enough to round the flavor out.
Finally, the graham cracker crust pieces were just that, albeit a bit softer, as if they were milk-soaked.
I waffled a bit on whether to give this 3.5 or 4 cones. I was worried I wanted to give it 4 cones because I was being overly influenced by trying a great new brand for the first time and the sad realization that I don't normally have access to this brand. But whatever, it's my blog I'll do what I want, and this ice cream made me so happy so 🍦🍦🍦🍦/4 cones it is!
For those who don't know, Tillamook is a dairy coop based in Oregon that makes products ranging from cheese to ice cream to butter. Obviously, I'm most interested in their ice cream and frozen custard. One thing Tillamook does that I find super interesting in awesome, is produce both a super-premium line as well as a premium line. The super-premium flavors come in pints, and the premium flavors come in larger containers, keeping the cost down. I think it's really cool that this is both a fancy brand and a more accessible brand.
I picked up a pint of Oregon Marionberry Cheesecake Frozen Custard, described as
Sweet mascarpone frozen custard swirled with an Oregon marionberry ripple and pieces of graham cracker crust.
I took my first bite of this flavor and literally almost cried because it was easily the best blackberry flavor I've ever had AND I CAN'T GET IT. God, I'm fucking dying.
For those who don't know, a marionberry is a cultivar of blackberry developed by Oregon State University and commonly grown in Oregon. It is a popular blackberry because it has a stronger and more palatable flavor than other blackberry cultivars. (Side note, I've learned so many blackberry-related words in the past few days - drupelet, cultivar, torus - which is also delightfully math-related.)
I'll talk about the texture first because this was the only part that was slightly not perfect. As this was marketed as a frozen custard, I was expecting a super dense and creamy texture, but it was actually a bit airy. This didn't necessarily detract from the flavor, it was just unexpected.
This had the perfect cheese/berry balance. It was definitely an interesting choice to use a mascarpone base instead of a cheesecake base, but I the delicacy of the mascarpone kept the cheesiness from overwhelming the berry.
On to the star of the show. Oh my god the blackberry ripple was perfection. I almost wouldn't describe this as a ripple, as it filled at least half the pint. This is exactly how you want blackberry ice cream to taste. Too often the blackberry flavor is diluted to the point of being unrecognizable or is overly sweetened leading to a generic berry taste lacking the distinct complexity of the blackberry. Tillamook gracefully avoided all of these obstacles to produce absolute berry nirvana. The blackberry ripple was primarily sharp and tart without being sour or unpalatable, and it was juicy and sweet enough to round the flavor out.
Finally, the graham cracker crust pieces were just that, albeit a bit softer, as if they were milk-soaked.
I waffled a bit on whether to give this 3.5 or 4 cones. I was worried I wanted to give it 4 cones because I was being overly influenced by trying a great new brand for the first time and the sad realization that I don't normally have access to this brand. But whatever, it's my blog I'll do what I want, and this ice cream made me so happy so 🍦🍦🍦🍦/4 cones it is!
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