The Big Muddy Ice Cream Blog

Nana Banana, banana ice cream with salted caramel almond butter swirl, is the second of two flavors I picked up from the new Target x Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) collab. You can get my general thought on the MOIC in my  review of Piñata , but to sum up, it irks me that the MOIC is not, in fact, a museum and yet calls themselves a museum. I was unimpressed with the quality of Piñata, and it's way too easy to make a bad banana ice cream, so my expectations for Nana Banana were quite low.  The quality of the base was not great. It had a noticeably low fat content and as a result was hard and icy and melted down into a runny liquid. Despite that, the banana flavor of the base was not bad. It could have been a bit stronger, but it tasted like real banana and not banana flavoring. The salted caramel almond butter swirl had huge potential. It had a strong taste of almond butter - the the more complex and almost floral taste of lightly roasted almonds. The salted caramel added...

So hear me out for a metaphor that is relevant to very few people. Talenti is like a PhD program. A math PhD program perhaps. You find something that you think is going to be absolutely amazing. You try some stuff out and it's pretty good. Some parts are great and some parts are less than stellar. As the years go by, you suddenly realize that things haven't been good for a long, long time. The world is a dystopian hell-scape and literally nothing matters. Am I bitter that I've been in grad for five years? Not at all! But seriously, there are some great Talenti flavors in the core line, but I feel like none of the new flavors for the past at least three years have been any good. Since Chocolate Caramel Blondie relies on mix-ins, and we all know that Talenti sucks at mix-ins, I was did not have high hopes for this flavor. Chocolate Caramel Blondie is chocolate+dulce de leche gelato with blondie pieces and a salted caramel swirl. Interestingly, the base was very, very ...

Along with a trio of new TRIO flavors, Haagen-Dazs introduced the Decadent Collection consisting of Honey Salted Caramel Almond, Banana Peanut Butter Chip, and Midnight Cookies and Cream. Haagen-Dazs says this about Honey Salted Caramel Almond: This decadent blend of honey ice cream, swirls of salted caramel, and crunchy toasted almonds was lovingly crafted to raise awareness for the honeybees and other pollinators who bring us so many of our favorite ingredients. This ice cream spea ks to the deepest levels of my soul. I tend to enjoy slightly weird or unique flavors, but I like them to be done well. Well-balanced, rich, flavorful. Also, some of my favorite flavors - not flavors of anything in particular - include ginger, honey, lemon, and cinnamon. All are criminally underused as ice cream base flavors, so I was ecstatic to see Haagen-Dazs tackling a honey base. The honey flavor is so rich. The strong, sweet dairy base is the perfect canvas for a honey flavor that...

I've reviewed a few Culinary Circle ice creams in the past and thought pretty positively about them all, but the brand itself is an enigma.  Culinary Circle fills the niche between store-brand ice creams and higher-end ice creams; it's pretty decent and not too expensive. Last time I wrote a review, their website didn't even include a list of products and in fact I don't think it even included any links. It was just a page with no information. The website has since been improved, and has a list of ice creams and gelatos that interestingly does not include Caramel Cookie Crunch Gelato. This is a cookies and cream gelato with large cookie (OREO) chunks and a thick salted caramel swirl. The flavors were NOT subtle, which is okay. Not everything has to be subtle or refined. The caramel was in-your-face salty and the cookie chunks were large and in charge. The base was a standard cookies and cream, which I think actually worked a bit better as a gelato than as an i...

It's high time I got around to reviewing the rest of the new Haagen-Dazs TRIO flavors. I tried Vanilla Blackberry Chocolate when the TRIOs were first released, but hadn't tried any others when I saw that my grocery store was no longer going to carry them. *GASP* I scooped up the remaining three flavors: Coffee Vanilla Chocolate, Salted Caramel Chocolate, and Triple Chocolate. I'll review them from least favorite to most favorite. Up first, Salted Caramel Chocolate. I think Haagen-Dazs' insistence on making every flavor a trio of flavors really hurt them here. Of course, it couldn't be called a trio if it's not a trio, but they really could have left out the chocolate ice cream. Both the salted caramel and chocolate were such strong flavors that they blended together and made kind of a non-flavor. There was enough chocolate from the Belgian chocolate layers, and leaving out the chocolate ice cream would let the salted caramel shine. 🍦🍦/4 Coffee ...

Look at me go! I am moving through these Trio flavors. I've already tried the two flavors of this line that sounded the best to me, the triple chocolate and the coffee. I've picked up all of these flavors at the North Dodge HyVee. I'm not sure why, but this caramel flavor didn't sound like it would be all that delicious to me. I think the orange-ish-gold color on the label of this flavor looks really strange to me and that's what made me kind of turned off to the idea of this flavor. But this is all very silly, so here we go. Does anyone else think this packaging looks weird? This flavor is described as Layers of crispy Belgian chocolate, salted caramel & chocolate ice cream . When I first opened the pint I was greeted by a vibrant color that matched the color on the label. I was torn by being super enticed by the almost bright color of the caramel ice cream and slightly put off. But when I dug in, the caramel flavor was not nearly as dark, complex...

All hail the vegan ice cream goddesses who have brought beauty to this earth! So yes, I kind of spoiled the punch line of this blog post (aka this ice cream is good), but seriously, we are not worthy of this ice cream!! Madeline already reviewed the new non-dairy Coconut Seven Layer Bar and noted that it was much improved over the Ben & Jerry's non-dairy flavors from last year. This new flavor is described as Almond non dairy frozen dessert with salted caramel swirls & pieces of almond brittle . First, the texture of this ice cream was much improved over B&J's initial non-dairy releases. There was a teeny tiny hint of dryness in this base, but much improved over last year. It also melted down really well, and was very creamy and smooth. Now the flavor of the base was on point. If you don't like almonds and almond extract specifically, you will not  like this flavor. The bast had a very strong almond flavor. Almond milk plus more almond flavoring will...

It has been a hot minute since the last time I went to Izzy's! All the new ice creams at the beginning of the year have kept me glued to the grocery store ice cream aisles, but with the official start of summer hopefully I'll be visiting more ice cream shops. Last Saturday I decided to go to the Stone Arch Bridge Festival after dance on Saturday afternoon.  Izzy's is about halfway between my dance studio and the Stone Arch Bridge so obviously I stopped in. Looking at the list of available flavors, I saw Fig Tart and immediately knew I needed to have it.  The only decision left was what to get as my Izzy scoop.  I had it narrowed down to Vanilla, Lemon Buttermilk, and Salted Caramel.  I ultimately chose Salted Caramel, though the decision was a tough one. Fig Tart is described as Fig ice cream with organic Black Mission Figs, orange zest and graham cracker crunch. So I've never had a real fig.  The closest I've come is a Fig Newton.  This ice...

I've been a terrible ice cream blogger.  I finally got out to  Milkjam Creamery , the new and hip Minneapolis ice cream spot 5 MONTHS after it opened.  Whoops.  I was out to dinner with (approximately) my office-mates in the neighborhood, and we decided to stop by Milkjam after dinner. Before even seeing the flavors on offer that night, I decided I would get Milkjam's signature flavor, Milkjam.  This flavor is Caramelized goat, cow, and condensed milks. Apparently Milk Jam is a real thing and is either a different name for or a variant of dulce de leche. I asked the scoopers what sauce they would recommend, because Milkjam has an absolutely baller selection of  sauces .  The scoopers suggested salted caramel, and I was a liiiiiiiitle  disappointed they didn't suggest something more adventurous like Szechuan Berry or Spicy Honey, but I shouldn't have doubted them, the Salted Caramel went perfectly with the Milkjam ice cream. ...

No I am not in Boston. Before recently, I was under the impression that nowhere in Iowa City sold Ciao Bella. However, I finally dragged my butt to the New Pioneer Co-Op. And by dragged my butt, I mean drove 5 minutes from my house. I realize I have been a terrible Iowa City resident given that I have lived here 6 months and I am only now going to New Pi for the first time. I feel like I find myself saying this a lot on this blog, but better late than never. Of course, you can always count on local grocery stores to have unique ice cream selections, even if the selection isn't huge. In addition to these Gelato Squares, I also picked up a pint of Capanna Gelato, a brand I hadn't heard of before. So look forward to that review coming at you soon. These treats are described as Sea Salt Caramel Gelato with Caramel and Chocolate Swirl & Dark Chocolate Squares . First note. I am always underwhelmed by the size of ice cream treats. I look at the nutrition facts a...

YOU. GUYS. I've been waiting SO LONG to try Ben and Jerry's Salted Caramel Brownie Ale ice cream, a collaboration flavor with New Belgium Brewing.  I FINALLY HAVE IT I HAVE FINALLY TRIED IT AND IT IS DELICIOUS AND EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED AND MORE.  I went to the grocery store on Sunday and was disappointed that on first glance it seemed that Cub still did not have this flavor.  Because I'm a crazy ice cream person, I often look at the back of the shelves because people are terrible and they move things out of their assigned places and don't put them back.  Also, newly stocked ice cream often gets placed behind older flavors until the older flavors sell.  Good thing I decided to snoop because I caught a glimpse of a red lid at the back of the Ben and Jerry's section.  I had to move about 15 pints of ice cream out of the way to get to it, but by golly I got myself a pint of Salted Caramel Brownie Ale! This flavor is described as New Belgium Brown Ale ic...

Wow you guys, Madeline has been killing the game when it comes to reviews. She's been churning them out faster than you can say slow-churned ice cream. While Madeline is totally out-doing me in quantity, I've got to think I'm earning some points from hype-factor with this post right now. Because, as you all know, David's Famous is DA BOMB and eating/reviewing the ice cream is a ton of fun. Also I'm slowly, but surely, making my way through every David's Famous flavor. Since I've now tried Sea Salt Caramel, the only flavors I have left to try are Rhubarb and Lemon!! (Yay plants!) The description of this flavor reads, Sea Salt Caramel was an accident! We were experimenting with different flavors when someone suggested caramel. It's a long story, but when I couldn't find a caramel I liked, I started making my own. It's a bit of sweet and salty heaven in a pint! So I'm quite confused by this description. I'm not exactly sure...

Yep you read the title right. I got to go on the Ben & Jerry's factory tour over Thanksgiving break. While lounging around Brett's parents house in a post-Thanksgiving food coma and discussing what to do with the rest of break, Brett's mom suggested we drive to Vermont and go on the Ben & Jerry's factory tour! Oh the magic of the Northeast. You want to go to the other end of a different state? No worries, its only three hours away! So that is exactly what Brett and I did on the day after Thanksgiving! Now, before I continue on the with the story, I need to tell you a bit of our family history so you can understand how important this trip was to me! Our parents met in Burlington, Vermont back in the early 1980s, and frequented the very first Ben & Jerry's on the regular. As in, Ben and Jerry, themselves, scooped my parents ice cream. So Ben & Jerry's is basically in my blood and this wasn't so much a trip as it was a pilgrimage to my a...