Respek for Breyer's ice cream

[Fat Guy]

In the past few months, on multiple occasions, I've been served ice cream without knowing the brand. I've said hey, this is pretty good, and it has turned out to be Breyer's.

In this age of super-premium and artisanal ice creams and gelatos, I thought Breyer's would be totally outclassed. But I think it's quite good.

Any other Breyer's lovers out there? (Or haters).

[Chris Hennes]

I like it: in particular I like the texture and amount of overrun. In my opinion most of the superpremiums are too dense, as though minimizing overrun is their primary goal.

[Fat Guy]

Over-wha?

[Chris Hennes]

The amount of air that gets beaten into the ice cream during churning. Fluffier ice cream has more air in it.

[Kerry Beal]

Yeah - I make lovely ice cream - hubby prefers the Breyer's and when asked to explain why - it's the overrun - it's hard to get into the home made stuff.

[Chris Hennes]

I've had pretty good luck just cranking up the speed on the KitchenAid.

[JimS]

We quit buying Breyer's for a while years ago. Back before they started adding tara gum, the ice cream just couldn't stand up to the rigors of the rural distribution chain. It would invariably be icy, and both the texture and flavor were compromised. We had better luck with inferior brands who didn't go out of there way to be quite so wholesome. I don't know when Breyers started adding the gum, but it holds up much better these days.

[Kerry Beal]

I've had pretty good luck just cranking up the speed on the KitchenAid.

One speed on my compressor machine.

[Chris Hennes]

Shoulda figured you had fancier equipment ... I've just got the freeze-the-bowl stand-mixer attachment.

[Kerry Beal]

Shoulda figured you had fancier equipment ... I've just got the freeze-the-bowl stand-mixer attachment.

Nice little, but quite old, machine I picked up on e-bay probably for less than you paid for that freezer bowl! My older, bigger, heavier (about 100 lbs heavier) machine has moved in with tri2cook in Sioux Lookout. It lived on the counter in my last house - no room for it in this house.

[Lisa Shock]

I liked it before they added the gum. It used to be the only ice cream I liked because of the unique texture. I am old enough to remember the company before it was sold, back when each pint of strawberry had a large whole berry in the center of the carton. When I moved to Santa Fe in 1982, it wasn't available, so I didn't eat any commercial ice cream until I moved away in 1995 and had access to Breyer's.

I am not fond of the new 'snappy' texture. (anyone recall the old Breyer's commercial where they talked about not using gums and had the sound effect of someone popping their chewing gum?) I recall buying some, noticing the texture change and then reading the label and discovering the gum in the ingredients list.

I don't eat commercial ice cream any more. I make my own.

[Holly Moore]

I stopped buying Breyers once they were acquired by Unilever who closed their plant and moved them out of Philadelphia.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Holly Moore (log)

[gfweb]

Me too. Breyers used to be a cherished Philly brand. Now its just another Unilever thing. Might as well be shampoo or toothpaste.

I don't care if it tastes good.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

[SylviaLovegren]

Used to dislike when they had the old texture. With the new texture, they're better, but still not wild about Breyers. Except for their Dulce de Leche, which is sublime.

[Moopheus]

I haven't had Breyer's in a long time, but I always remember it as being one of the better nonpremium supermarket brands. Less overrun than the the cheap stuff, better ingredients. It wouldn't surprise me if Unilever has cheapened it. Sorry to hear they're adding junk to it.

[the old cook]

It is good for home made milkshakes. By the time you add chocolate sauce, touch of milk, it is extremely good. Wouldn't waste our Texas Blue Bell on milkshakes.

[rotuts]

I used to be fond of the B's 'vanilla bean' vanilla. havent had it in a long time.

thanks for bringing this up so Ill give it a try.

I used to make my own IC with a donvier (sp?) item where you put the 'flask' in the freezer for a good while and then hand churned it

i was able to use Up State NY small dairy cream that i used to get at the dairy .. the only place they sold it.

now that was Yummie and Lethal!

Edited May 6, 2011 by rotuts (log)

[mathewr]

i despise breyers. its watered down crap. my parents know how much i hate breyers and when i visit they will joke to me we have breyers in the house.

[JodyS]

It's definitely better than most, though I still prefer the density of H-D by a fairly wide margin.

[janeer]

Back in the day (60s), locally (NJ), it was very good. They are still one of the few who make mint chip anymore.

[Mano]

Back in the day (60s), locally (NJ), it was very good. They are still one of the few who make mint chip anymore.

The white mint chip is my favorite. Nice snappy crunch and tangy-sweet mint.

[phatj]

I like their mint chocolate chip, largely for the reason that it isn't green.

[CaliPoutine]

I like their mint chocolate chip, largely for the reason that it isn't green.

I used to like it a lot for that reason too, but now the chips are chocolate FLAVORED. They are NOT even real. Waste of time and calories to eat fake chocolate. So dissapointing.

So much of the Breyer's in Canada isnt even ice cream. Its frozen dessert. I called the company and complained and they said that is what the customer wants, less trans fat that way. Total BULLSHIT. The dairy industry in Canada is regulated and dairy is expensive. So, companies make this shit with "modified milk ingredients" and then they have to call it frozen dessert. It went on sale in Ontario all the time for 1.99 and everyone thought they were getting a deal. I used to point out to people( in the supermarket) all the time that its not even real ice cream. I hate Unileaver for that reason alone. Dryer's AKA Edy's does the same thing in the states. Half of it is frozen dessert. The best ice cream from the market is Hagan Daz Just 5. Trader Joe's has the caramel and strawberry Just 5 for 1.99.

[KatieLoeb]

This bums me out. I am a Philly transplant but have now lived here for longer than I haven't. I'm a loyalist to our local products. Breyer's used to be really good. Now it's just better than most. However, the landscape has changed. With other local brands (Capogiro gelato, Bassett's, etc.) that may not be producing at the same levels, quality control is far more difficult at those levels. Like anything, as quantities rise, quality tends to fall. It is what it is. If I want artisinal product I now head for Capogiro. If I want commercial ice cream for my fridge I go to Bassett's. Mint ice cream, with or without chocolate chips was never high on my list of favorites, so that isn't my metric. I'm speaking in more general terms.

Edited May 9, 2011 by KatieLoeb (log)

[paulraphael]

I used to love breyers ... thought it was a great, lighter alternative to B&J's, etc.. Then when I had it again several years ago I thought it was crap. I assumed this was because of the acquisition and I never bought it again. Maybe it's better again now?

Overrun can be hard to increase in homemade ice cream. A multispeed machine like the KA helps. In addition, it's useful to think of ice cream in terms of whipped cream. The process of whipping air into ice cream is identical to the process of whipping cream, and the same factors are in play. The biggest diference is you also have the structure of the sol (mix of frozen and unfrozen water), so you don't need as high a concentration of milk fat.

Chilling the base for 8 hours or more helps crystalize the fat globules and make them whippable. It also ensures they'll be cold enough. Many of the ingredients that pastry chefs use to stabilize ice cream (gums and other colloids) also improve whipability. Adequate nonfat solids, like from added dry milk powder, may also help.