The Most Canadian Ice Cream Ever?

[chromedome]

Chapman's is one of Canada's big ice cream brands. They make fairly bog-standard ice creams of various kinds, from the popular novelties to both standard and "premium" versions of the common flavors. As these things go, they're a perfectly decent brand, and well-respected as a good company to work for, etc. 

So when I tripped across this, this morning, I literally laughed out loud. Now that I've seen it, I can't believe that nobody'd thought of it before. 

 

 

https://www.chapmans.ca/product/butter-tart-ice-cream-500-ml-tub/

[Darienne]

Well, 'bog-standard' was a new one for me.

 

And as for Butter Tarts - I don't like them...the level of sweetness sets my teeth on edge.  How's that for an early morning disagreeable comment?  And I am a avowed true blue Canadian.

[Kerry Beal]

Their bog-standard versions are actually my favourite! I have Neapolitan and vanilla in the freezer currently.

Edited August 10 by Kerry Beal (log)

[chromedome]

4 hours ago, Darienne said:

Well, 'bog-standard' was a new one for me.

 

And as for Butter Tarts - I don't like them...the level of sweetness sets my teeth on edge.  How's that for an early morning disagreeable comment?  And I am a avowed true blue Canadian.

I like them well enough, but I'm a stickler for having the correct ratio of pastry to filling (the pastry has to blunt that cloying sweetness). I'm also happy that Chapman's included raisins, because I'm squarely in the "if it doesn't have 'em it's not a proper butter tart" camp.

 

ETA: Everyone's entitled to an occasional early morning disagreeable comment. Quotas are negotiable, but increase with "time served," and there's a bonus allowance for chronic illness/pain. 

 

3 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Their bog-standard versions are actually my favourite! I have Neapolitan and vanilla in the freezer currently.

 

Yup, my sweetheart prefers the rectangular 2 litre box to the "premium" in the tub. Right now she's on a chocolate kick, but we had a couple of months of buying vanilla and then pouring ganache over it. 

 

Getting a prescription for blood-sugar sensors has somewhat altered the volume she consumes at a sitting, of course, as well as the timing.

Edited August 10 by chromedome (log)

[pastrygirl]

Maybe SOMA will make it again ...

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq9PJZzri-a/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

 

[haresfur]

On 8/11/2025 at 2:57 AM, chromedome said:

I like them well enough, but I'm a stickler for having the correct ratio of pastry to filling (the pastry has to blunt that cloying sweetness). I'm also happy that Chapman's included raisins, because I'm squarely in the "if it doesn't have 'em it's not a proper butter tart" camp.

 

ETA: Everyone's entitled to an occasional early morning disagreeable comment. Quotas are negotiable, but increase with "time served," and there's a bonus allowance for chronic illness/pain. 

 

 

Yup, my sweetheart prefers the rectangular 2 litre box to the "premium" in the tub. Right now she's on a chocolate kick, but we had a couple of months of buying vanilla and then pouring ganache over it. 

 

Getting a prescription for blood-sugar sensors has somewhat altered the volume she consumes at a sitting, of course, as well as the timing.

 

I think you need to try it and report back. But imo currants are superior to raisins in butter tarts.

[AAQuesada]

9 minutes ago, haresfur said:

imo currants are superior to raisins in butter tarts.

Dried currants are a lie! lol they are just dried 'champagne' grapes (those really small ones). Although I prefer to lie to myself and say they aren't raisins (still grossed out from childhood lol)

[chromedome]

7 hours ago, haresfur said:

 

I think you need to try it and report back. But imo currants are superior to raisins in butter tarts.

We will almost certainly buy it if we see it, but so far I haven't found the "super-premium" Chapman's in any of our local stores. Those are the ones that compete with Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's, both of which are represented here, but there's also a local NB brand in that format and I think they've basically squeezed out the last slot that the Chapman's product might have fit into. 

[chromedome]

Okay, I was in Sobeys last night, and their cooler section had an area newly dedicated to Chapmans' "super-premium" ice creams. I took a look, and sure enough the butter tart ice cream was there. As it happens I'd bought some frozen items on this trip, and had come prepared with an insulated carrier and a few frozen gel packs, so I grabbed a pint (I don't buy ice cream unless I have the means to get it all the way home without it melting). 

 

GF and I both tasted it last night, and it was pleasant enough. I don't think it quite replicates the flavor profile of a butter tart, but on the other hand it's not as cloying and overwhelmingly sweet as a butter tart either. My "ginger" likened it to a butter-pecan cake, but with raisins instead of the nuts. I thought it was reminiscent of rum & raisin ice cream, but without the rum flavor. It also had bits of graham-crumb crust scattered through it, which took me aback at first (nobody in their right mind would use a sweet graham crust with a real butter tart, because they're sugar bombs already), but upon reflection it made sense. Regular pastry wouldn't hold up very well in an ice cream, whereas most ice cream makers are already adept at using bits of graham-crumb crust in their concoctions. 

So overall we both liked it (rum & raisin is one of my personal favorites, so the similarity is a positive in my opinion). I don't know how often I'd buy it, because I eat relatively little ice cream and my GF has a lot of other favorites, but it's definitely pleasant. The quality of ingredients and production seems more or less on par with other "supermarket-premium" brands like Hagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's, and given the current "buy Canadian" sentiment I think the company has an opportunity to carve out some market share. If nothing else, the timing at least favors their entry into that part of the market. 

[Beebs]

Safeway has Foothills Creamery Moon Mist ice cream now, which I understand is a Nova Scotia...specialty. Bubblegum, grape, banana, cherry flavour. I've not had it yet, but am equal parts horrified and intrigued. Is it good? Or does it taste as bizarre as it looks??

 

I've had the Breyers Nanaimo Bar ice cream. It was ok. Pleasant, a bit overly sweet for ice cream, nothing exciting. Part of the appeal of Nanaimo bars is the distinct textures of the three layers when you bite into it, which is missing when it's all mixed up in an ice cream. 

 

[Katie Meadow]

On 8/21/2025 at 9:11 AM, Beebs said:

Safeway has Foothills Creamery Moon Mist ice cream now, which I understand is a Nova Scotia...specialty. Bubblegum, grape, banana, cherry flavour. I've not had it yet, but am equal parts horrified and intrigued. Is it good? Or does it taste as bizarre as it looks??

 

I've had the Breyers Nanaimo Bar ice cream. It was ok. Pleasant, a bit overly sweet for ice cream, nothing exciting. Part of the appeal of Nanaimo bars is the distinct textures of the three layers when you bite into it, which is missing when it's all mixed up in an ice cream. 

 

O Canada you can do better than bubblegum ice cream. I have faith in you and wish everyone over the norther border a happy and well adjusted normal life. 

[MaryIsobel]

My favourite ice cream is Maple Walnut - maple is obviously a big Canadian product - and almost all of our neighbours have a walnut tree on their property - hmmmm

[chromedome]

Saw this on Bluesky this morning: 

 

On 8/21/2025 at 1:11 PM, Beebs said:

Safeway has Foothills Creamery Moon Mist ice cream now, which I understand is a Nova Scotia...specialty. Bubblegum, grape, banana, cherry flavour. I've not had it yet, but am equal parts horrified and intrigued. Is it good? Or does it taste as bizarre as it looks??

 

You know that saying about "a face only a mother could love"? Well, Moon Mist is "a taste only a kid could love." Our grandkids order it regularly, I emphatically do not. 

 

On 8/21/2025 at 1:11 PM, Beebs said:

I've had the Breyers Nanaimo Bar ice cream. It was ok. Pleasant, a bit overly sweet for ice cream, nothing exciting. Part of the appeal of Nanaimo bars is the distinct textures of the three layers when you bite into it, which is missing when it's all mixed up in an ice cream. 

 

Part of the appeal of Nanaimo bars, for me, is seeing something else offered and not having to take one for politeness' sake.

 

That, and getting to recycle the old west-coast joke: "What goes into Nanaimo bars? Strippers and Hell's Angels!" Truthfully I find them even more cloying than butter tarts, and don't care for them at all, whereas with butter tarts (like baklava) I can get past the whole sugar-bomb aspect of it. 

I've also learned today that Breyers' Nanaimo bar ice cream was part of a "Canadian desserts" series which included... yup, a butter tart ice cream. 

[TicTac]

Chapmans and Breyers are both pretty awful IMO....Kawartha Dairy is well above both, though their supermarket tubs do not compare to what you get at the dairy (I believe they pump air into the retail versions - dairy is far creamier).

 

Though the other day we found the BEST ice cream in Canada - in Kitchener of all places, a little spot called 'Four All Ice Cream' makes seasonal flavours (with a core lineup) with locally sourced high fat dairy.  They had this roasted strawberry and rubarb 'ice' that was so creamy and unreal.  Though the standout for me was the Maple Creme Brulee ice cream, sweetened solely with CDN Maple Syrup.  Unreal stuff!

 

Oh, and the waffle cone....also best I have had!

 

To top it off, everything is Gluten Free - so my son with Celiac was akin to a pig in a mound of fresh shit!