The Haagen-Dazs Topic

[tryska]

maybe that funky smoky smell was freebase.

[Parmhero]

Haagen Daz and Ben & Jerry's are staples in our house. My wife's favorite HD flavor is Vanilla Swiss Almond, but she likes peach ice cream so I've been buying HD Peaches N Cream, which is sold in one market in our town but is generally not that easy to find. Ditto for HD Cherry Vanilla.

HD Vanilla is a staple, and I tend to keep the bigger quarts of those on hand. In the summer, I often make desserts of HD vanilla with any combination of strawberries, cherries, peaches, rasberries on top. I put a slice of good butter pound cake or marble pound cake on the bottom. My wife likes to add a cookie to a bowl of berries and ice cream as an extra touch. Sometimes I add liqueur, cocoa, or chocolate shavings.

As for Ben & Jerry's, Cherry Garcia and New York Super Fudge Chunk are the favorites (good as a combo bowl), as well as plain Vanilla and Chocolate. My daughter likes Fish Food.

The two food markets in our town regularly have sales of ice creams, and have "Buy One, Get One Free" sales of pints of Haagen Daas and Ben & Jerry's. Also, Quarts of HD for $399.

I've tried Edy's, Breyer's, Turkey Hill, etc. They pretty much suck and I don't buy them even when you get a second one free.

[Pan]

I had the Sticky Toffee Pudding flavor tonight. I really liked it! It's a limited edition, so if you see it where you're shopping, get it while you can. I hope this becomes a permanent flavor. It's cinammony and has lovely cake in it. I really can't describe it but I'll say that I was fishing out the smallest bits from the container, I liked it so much.

Oh, since I don't think anyone's mentioned the English Toffee flavor, it's a real disappointment; I thought it was rather tasteless.

By the way, I really like the Mayan Chocolate and would have looked for that tonight if I hadn't happened upon the Sticky Toffee Pudding first.

[nessa]

Sigh. I was innocently surfing EG at work, minding my own business when this thread caught my eye at 9:45 AM. It is now 10:32 PM and my coworker and I just finished a pint of the Mayan Chocolate. We made a quick jaunt up to the Simon and David just north of the Uni and low and behold, they had Mayan Chocolate. We didn't figure they would. Almost hoped they would not. Pretty dang fabulous I must say.

[Kris]

HD is, IMO, the best mass-produced ice-cream... and I've been eating it since I could hold a spoon. (New York native)....I miss sorbet & cream myself but you can sort of duplicate it at home with a pint of vanilla and a pint of your favourite sorbet...

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This is exactly what I do!

[bergerka]

Ok, so like..has Haagen-Dazs always made Panna Cotta with Raspberry flavor? Because I found some in the Corte Ingles and put it on a roasted peach.

Wow. Mouthgasm.

K

[markemorse]

Looks like this is just a HD Europe thing for now, but I just tried Coconut Macaroon ice cream. Sadly I can't really recommend it...way too subtle. If I'm going to take the calorie hit, I need to be engulfed in toasted coconutty goodness, and....this was like looking at a coconut while eating a spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

mark

[Pan]

I tried Cinnamon Dulce de Leche ice cream tonight. It's awesome! If you like their Dulce de Leche flavor and also like cinnamon, you really should try this flavor.

[DCP]

I had the Sticky Toffee Pudding flavor tonight. I really liked it! It's a limited edition, so if you see it where you're shopping, get it while you can. I hope this becomes a permanent flavor. It's cinammony and has lovely cake in it. I really can't describe it but I'll say that I was fishing out the smallest bits from the container, I liked it so much.

Oh, since I don't think anyone's mentioned the English Toffee flavor, it's a real disappointment; I thought it was rather tasteless.

By the way, I really like the Mayan Chocolate and would have looked for that tonight if I hadn't happened upon the Sticky Toffee Pudding first.

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Sticky Toffee Pudding is probably my favorite - mostly because it's new and I'm a bit of a neophile when it comes to food. I'm more of a Ben & Jerry's person, but based on mentions up-thread, I'm highly inclined to run out to the store to try Mayan Chocolate and English Toffee. Yum.

[markemorse]

Just had a big scoop of Marsala Fig this week in Paris, I'd never seen it before, it's only sold in the "boutiques". It was very good, a little on the subtle side, but the fig element was nicely done, sort of a preserve/confit thing. Check it out if you see it!

I should mention that I'm not really an ice cream fan, but a couple of HD flavors really push my buttons: Macadamia Brittle, Coffee, and this new thing they've got over here called Chocolate Midnight Cookie, it's like crack. Not tastewise, but you know...

mark

Edited April 15, 2007 by markemorse (log)

[Pan]

Haagen-Dazs has come out with an excellent new frozen yogurt, Wildberry. Though sweetened, to be sure, it's not an oversweet ice cream substitute, in my opinion, but actually has a bit of yogurt bite. And the berries taste good.

[Susie Q]

I only like Haagen Dazz or Breyers All Natural.

It's either Vanilla or Coffee H.D. or French Vanilla B. for me, but....

On a whim the other day I did try H.D.'s new Caramelized Pear & Toasted Pecan. You could really taste the pear, it was good but not really my thing.

What was my thing was H.D.'s Creme Brulee.

HEAVEN IN A PINT! The custard tasted like custard and the swirl tasted like the crackly sugar crust but with out the crack. I did not share. I hope they will keep this flavor a long time. It was good enough I wrote H.D. a nice e-mail.

Edited October 29, 2007 by Susie Q (log)

[abooja]

My favorite HD shoppe flavor for many years was Chocolate Swiss Almond. I used to bemoan the fact that they didn't sell it in grocery stores, until they stopped making it altogether. I learned of this tragedy in a HD on the UWS of Manhattan a couple of years back. I walked out after hearing the bad news and the store manager actually followed me out the door, trying to convince me to try another flavor. I would not. Still infuriates me to this day.

These days, I generally buy just their Chocolate Chocolate Chip, regular Chocolate, and plain ol' Vanilla, for a la mode purposes. While I can make a pretty decent homemade vanilla bean and dulce de leche, I cannot, for the life of me, churn out a chocolate ice cream even half as good as HD's.

-- Lisa

[annecros]

Since they discontinued the Hazelnut swirl, we are now officially Ben and Jerry's Banana Split people.

Please don't tell them - they will discontinue it. Just as they ruthlessly discontinued Wavy Gravy.

[cakewalk]

My current favorite is the HD pomegranate ice cream with chocolate chips. They really know what they're doing over there.

[lia]

On a whim the other day I did try H.D.'s new Caramelized Pear & Toasted Pecan. You could really taste the pear, it was good but not really my thing.

Oh I love it. BUT....I think they should ditch the actual caramelized pears and add more pecans. The pint I ate had about two pecans in it. The pear ice cream itself is amazing.

I like Sticky Toffee Pudding, but i don't think it tastes anything at all like actual sticky toffee pudding.

My new favorite is Belgian Chocolate. it's like regular chocolate ice cream with ground cocoa nibs in it. probably the least sweet chocolate ice cream i've ever tasted. I loved Mayan chocolate at first taste, but I thought the fudge swirl made it waaay too sweet.

[Pan]

My favorite HD shoppe flavor for many years was Chocolate Swiss Almond.  I used to bemoan the fact that they didn't sell it in grocery stores, until they stopped making it altogether.[...]

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They did NOT! You were apparently lied to. Look here:

Vanilla Swiss Almond

I've found it on the shelves of at least a couple of stores in my neighborhood, too, so it isn't available only in Timbuktu or something.

[VPF]

I'm going to have to make a search for the Creme Brulee flavor. I always pick up a pint of the HD Banana Split when ever I see it (limited addition flavor).

[Mr. Delicious]

I am a b+j freak, I thought the creme brulee was god awful, WAY to sweet. Haagen Dazs sticky toffee pudding may be my new all time favorite, the only ice cream I love without chocolate and peanut butter. My damn sister ate my leftover half pint, and im pissed. B+J peanut butter me up was my old favorite, wish i could still get it!

[GlorifiedRice]

I loved Frusen Gladje, best!

[butterscotch]

My favorite HD shoppe flavor for many years was Chocolate Swiss Almond.  I used to bemoan the fact that they didn't sell it in grocery stores, until they stopped making it altogether.[...]

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They did NOT! You were apparently lied to. Look here:

Vanilla Swiss Almond

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sadly, they did.... it was chocolate swiss almond- a chocolate ice cream version.

been gone a very long time.

still not quite over it

[Katie Meadow]

On a whim the other day I did try H.D.'s new Caramelized Pear & Toasted Pecan. You could really taste the pear, it was good but not really my thing.

My new favorite is Belgian Chocolate. it's like regular chocolate ice cream with ground cocoa nibs in it. probably the least sweet chocolate ice cream i've ever tasted. I loved Mayan chocolate at first taste, but I thought the fudge swirl made it waaay too sweet.

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Belgian Choc sounds good. I'm not a huge ice cream fan--mostly I find it too sweet. When I do get a yen, like in hot weather, my pick is always HD Coffee. The vanilla is my standard for a la mode.

A long time ago--like maybe 15 or 16 years?--HD came out with a flavor called Cappucino Commotion. Anybody remember that? It knocked me out. It had a bold coffee/espresso flavor, a little cinnamon, maybe something more....it was really really good; sadly, a flavor before it's time. They yanked it as soon as I became addicted. If they had any brains they would have brought that one back when Starbucks started producing ice cream.

[lia]

Tried the limited edition Green Tea. So mild you can barely taste the green tea flavor.

[DeVeaux]

I'd love to try Haagen-Dazs, but, like all upscale ice creams, they refuse to make anything sugar-free for diabetics.

So we have the choice of no ice cream or crappy cheap ice cream limited to chocolate, vanilla and butter pecan flavors. I choose no ice cream.

[chocomoo]

While I was in Tokyo in December, I tried:

- tiramisu (Oops, sorry - top row, 2nd square from the left) My favourite! It was dusted with cocoa powder on top & had a sponge cake bottom.

- affogato - good, but more creamy instead of the intense espresso flavour I had hoped for

- bitter caramel - surprisingly good! I normally don't like caramel-flavoured things because they're too sweet for me

Other flavours I wanted to try in Japan were:

- kokuto & kuromitsu (Japanese black sugar & black sugar syrup)

- crème brulée (I wanted to find out whether there was actually a crispy sugar topping!)

- the "crispy" ice cream sandwiches in rum raisin flavour (it's the 3rd tab on the gold menu bar)

In Hong Kong, I tried the strawberry & chardonnay flavour. I was surprised that I could taste the chardonnay flavour! The non-fruit flavours I tried in Japan were still my favourite though.

I love how Haagen-Dazs comes in cute little single-serving containers in Asia!