Ben & Jerry's Piña Colada

Ben & Jerry's is one of those brands that I really have to commend for keeping things fresh with their product's varieties.  Their stable of flavors is one of the biggest in the ice cream industry, those permanent flavors are always changing every few years, and they often send out "Limited Batches" of flavors to test on America's tongues.

This summery offering caught me off guard.  When I think of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, I think of them as rich and decadent.  Perhaps not as high in fat as something like Häagen-Dazs, but Ben & Jerry's original ice cream has always signified high quality ingredients and flavors that are full and assertive.

The first bite makes it clear that this stuff is not meant to be the rich and hedonistic mix that can soothe sorrows after a tough day or a bad breakup.  No, B&J have gone out of their way to make this Limited Batch light and refreshing.  The first ingredient in the product's Nutrition Facts is indeed cream, but the second is skim milk.  The result is that the mouth feel of this product is more like sherbet than ice cream.  In fact, it's not unlike the fabulous So Delicious coconut milk ice creams, though this product does not use coconut milk.

The "cream" is flavored with both coconut and pineapple that is very well balanced and instantly invokes the Piña Colada.  In addition, folded into the ice cream are small bits of dried coconut and dried pineapple.  Because these bits have sat in a tub of cream since its production in the factory, they end up being slightly rehydrated, and the resulting texture is nicely chewy.

A bowl of this stuff would hit the spot after mowing the lawn, for example.  But in the end, it doesn't quite reach the euphoric experience that defines ice cream as an indulgence.

Ben & Jerry's Piña Colada:- Good
Original Ben & Jerry's(Vanilla, for comparison):- Great

Fudge Covered Ritz

Our final late-summer post about a product from last winter.  Ritz decided to cover their crackers with fudge.  Not a bad idea, right?

Ritz is mostly regarded as a savory product, but because it's really only butter and flour, it can definitely act as a sweet one as well, and that's the tack that Nabisco is trying to take here.  I went in with high hopes, but I ended up disappointed.  The entire draw of Ritz, it's buttery and toasted flavor, are undetectable when paired with the mouthful of chocolate that accompanies it.  In turn, its crunch is more or less dampened by the rubbery snap of the coating as well, which itself is nice, but the two textures don't pair extremely well.  In fact, the texture very much reminds me of LU Petit Écolier cookies, but not quite as good.

For a more interesting take on the potential of sweet Ritz crackers, I would guide you to the Honey Wheat variety, which is sold year round.


Fudge Covered Ritz:- Good
Original Ritz(for comparison):- Great

White Fudge Covered Oreo

This past holiday season Oreo issued a seasonal offering which they've been known to offer before: White Fudge Covered Oreo.  If I'm not mistaken, this isn't the only type of Oreo that's been fudge covered, but it's really the only one to which you should pay attention.

The construction is quite simple: it's an Oreo cookie sandwich dipped in white chocolate.  And, while the structural balance of the snack may not be ideal for my tastes, the flavor is quite good.  I've been know to pan Oreo when they neglect the virtue of balance, and despite that this snack is simply an onslaught of sugar on the tongue, it works.  The "fudge" overtop the Oreo sandwich is run-of-the mill white chocolate, so pure that its buttery flavor(mostly pure cocoa fat) doesn't interfere with the flavor of the chocolate cookie or vanilla creme.

I'll say it again, this is a victory on flavor, but not on anything else.  Look toward Oreo's new Fudge Cremes snacks for a lesson in how to balance cookie, creme, and chocolate coatings.

White Fudge Covered Oreo:- Good
Original Oreo(for comparison):- Great

Pringles White Chocolate Peppermint

We're taking a momentary detour for the next three posts, back to last winter.  Pringles took a step on the wild side for a change and offered White Chocolate Peppermint.

Now, chocolate covered potato chips are totally a thing.  And it makes perfect sense that such a snack could just as easily be covered with white chocolate, even some that's been flavored with peppermint.  Such a logical conclusion would lead you astray, in the case of this product.  Indeed, these are Pringles chips that are simply dusted with a flavor powder, just like any other Pringles variety.

How does this one stack up?  Poorly.  I commend Pringles for capturing both white chocolate and peppermint in their seasoning, but in the end, it just doesn't pair well with a salty potato crisp.

As always, I applaud radical experiments, but that doesn't meant it tastes good.


Pringles White Chocolate Peppermint:- Passable
Original Pringles(for comparison):- Good

Pop-Tarts Frosted Red Velvet

Many people may not realize it, but red velvet cake is a type of chocolate cake.  More specifically, it is a delicate chocolate cake with a hefty dose of vanilla, traditionally served with cream cheese frosting.  The cake's red color originated from the use of naturally-processed cocoa along with acidic ingredients like vinegar and buttermilk to bring out the cocoa's red anthocyanins.  The resulting earthy color was boosted years later with beet juice and food coloring.  Alton Brown can explain it better than I.

Once again, Pop-Tarts proves that it can make a really mean vanilla pastry.  Vanilla's flavor dominates here, with chocolate only barely detectable, if at all.  It seems that a hefty amount of butter flavoring was used in the pastry's filling, which is an attempt to simulate cream cheese frosting, I imagine.  And, just like a proper red velvet cake, these Pop-Tarts sport an attractive red color with a striking white frosting and filling.

This buttery vanilla effect is quite delicious, especially when toasted.  However, it barely resembles its namesake in flavor.

Pop-Tarts Frosted Red Velvet:- Great
Original Pop-Tarts(Strawberry, for comparison):-Good

Mountain Dew LiveWire

Congress is in recess, and August's dog days are upon us here in Washington.  In such oppressive humidity and heat, a refreshing beverage surely is the cure, no?

Every summer Pepsico releases Mountain Dew LiveWire.  I thought they might not do it this summer, but I was wrong.  Evidently the product is successful enough to bring back every year, and they've been doing this for 10 years now.

LiveWire is essentially an orange-flavored Mountain Dew.  Unfortunately, the company uses a heavy hand with the drink's orange flavoring, and whatever redeeming qualities that Mountain Dew boasts are barely there for LiveWire.  It's more like an orange soda with a kiss of Mountain Dew.  Every successful Dew iteration has had the Dew elevate it to something else, and this doesn't hit the mark.  It's a wonder it's been around for 10 years.  Perhaps this is a lesson on what artificial scarcity can do.


Mountain Dew LiveWire:- Good

Original Mountain Dew(for comparison):- Great

Eggo Seasons S'mores

This appears to be the summer variety of Eggo's Seasons line, which offers seasonal variations of their normal products.  I welcome this marketing strategy.

To me, making something in a s'mores flavor is almost like cheating, since I've found that most of these iterations tend to be quite tasty.

But how do you make a frozen waffle taste like s'mores?  It looks like Eggo struggled with this question just like I did.  Instead of flavoring the entire waffle, they inserted small bits of marshmallow and chocolate into the batter so that the final product is speckled with little sweet bits.  The waffle itself seems to be of their whole wheat variety, which I suppose is to imitate the graham cracker in this equation.

In the end, it ends up tasting not much different than the original.  The occasional bite will have a sweet and chewy tooth to it, and it overall tastes slightly of chocolate.  It's good, but not different enough to be notable.


Eggo Seasons S'mores:- Good
Original Eggo(for comparison):- Good