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Photo: Elizabeth Hait, AOL
We didn't leave Blue Bell out purposely. The Slashfood staff is located in New York City, therefore, we don't have access to many of the brands available in the south or even the west. But since there was such an outcry for Blue Bell, we immediately went to their website and ordered ourselves four half-gallon tubs. We focused on the Homemade Vanilla and Natural Vanilla Bean flavors.
We dug our ice cream scoop into both on Thursday afternoon -- along with our editor's pick, Breyers -- for a scoop-to-scoop match-up.
Did we make a mistake or do we still think that Breyer's is the best one vanilla ice cream? Find out after the jump ...
Photo: Elizabeth Hait, AOL
Round One: Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla vs. Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean
There wasn't much competition here. The Natural Vanilla Bean flavor reminded us of "ice milk." While it was speckled all over with vanilla bean, it lacked any real flavor and what we've come to realize is an important factor in ice cream: texture. It was extremely airy.
Winner: Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla
Photo: Elizabeth Hait, AOL
Round Two: Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla vs. Breyer's Natural Vanilla
The ultimate face-off. Upon first tasting the Homemade Vanilla, we found it was one of the most smooth and custard like ice creams we've ever had. In fact, it was so rich a velvety, you could actually taste the heavy cream. When compared with our original number one, we can admit that Blue Blue was a better blended experience -- milk, sugar, cream and all. However, we will say this. We still believe Breyer's has a stronger vanilla taste and we like that fact that it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup in it (Blue Bell does), but the sweet ending of the Homemade Vanilla brought us back to our childhood and we almost finished the container in one sitting.
Overall Winner: Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla
Ok, so we were wrong, we can admit it. Slashfood would like to thank all of our passionate readers who took the time to leave us a message urging us to try something even better.
Related: The Best Vanilla Ice Creams
Choosing the Best Ice Cream Scoop
Ice Cream Fails -- 8 Flavors Doomed From the Start
(Blue Bell is available in all of the following states: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Blue Bell is also available in some parts of the following states: Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina and Florida.)
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8-21-2010 @11:00AM Kemberlyn said... I would like to see a match up with Amy's and Blue Bell.
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8-20-2010 @11:14PM ash said... chocolate ice cream taste test please.
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8-23-2010 @6:08PM marlene said... Blue Bell Dutch Chocolate, definatley
8-23-2010 @10:18PM LPStarChaser said... I second that! Mmmmmmm, CHOCOLATE!
And maybe a Coffee Ice Cream taste test, PLEASE! (I miss the Baskin-Robbins Espresso-Coffee flavor ice cream!)
8-21-2010 @2:20AM AJ said... To be fair, the ultimate face-off would be a head-to-head of "homemades." Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla vs. Breyer's Homemade Vanilla. Breyer's Homemade is delish!! Sweet,smooth and creamy, with a strong vanilla taste (and no HFCS).
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10-13-2010 @12:49AM megan said... to actually be fair, since they were re-testing against natural vanilla breyer's, they should have left off the HFCS crap, homemade vanilla, and just tested natural to natural. No HFCS in either!!!
And this die-hard Breyer's Natural Vanilla fan fell head over heels for Blue Bell about 2 months ago!!! LOL!
8-21-2010 @12:12PM Bernie B said... A premium Ice Cream should never contain HFCS. Automatic fail for Blue Bell.
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8-23-2010 @1:25PM carol said... Oh please, stop with all of the whining and complaining of what's in ice cream. We are talking
about the best tasting vanilla ice cream and Blue Bell wins hands down. As for Breyer's "natural"
product...........it does NOT taste as good. Think of it what you will but Blue Bell is the BEST!!!!!!!
8-23-2010 @10:29PM Lubby said... You are definitely smarter than a 5th grader. By the way consumers are truly catching on to HFC and its propaganda. Reduce the HFC in our foods, drinks and help save our children from chances of diabetes and obesity. HFC has no health benefits, except it obviously taste good to those addicted to its contents. I also want to thank the commentator who educated us on the hormone injection used on cows, thereby ending up in our milk and ice cream. I had heard bits and pieces about the hormone, but not facts as outlined in the link/article he/she sent to us.
Thanks again and a shout out for some love as we go about our dailies .
8-29-2010 @3:09PM Pat said... Blue Bell ahs a side panel full of additives I can't even pronounce.
8-23-2010 @8:54AM Anthonie said... I couldn't possibly disagree with you anymore. Breyer's beats Blue Bell every time. There really is nothing else to say except, you guys got this one wrong.
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8-23-2010 @6:32PM Heinz Klehr said... You had no icecream till you tast ROSALANI,made in MAUI HAWAII.
8-23-2010 @10:35PM Eunice Burnham said... I have loved & bought Breyers vanilla. But...lately I seem to taste salt more than before. Beside all that I hate that we only get 48 oz now instead of a full 1/2 gallon, which Blue Bell still has. I switched to Blue Bell. Hope Breyers reads these emails & takes heed. Please bring back the old original taste of Breyers..PLEASE cut back on the salty taste
8-23-2010 @10:14AM Mimi Sheraton said... There is a fundamental factor relating to ice cream preferences that you did not acknowledge in your evaluations, or at least, not that I caught.. That is the density of each brand of ice cream, or what in the trade is known as overrun..the amount of air beaten into the cream mixture as it is being frozen. Breyers has been a favorite with many in U.S. becasue it is light and can be eaten in great quantity and because many flavors come through with great intensity as they are not muffled by thick cream. It is a high overrun ice cream...lots of air. Haagen Dazs, on the other hand, is a low overrun ice cream..very thick and dense and much more filling. Those who prefer European-style ice creams tend to prefer Haagen Dazs among US branded ice creams, as do I.
Still, the vanilla in HD comes through clearly and richly enough. In a way, Americans are cheated as we purchase ice cream by volume, not by weight. So when buying Breyers, for example, you are getting a lot more air and a lot less ice cream in a pint pkg. than if you bought a low overrun ice cream.
But high vs. low overrun is a personal preference.
Mimi Sheraton
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8-23-2010 @8:19PM fattrucker said... I don't see how people can't see this, it's so obvious. Breyers is like fluff, HD is hard and think with more and better ingredients, a pint of breyers is 600 calories, a pint of HD is over 1000
8-23-2010 @6:12PM henry said... I agree Mimi. Breyer's is all air. I don't want to pay for air. Breyer's use to be good when it first came out but I don't even buy it anymore because of all the air in it. Blue Bunny for me, excellent.
8-23-2010 @8:27PM Tommy G said... Haagen Daz hands down . I design and build refrigerated warehouses. Built 5 for them across the US. Their product has to be stored in a minus 15 degree temp due the butterfat cintent. All other ice creams are kept in a minus 10 degree environment. While working there we used the vanilla in our coffee. Tasts great-- a little expensive. On of the selling points for their salesmen was to tell the costomer that you get more scoops out of a tub of their ice cream due to the less overrun. When you go to the store next time weigh a container of HD against another brand. You will be shocked.
8-23-2010 @9:10PM bsw said... Thanks! I thought it was just me, and now I realize I'm not crazy! Most ice creams on the market ARE NOT ice cream..........they are more like cold marshmallows. I constantly complain about this to my kids, telling them that ice cream just isn't the same as it was "back in the old days". Lol. Believe it or not, Chick-Fil-A has an awesome vanilla ice cream (at least in this area). Seems to me that the cheaper ice creams are better, too. Kroger has a decent selection. It is my belief that ice cream should look differently in the frozen state and in the thawed state! Breyer's just sits there the same way....way too "marshmallow cream" for me. Thanks, Mimi! Never heard of the "overrun" process. What are some other "low overrun" brands?
8-24-2010 @2:39AM Kathy said... I agree with you, but my husband & I did our own 'taste test' on a cross-country RV trip. We compared Graeter's (Cincinnati) with Blue Bell (Texas) & McConnell's (Santa Barbara, CA)----by FAR----McConnell's beat them all---(even Haagen Daz )!!
8-23-2010 @11:30AM BluZBunny said... After last week's taste test, i decided to try Blue Bunny. I prefer less air in my icecream, and never liked Breyer's for that reason. creaminess is more important to me. Blue Bunny didn't let me down. It's a good value, and I loved it's thick creamy custard-like consistancy.
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