Mint Chip is a staple of most ice cream brands but Haagen Dazs is one of the best. While many mint chip ice creams are a fluorescent green color, Haagen Dazs specifically points out that its rendition retains its natural white hue.
Name
This is the typical name for the flavor; nothing witty or whimsical, just straightforward mint with chocolate chip shavings.
Availability
Being a very common flavor, Mint Chip is available year-round in scoop shops and in take-home pints from markets. The ice cream keeps very well in the freezer and is slow to thaw.
Flavor
High Notes
There are only two flavors in Mint Chip and the mint is certainly the high note here. The mint is fantastic: crisp, light, and fast. It really plays on the coldness of the ice cream to leave the palate with a sense of cleanliness and refreshment like a breath of chilly air. What I like about this mint as opposed to other varieties is that Haagen Dazs maintains the natural tenets of a strong mint flavor. It does not taste artificial like toothpaste or gum the way most mint ice creams come out, but it still maintains a soft boldness. The flavor has such a pure and even sweetness to it that it really fills up the mouth with flavor, yet it doesn't become overbearing. It is a very clean flavor and although it can be tasted well after the spoonful is swallowed, it remains unbelievably light.
Low Notes
The chocolate chip flakes provide the perfect counter to the light sweetness of the cool mint flavor. While the sweetness of the mint gives a nice armoa to the flavor, the chocolate is able to be the stronger flavor while not overpowering the delicate mintiness. What I like the most about this chocolate is the uniqueness of its flavor as its own ingredient. This chocolate isn't quite milk chocolate but it isn't dark or bittersweet chocolate either. This is the mistake a lot of other Mint Chip ice creams run into: disgustingly sweet chocolate. Haagen Dazs really does a great job of creating a chocolate that blends perfectly with the mint.
Texture
The mint ice cream is a bit icy and sometimes begins melting before I could bite into the chocolate chips. Overall, the chocolate chip pieces were plentiful, well-distributed, and cut into small rectangles.
Concluding Comments
The beauty of the flavor is the way that the mint hits hard at first and then lingers in the background as the semi-sweet chocolate flakes take center stage. This is one of the best Haagen Dazs ice creams I have ever had and one of the best renditions of Mint Chip as well. Its clean, simple sweetness is a thing of beauty that few other brands have perfected.
Banana Split
Banana Split is definitely a novelty flavor and is one of the more low brow Haagen Dazs selections. It has a banana ice cream base with fudge, strawberry, and cherry swirls. While banana splits are fantastic ice cream treats, to try and capture the parlor specialty using artificial means is quite the challenge. It is a very heavy ice cream that is much stronger on the split than the banana.
Name
Simply based on the flavor combination that is in this ice cream, Banana Split is an appropriate title. But then again the term "Banana Split" implies a promise of old fashioned ice cream goodness and integrity, a promise that Haagen Dazs breaks.
Availability
Banana Split isn't the most widely distributed flavor but it is far from uncommon. I got mine in the take-home variety and I believe it is seasonal in scoop shops. This ice cream doesn't keep too well in the freezer and gets icy fairly easily.
Flavor
High Notes
It is difficult to decipher what the high notes in Banana Split are because everything is so artificial and sugary. The strongest of these flavors is the fudge swirl. Although fudge is typically a deeper taste, the sweetness of it in this mix is just way too strong. Right underneath the fudge is the cherry and strawberry paste, some of the most artificial flavors I have ever tasted in a super-premium ice cream. While these are the same toppings one would expect on a traditional banana split, there is just way too much of them and not in proportion with the banana base underneath it all. In fact, the banana ice cream can hardly be tasted in this flavor. Banana Split is one of the most disgustingly top heavy flavors I have ever tried. Too much sugar!
Low Notes
If I had to pick out a low tone in this ice cream, I guess it would be the fudge. While it is mostly a sugary taste, it is still rich and thick. The key with fudge is moderation and Haagen Dazs surprisingly forgets this kernel of wisdom.
Texture
The banana ice cream would be perfectly fine on its own: light, smooth, and subtle. But the fudge, strawberry, and cherry swirls were sticky, thick, and chunky. When frozen, the swirls became icy and hard while the fudge quickly melted when taken out of the freezer. As indicated above, the proportions of ice cream to other flavors is incredibly unbalanced with the flavor swirls completely dominating the ice cream with sugar and artificiality.
Concluding Comments
It's like eating a banana split without the ice cream. Or the banana for that matter. All this ice cream has is a lot of sugar. I am honestly disapointed in Haagen Dazs after eating this ice cream based on their lack of balance and natural flavors in making Banana Split.
Name
Simply based on the flavor combination that is in this ice cream, Banana Split is an appropriate title. But then again the term "Banana Split" implies a promise of old fashioned ice cream goodness and integrity, a promise that Haagen Dazs breaks.
Availability
Banana Split isn't the most widely distributed flavor but it is far from uncommon. I got mine in the take-home variety and I believe it is seasonal in scoop shops. This ice cream doesn't keep too well in the freezer and gets icy fairly easily.
Flavor
High Notes
It is difficult to decipher what the high notes in Banana Split are because everything is so artificial and sugary. The strongest of these flavors is the fudge swirl. Although fudge is typically a deeper taste, the sweetness of it in this mix is just way too strong. Right underneath the fudge is the cherry and strawberry paste, some of the most artificial flavors I have ever tasted in a super-premium ice cream. While these are the same toppings one would expect on a traditional banana split, there is just way too much of them and not in proportion with the banana base underneath it all. In fact, the banana ice cream can hardly be tasted in this flavor. Banana Split is one of the most disgustingly top heavy flavors I have ever tried. Too much sugar!
Low Notes
If I had to pick out a low tone in this ice cream, I guess it would be the fudge. While it is mostly a sugary taste, it is still rich and thick. The key with fudge is moderation and Haagen Dazs surprisingly forgets this kernel of wisdom.
Texture
The banana ice cream would be perfectly fine on its own: light, smooth, and subtle. But the fudge, strawberry, and cherry swirls were sticky, thick, and chunky. When frozen, the swirls became icy and hard while the fudge quickly melted when taken out of the freezer. As indicated above, the proportions of ice cream to other flavors is incredibly unbalanced with the flavor swirls completely dominating the ice cream with sugar and artificiality.
Concluding Comments
It's like eating a banana split without the ice cream. Or the banana for that matter. All this ice cream has is a lot of sugar. I am honestly disapointed in Haagen Dazs after eating this ice cream based on their lack of balance and natural flavors in making Banana Split.
Caramel Cone
Caramel Cone. Two words, too perfect of an ice cream. It is a caramel based ice cream with a caramel swirl and chocolate covered waffle cone pieces. This is one of my favorite flavors, period. It succeeds on all levels: texture, balance, flavor.
Name
The name is simple, descriptive, and I like the alliteration. I feel that the title should include some part about the crunch or the chocolate that are so crucial to this flavor.
Availability
As usual, I got mine in the take-home variety but it is available in scoop shops too. Caramel Cone is also one of the most popular Haagen Dazs varieties and you should generally have no trouble finding it at a grocery store. It keeps very well in the freezer and does not develop iciness as many ice creams do.
Flavor
High Notes
Caramel Cone has a rich caramel base, not too strong, but very powerful and sweet. I am impressed with the base flavor's ability to be recognized despite all the strong flavors surrounding it. The sweet end is also enhanced by a very present sugar taste from the waffle cone pieces. These two rich flavors hold the high end of this ice cream together, and while the sweetness is definitely the strongest part of the ice cream, the nostalgic hints of freshly baked waffle make the sinful sweetness a pleaser.
Low Notes
The low end was first expressed by the chocolate coating on the waffle pieces. It wasn't quite a dark chocolate but it was very rich and lacked the sugary sweetness of milk chocolate. Regardless, this was the first flavor to be expressed on the palette and lingered throughout each spoonful. It was perfectly followed and complemented by the equally rich caramel ribbon. I tend to classify most caramel swirls as lower flavors because of their richness and depth. When sugar is heated until it forms caramel, the sugar becomes a warmer taste that is often interpreted as a low, powerful flavor. While the high notes were slightly stronger, I found it to be acceptable considering the link between both ends of the spectrum: caramel.
Texture
Simply gorgeous! I feel that Caramel Cone is the standard to which any non-smooth ice cream should be held. The pure ice cream was smooth as a typical Haagen Dazs should be. The caramel ribbon was nicely distributed and blended well with the smoothness of the ice cream. The chocolate covered waffle cone pieces kept their web shape underneath the chocolate and the sizing of each chunk was perfect. This ice cream was packed full of caramel and waffle cone throughout every spoonful.
Concluding Comments
Overall, a fantastic flavor and definitely one of my favorites. The sweetness of the ice cream is gorgeous and has a perfect complement in the caramel swirl and chocolate coating. This is as close to ice cream perfection as it comes. This flavor deserves a huge recommendation to anyone who enjoys a fairly sweet and crunchy ice cream.
Name
The name is simple, descriptive, and I like the alliteration. I feel that the title should include some part about the crunch or the chocolate that are so crucial to this flavor.
Availability
As usual, I got mine in the take-home variety but it is available in scoop shops too. Caramel Cone is also one of the most popular Haagen Dazs varieties and you should generally have no trouble finding it at a grocery store. It keeps very well in the freezer and does not develop iciness as many ice creams do.
Flavor
High Notes
Caramel Cone has a rich caramel base, not too strong, but very powerful and sweet. I am impressed with the base flavor's ability to be recognized despite all the strong flavors surrounding it. The sweet end is also enhanced by a very present sugar taste from the waffle cone pieces. These two rich flavors hold the high end of this ice cream together, and while the sweetness is definitely the strongest part of the ice cream, the nostalgic hints of freshly baked waffle make the sinful sweetness a pleaser.
Low Notes
The low end was first expressed by the chocolate coating on the waffle pieces. It wasn't quite a dark chocolate but it was very rich and lacked the sugary sweetness of milk chocolate. Regardless, this was the first flavor to be expressed on the palette and lingered throughout each spoonful. It was perfectly followed and complemented by the equally rich caramel ribbon. I tend to classify most caramel swirls as lower flavors because of their richness and depth. When sugar is heated until it forms caramel, the sugar becomes a warmer taste that is often interpreted as a low, powerful flavor. While the high notes were slightly stronger, I found it to be acceptable considering the link between both ends of the spectrum: caramel.
Texture
Simply gorgeous! I feel that Caramel Cone is the standard to which any non-smooth ice cream should be held. The pure ice cream was smooth as a typical Haagen Dazs should be. The caramel ribbon was nicely distributed and blended well with the smoothness of the ice cream. The chocolate covered waffle cone pieces kept their web shape underneath the chocolate and the sizing of each chunk was perfect. This ice cream was packed full of caramel and waffle cone throughout every spoonful.
Concluding Comments
Overall, a fantastic flavor and definitely one of my favorites. The sweetness of the ice cream is gorgeous and has a perfect complement in the caramel swirl and chocolate coating. This is as close to ice cream perfection as it comes. This flavor deserves a huge recommendation to anyone who enjoys a fairly sweet and crunchy ice cream.
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