Haagen Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream : Read reviews and compare prices at Ciao.co.uk

Author's product rating:

Value for Money	Good
Product Quality	Excellent
Product package	Excellent
Taste	Delicious
How loyal are you to this brand?	Very

Advantages:	A moment on the lips
Disadvantages:	A lifetime on the hips

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is likely to be my shortest review on record. I have in my left hand a dish of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream. I have in my right hand a spoon (quite how I’m typing at the same time I don’t know – speech recognition software is improving all the time!!). Dish – lips – dish – lips - - -

The taste is out of this world. Mmmm – dish – lips – dish -

There is a richness of vanilla and creaminess of the fresh cream. Oooh!! Dish – lips -

The ice cream is – cold!! The flavours linger on the palette long after you have swallowed.

Dish – lips – dish – Oh dear! It’s all gone.

There, I’m finished. What more can you say about such a simple confection!

A LITTLE HISTORY

What you may not know, and what is often mistaken is that the brand name is an invention. It is not Dutch or Flemish. By the way the spelling throughout this review is the authentic one.

“From humble beginnings in the USA back in the 1920s, Häagen-Dazs has grown and developed to become the premium ice cream brand we know today. Reuben Mattus, a young entrepreneur with a passion for quality and a vision for creating the finest ice cream, worked in his mother's ice cream business selling fruit ice and ice cream pops from a horse drawn wagon in the bustling streets of the Bronx, New York. To produce the finest ice cream available, he insisted on using only the finest, purest ingredients.

The family business grew and prospered throughout the 1930's, 40's and 50's, and by 1961 Mr. Mattus decided to form a new company dedicated to his ice cream vision. He called his new brand Häagen-Dazs, to convey an aura of the old-world traditions and craftsmanship to which he remained dedicated. Häagen-Dazs started out with only three flavours: vanilla, chocolate and coffee. But Mr. Mattus' passion for quality soon took him to the four corners of the globe. His unique ice cream recipes included dark chocolate from Belgium and hand picked vanilla beans from Madagascar, creating distinctive and indulgent taste experiences.

News of its irresistible quality soon spread by word of mouth until there was nationwide demand for the product, all without the help of advertising. By the mid 1970s, 'dipping stores' in Brooklyn were opening, paving the way for what have now become approximately 650 Häagen-Dazs Cafés around the world. In response to global demand for the product, international distribution of Häagen-Dazs took off in 1982. In 1983

Mr. Mattus agreed to sell Häagen-Dazs to The Pillsbury Company, which remained committed to the tradition of superior quality and innovation on which Häagen-Dazs was founded. Demand soon spread even as far as Japan where it quickly became the best selling premium ice cream brand in the country.

In June 2000, Häagen-Dazs opened its doors to a whole new experience of ice cream indulgence with the re-launch, in London's Leicester Square, of the new-style flagship Häagen-Dazs Café. Burgundy sofas and cosy booths add a feeling of comfort, cocooning and intimacy throughout the café. The Café has been luring Häagen-Dazs devotees with the promise of an experience of pure pleasure whilst out and about in town!”

[Reprinted from the Häagen-Dazs UK website]

A PROFILE OF PILLSBURY.

Company profile:- Founded in 1869 by Charles A. Pillsbury as a flour milling company on the banks of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Later in 1988 it was acquired by Grand Metropolitan. Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness to form Diageo and then Diageo (NYSE: DEO) established with four operating units including Pillsbury, Burger King, Guinness, United Vintners & Distillers in December 1997. Pillsbury is mainly famous for dough products, baked goods, baking mixes etc.. It owns Haagen-Dazs brand which is specially famous for premium ice cream and frozen yogurt . Green Giant the world's largest marketer of branded vegetables & Old El Paso the world's number-one Mexican food brand outside Mexico is also owned by Pillsbury. It's brand portfolio includes Green Giant, Old El Paso & Haagen-Dazs. There products & brands are sold in more than 70 countries through over 30 offices & manufacturing facilities positioned around the world including China, France, Japan, Germany & UK.
[Extracted from General Mills Corporation website. http://www.generalmills.com/corporate/about/history/hist_flash.asp]

Over the last year Diageo shares have traded on the London stock market starting at 760p and are currently at 680p with a high of 940p last March.

THE PACKAGE

In the UK it is packaged in 500ml cardboard cartons that are a darkish red brown with a plastic gold rimmed lid. There is a tight air seal inside this to keep the ice cream fresh. The declared ingredients do not vary around the world. For Vanilla they are Fresh cream, skimmed milk, sugar, egg yolk, natural flavouring: vanilla. There are no preservatives, artificial ingredients, E-numbers or colourings. The Vanilla ice cream is a slightly brownish cream with a strong flavour and aroma.

I’m afraid hips and lips always come to mind when talking about ice cream. Häagen-Dazs is no exception. Over here, a rather niggardly 100ml serving contains 225 Calories. In the US you are allowed half a cup(!) and this yields 270 Calories.

As mentioned in my introduction, the ice cream is very cold when taken straight out of the freezer. It is recommended that you store it at -18 degrees Centigrade. At that temperature it should keep about ten months (Some hopes!) It can also be very hard and may require to be left to soften slightly for ten minutes so before serving. (Can you wait?!) I have seen offers for a heated serving spoon (Lakeland Plastics I think) that you put into the microwave to overcome this problem.

FLAVOURS

It is of interest that the range of flavours varies in different parts of the world. The most favoured flavour in Japan is Green Tea. There is a difference in the taste of this ice cream (say, Vanilla) in the US – where it is made locally – and the UK (ours is produced in France.

The UK flavour range is:
Bailey’s Irish Cream, Belgian Chocolate, Caramel Cone, Choc choc chip, Chocolate Fudge Swirl, Chocolate Midnight Cookies, Cookie Dough Chip, Cookies and Cream, Lemon Passion Pie, Pralines and Cream, Strawberry Cheesecake, Toffee Cream, Vanilla, Vanilla Choc Fudge, Vanilla Caramel Brownie

Additional flavours in the US include
Bananas Foster, Blueberry Cheesecake, Butter pecan, Café Mocha Frappe, Cherry Vanilla, Chocolate, Chocolate Brownie with Walnuts, Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Coffee, Coffee Almond Swirl, Coffee Mocha Chip, Macadamia Brittle, Peanut Butter Fudge Chunk, Pecan Pie, Pistachio, Rocky Road, Rum Raisin, Vanilla Swiss Almonds.

A RECIPE

If you can tear yourself away from the pot for a moment I would like to offer you this most spectacular dinner party pudding. Go on – give it a try. I came across this recipe in a magazine many years ago and I’ve made one for the last four Christmases. It is a superb alternative to the usual plum one.

Ingredients:

2 x 500 mls Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream
A rich Stollen cake
150g Glace fruit
Amaretto liquer

I bought a 700g “Rich Stollen with Brandy” from Tesco (price about £3.50) and a 200g pack of Glace fruit (mandarins, apricots, pears, figs, peel, ginger and cherries) from Marks and Spencer (£4.99)

Equipment:

2lb bread tin
Cling film for lining.

Method:

Line the bread tin with the Cling film leaving long ends to close over the top of the final cake. Cut the stollen into half inch think slices. DIVIDE THE SLICES INTO THREE LOTS (- important, I didn’t take this step the first time and was left short!) Put a layer of slices in the bottom of the tin. The triangular shape of the cake makes this quite easy. Sprinkle the cake generously with Amaretto.

Meanwhile allow the ice cream to soften slightly (but not thaw). Cut the glace fruit into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Spoon the ice cream onto the fruit and mix quickly – not allowing the ice cream to soften too far. Place about half of the ice cream / fruit mix on top of the stollen pressing down into the corners of the tin so as not to leave air gaps. Put another layer of stollen onto the ice cream and sprinkle this again generously with Amaretto. Put the remaining ice cream mix on top to the second layer and place the remaining stollen slices on top of the ice cream. Add a further sprinkle of Amaretto.

Fold the Cling film over the top of the cake and place into the freezer to harden. The cake is now ready to serve.

Scrumptious!!!

CONCLUSION

Häagen-Dazs is available in most supermarkets but is dreadfully expensive in the UK. I have seen it as much as £ 4.25 for a pint pot (500ml). Sainsbury’s currently have an offer of 2 pots for £4 although the flavours available are limited. So, stock up while stocks last. It is also on offer on occasions at other outlets (eg Blockbusters)

On the other hand Häagen-Dazs is much cheaper in the US (Publix had it for $2.50 a pint) and also comes in a wider range of sizes. Mind you the competition for ice cream is far greater over there not just from Ben and Jerrys (which you may know) but also from many high grade supermarket own brands. It is my own personal preference to I do prefer this brand of Vanilla to all others I have tried.

There is only one way I know that you can get fresher, creamier, “vanilliery” ice cream than this and that is to make it yourself. I should know, I have an ice cream maker!