Mackies Diary Ice Cream > Reviews (7)

Mackies Traditional Ice Cream is simply what it claims to be “ice cream made the way it should be”. It’s basically traditional ice-cream made with only fresh double cream and whole milk (there isn’t even vanilla added); it’s not designer ice-cream!

This is a much more crediting opinion than my usual objective opinions, but you only have to read the other 2 opinions on this product to realise that I do not earn commission on sales of this product (but I did enter a competition to win a year’s supply of this!!! ;).

///Image///
Mackies portrays itself as a sort of large family business in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a staff of “70 people and 500 Jersey Cows”, and the packaging is no noveau art either, it’s a dull but simple pale yellow and blue round 1 litre plastic tub with a plastic lid. It’s very proud of being Scottish too.

The tub draws attention to the ice cream’s purity and traditionality, it’s very different to designer ice-creams (like Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s etc…), and if there was an advert for this on TV, there certainly will not be a woman wearing silky lingerie devouring this as if it was massaging her taste buds (well unless if she was Scottish). This will not be a product that children will be queuing to buy because of its packaging.

Where this product places itself certainly makes a fresh difference. One would think that there would be lots of “pure” ice creams in the market, but the luxury market is dominated by 500ml works of art (even jockey Frankie Dettori has his own brand of Italian ice cream) all with enough flavours to require the services of Hans Blix. Then you have the lower market luxury ice creams like Carte D’Or etc. These ice cream are flavoured, the plainest being vanilla, but none of them are flavourless, pure ice-cream; this is what Mackies Traditional ice cream is.

///Taste///
If Jeremy Clarkson was to write a review on a designer ice cream (say Haagen Dazs Pralines & Cream), he’d say that it had enough of a sugary taste to decay a whole generation of children’s teeth, with strange bits and pieces inside that cause a change of texture as often as David Beckham changes his hair style.

But what about Mackies? He’d say it was “just creamy with no artificial flavourings or preservatives. But that’s not a bad thing….”

You see the light taste is like tasting a fragrant cream, it’s flowery, revitalising and very addictive, and you won’t feel you need to gargle afterwards like eating some flavours of designer ice-creams. It’s a little different to the taste of soft dairy ice-cream, it’s a little more fragrant and sweeter, with less of a milky taste, but more of a creamy taste.

This ice-cream has a very neutral smell compared with others.

Personally I recommend it with some soft strawberries.

///Texture///
Mackies’ texture is in between your 90p 2-litre ice-cream and £3 500ml designer ice cream, so it don’t take too long to soften. It is relative hard but not difficult to spoon. It feels expensive and it is as smooth as far more expensive brands.

It is certainly not icy at all!

///Value///
It costs about £2.30 for a 1 Litre tub. Now compare this with £3.30 for a 500ml tub of Haagen Dazs and you can see a lot of value, especially when Mackies often reduce the price to £1.99.
Then you compare it with the cheapest ice cream which sells at 90p for 2 litres and you realise you are paying 4 times as much; is it worth it? I think it is because your 90p for 2 litres ice cream has more ice than cream, this is all cream!

///Verdict///
Mackies traditional ice cream is simply iced cream, and its simplicity has placed it into a niche market. It’s perfect for people who want things simple and nice tasting, perhaps for people who like to see women without wearing make up or enhancements. You probably won’t like Mackies traditional ice cream if the ice cream you purchase has is more colourful than Crayola children’s gift pack or contains enough sugar to power a Bently Turbo-R. It really makes a nice break from the ice creams with bells and whistles that dominate the freezer aisles of our supermarkets.
Mackies traditional ice cream certainly makes for a good change, however it won’t change your life.

You can visit Mackie’s website at www.mackies.co.uk where you can find out more about them, their products and enter a competition to win a year’s supply of ice cream.

Available nationwide.