Something that's missing from the article: decline in quality. Some ice creams are so full of stabilizers that you can leave a scoop out on a plate on the counter and at room temperature it'll...
Something that's missing from the article: decline in quality. Some ice creams are so full of stabilizers that you can leave a scoop out on a plate on the counter and at room temperature it'll just slump a little bit rather than melting. The mouthfeel is weird, and it's just not very pleasant to eat. I love ice cream, but the article is right that it's a pricey treat rather than a staple because only the pricey stuff is actually nice to eat rather than junk riding a wave of residual positive sentiment.
To the contrary, I think there’s been a widening, rather than decline, in quality. You can get all kinds of ultra premium ice creams, dairy and non-dairy, Western or Asian, etc. where Haagen-Dasz...
To the contrary, I think there’s been a widening, rather than decline, in quality. You can get all kinds of ultra premium ice creams, dairy and non-dairy, Western or Asian, etc. where Haagen-Dasz is now merely mid-tier. Gone are the days where you only had vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Now you can get ube, matcha, vanilla bean, melon, fior di latte, pistachio, marionberry, earl grey, lavender, and so on.
But there’s also an increase in cheap-o ice cream: $10 buckets, “frozen dairy dessert”, and so on.
Anyway, I think it’s an exciting time for ice cream at least.
I share in your experience and think I agree. But I live in a part of California where I've got easy access to ice cream made by small and/or diverse shops, so I wonder if this is the experience...
I share in your experience and think I agree. But I live in a part of California where I've got easy access to ice cream made by small and/or diverse shops, so I wonder if this is the experience everyone in the US has? Might be harder to get "good" ice cream if you're not in a great location for it.
There are more premium ice creams than ever in major cities for sure. I think the problem is that good ice cream with very few ingredients is now wildly expensive, and the stuff most people can...
You can get all kinds of ultra premium ice creams, dairy and non-dairy, Western or Asian, etc. where Haagen-Dasz is now merely mid-tier. Gone are the days where you only had vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Now you can get ube, matcha, vanilla bean, melon, fior di latte, pistachio, marionberry, earl grey, lavender, and so on.
There are more premium ice creams than ever in major cities for sure. I think the problem is that good ice cream with very few ingredients is now wildly expensive, and the stuff most people can afford isn't that good anymore. We used to go out for ice cream cones at the local supermarket which made their own ice cream in house, I think it was like 25 cents a scoop when I was a kid so a family of 4 could get a cone for a dollar. Now for my kid to get soft serve at the mister frostee truck it's like $7. I have 4 kids, am I going to get them all their own little pint of Talenti for eating at movie night? Add in my wife and that's like $40 in ice cream.
I think you can safely blame Childless Millennials™ like myself for that, haha. Ultra premium ice cream makers and boutiques have proved that there's demand out there for $12 pints of ice cream...
I think you can safely blame Childless Millennials™ like myself for that, haha.
Ultra premium ice cream makers and boutiques have proved that there's demand out there for $12 pints of ice cream and $8 soft serve cones — at least here in San Francisco where Childless Millennials™ go nuts for a $10–11 (with tax and tip) cone of (checking Bi-Rite Cramery's menu) ricanelas, black sesame, balsamic strawberry, or toasty ube sourdough ice cream. That's been setting price expectations around here, so $8 for a pint of not-so-exotic ice cream and $6 for normal soft serve seem less exorbitant.
I don’t have any problem with high end ice cream but I lament that simple and cheap fresh made store brand ice cream has gone the way of everything else. I mean when the ice cream truck came...
I don’t have any problem with high end ice cream but I lament that simple and cheap fresh made store brand ice cream has gone the way of everything else. I mean when the ice cream truck came around it was a reasonable treat for the kids now it’s a $30 visit.
I bought an ice cream maker that is very easy to use. I just don't take the time to use it for my husband and myself. But If I had kids to provide for, I bet it would be cheaper and tastier than...
I bought an ice cream maker that is very easy to use. I just don't take the time to use it for my husband and myself. But If I had kids to provide for, I bet it would be cheaper and tastier than buying quality ice cream for them.
There’s a very brief window of time where your kids are mature enough to not be running you ragged all day (to the point where you have no time to think about making them ice cream) and not yet...
There’s a very brief window of time where your kids are mature enough to not be running you ragged all day (to the point where you have no time to think about making them ice cream) and not yet independent enough to where they have zero interest in staying home eating ice cream with their parents.
Yup. I live near a creamery that makes their own ice cream; when I'm in the city I know where to find real ingredients gelato, and for store bought I'd have a mouth sized mochi-wrapped...
Yup. I live near a creamery that makes their own ice cream; when I'm in the city I know where to find real ingredients gelato, and for store bought I'd have a mouth sized mochi-wrapped yukimi-daifuku ice cream.
This is my experience too. Whenever I've lived in the US I've always missed good ice cream. Even American brands like Ben & Jerry's and Häagen Dazs taste better outside the US. In general,...
This is my experience too. Whenever I've lived in the US I've always missed good ice cream. Even American brands like Ben & Jerry's and Häagen Dazs taste better outside the US.
In general, processed US foods are just worse than their counterparts elsewhere. Sure, the market favors cheap foods, but the quality is so low saying away from premade stuff is often the only option.
To make the situation complete, buying actual ingredients in the US is also expensive, so it ends up being expensive getting decent food at all.
I had shipped to me some Graeter’s ice cream from Cincinnati for my dad’s birthday. I knew what I’d been buying in the grocery store - even many of the so-called premium brands - weren’t great,...
I had shipped to me some Graeter’s ice cream from Cincinnati for my dad’s birthday. I knew what I’d been buying in the grocery store - even many of the so-called premium brands - weren’t great, but holy cow, the difference was incredible.
Try and buy ice creams from smaller dairy farms if you have the option. Western Canada recommendation: Luckily my local grocery store stocks an excellent option: https://dutchmendairy.ca/ If...
Try and buy ice creams from smaller dairy farms if you have the option.
Western Canada recommendation:
Luckily my local grocery store stocks an excellent option: https://dutchmendairy.ca/
If you're outside of the lower mainland in BC, or in some parts of Alberta, chances are you can find this somewhere nearby. It's the best ice cream in BC, in my opinion.
Also sold at Costco! Although the flavor selection is usually limited (my local ones just have vanilla and Moose Tracks or whatever they call it). Reid's Dairy is also a nice option for those near it.
Also sold at Costco! Although the flavor selection is usually limited (my local ones just have vanilla and Moose Tracks or whatever they call it).
Reid's Dairy is also a nice option for those near it.
For those in the Durham region, enniskillen ice cream store is amazing and has tons of Kawartha flavours. Their serving sizes are hugemonous: get the Little Baby. Don't challenge yourself to Big...
For those in the Durham region, enniskillen ice cream store is amazing and has tons of Kawartha flavours. Their serving sizes are hugemonous: get the Little Baby. Don't challenge yourself to Big Baby unless you are sharing, and even then it's probably going to be too much.
It's been the biggest victim of shrinkflation I can think of. Look how much it is you used to get a fucking pint and you won't anymore. Therefore it's a no sale from me. Just like chips, the best...
It's been the biggest victim of shrinkflation I can think of.
Look how much it is you used to get a fucking pint and you won't anymore. Therefore it's a no sale from me. Just like chips, the best part about this is I've lost over 25 lbs this year due to how angry this shit makes me.
Chips are by far one of my favourite snacks, and I agree. It’s simply ridiculous how much they cost. Buying them has slowly been on the decline in our house, and within the next couple months,...
Chips are by far one of my favourite snacks, and I agree. It’s simply ridiculous how much they cost. Buying them has slowly been on the decline in our house, and within the next couple months, we’ll probably stop buying them all together.
I feel you. I only buy chips when they're BOGO. Fortunately at least one brand has their products on sale each week at my grocery store and I'm not particularly picky. I just can't justify the...
I feel you. I only buy chips when they're BOGO. Fortunately at least one brand has their products on sale each week at my grocery store and I'm not particularly picky. I just can't justify the cost unless they're buy one get one though especially when there are other snack options out there that I enjoy just as much at a better price.
We've cut back because we're more conscious of our food costs. We used to be able to pop into the grocery store, spend ~$100 on sale items, after coupons, etc and be set with staples for nearly...
We've cut back because we're more conscious of our food costs.
We used to be able to pop into the grocery store, spend ~$100 on sale items, after coupons, etc and be set with staples for nearly the week for our family of 6. Sure, toss in one of two things of $5 ice cream for dessert!
Now, it is closer to $160 sometimes after we've switched to generic brangs, decided we don't need that particular expense this week, maybe we don't need 2# of deli meat this trip, etc. An extra $8-9 for 1 thing of ice cream isn't worth it anymore to us.
Add to that becoming more health conscious and realizing we really don't need all that added sugar and dairy. I'm sure dairy consumption is also down across the board
Add to that becoming more health conscious and realizing we really don't need all that added sugar and dairy.
I'm sure dairy consumption is also down across the board
I’m glad the increase in plant-based diets was at least mentioned (although briefly), because I think that’s had a meaningful impact on the overall consumption of dairy products. I was surprised...
I’m glad the increase in plant-based diets was at least mentioned (although briefly), because I think that’s had a meaningful impact on the overall consumption of dairy products.
I was surprised to see lactose-malabsorption not mentioned though, because it’s statistically prevalent in certain populations and the demographics across North America have changed dramatically since the 1950s.
One more thought, and this may only be the case in my social circle, but I find there’s a lack of interest in desserts, in general. I almost never have any dessert of any kind.
As a plant-based dieter I see my old ice cream machine being stored on the windowsill behind my kitchen sink. Every day that I do dishes I look at the thing and sigh wistfully.
As a plant-based dieter I see my old ice cream machine being stored on the windowsill behind my kitchen sink. Every day that I do dishes I look at the thing and sigh wistfully.
You can't exactly make ice cream out of soymilk. But really it's more because I'm trying to lose weight. There are things you can make out of it that are vegan, like sorbet.
You can't exactly make ice cream out of soymilk. But really it's more because I'm trying to lose weight. There are things you can make out of it that are vegan, like sorbet.
Shit, it's ramped up in my house. The Ninja Creami is amazing. We use protein powder, Fairlife, and a few things like resse's cups and oreos for mixins. 70g protein per pint.
Shit, it's ramped up in my house.
The Ninja Creami is amazing. We use protein powder, Fairlife, and a few things like resse's cups and oreos for mixins. 70g protein per pint.
Just wanted to chime in here since a co-worker brought his Creami into the office and a bunch of us got to try it out. Flavors aside, the mouthfeel of the ice cream it produced was out of this...
Just wanted to chime in here since a co-worker brought his Creami into the office and a bunch of us got to try it out. Flavors aside, the mouthfeel of the ice cream it produced was out of this world. It was some of the creamiest, most enjoyable ice cream I've had. The flavors themselves almost took a backseat to just how fun it was eating this stuff.
It's a home version of an extremely expensive commercial kitchen appliance called a Pacojet. Instead of mixing a bowl of ice cream as it slowly freezes, it mechanically shreds and churns a mixture...
It's a home version of an extremely expensive commercial kitchen appliance called a Pacojet.
Instead of mixing a bowl of ice cream as it slowly freezes, it mechanically shreds and churns a mixture that has already been frozen.
I've heard mixed things about it; some people love it and others don't. But there is one primary advantage in that you can use it to "ice-creamify" some things that you couldn't before, to my understanding.
Interesting. I'm very much into kitchen appliances but have never heard of the concepts behind the Pacojet. I'd definitely have to try something like this before buying one. I have way too many...
Interesting. I'm very much into kitchen appliances but have never heard of the concepts behind the Pacojet. I'd definitely have to try something like this before buying one. I have way too many kitchen gadgets that don't get enough use to be worth the purchase.
It's hard to describe. I'm not a food scientist, but there's something about the way the machine processes whatever ingredients you froze in your pint that makes it taste top-shelf and smoother...
It's hard to describe. I'm not a food scientist, but there's something about the way the machine processes whatever ingredients you froze in your pint that makes it taste top-shelf and smoother than ice cream makers from the past. I don't want to mislead anyone into buying one of these things, but I can vouch for its results. If you're at all into experimenting with flavors and enjoy ice cream, then you're smack dab into the middle of the Venn diagram for this thing.
Gotcha. I'll have to see if I can find someone who has one to try it out. I occasionally use a Cuisinart ice cream maker with the frozen bowl that churns ice cream from cream/milk/eggs/sugar/etc...
Gotcha. I'll have to see if I can find someone who has one to try it out. I occasionally use a Cuisinart ice cream maker with the frozen bowl that churns ice cream from cream/milk/eggs/sugar/etc and I've figured that out pretty well. But I once bought some Yonanas thing that was supposed to make frozen deserts out of frozen bananas or something and it was awful - I ended up using it once and never again. So hopefully I can avoid another one of those types of purchases.
pros: Makes milkshakes, sorbet, frozen yogurt, ice cream, etc. Allows soft and hard mixins. I've literally just put canned peaches in syrup, froze it and then made sorbet from it. You can...
pros: Makes milkshakes, sorbet, frozen yogurt, ice cream, etc. Allows soft and hard mixins.
I've literally just put canned peaches in syrup, froze it and then made sorbet from it. You can completely control the sugar and nutrition contents of what you make. Easy to clean.
cons: Has to deep freeze for ~24hrs before processing. Only makes a pint at a time. Is very loud.
How does the ice cream part work, though? Is it kind of like soft serve? You put regular ice cream into it (and freeze) and out comes something that's more the consistency of soft serve? Or you...
How does the ice cream part work, though? Is it kind of like soft serve? You put regular ice cream into it (and freeze) and out comes something that's more the consistency of soft serve? Or you put ice cream ingredients into it (and freeze) and out comes normal ice cream?
The idea of milkshakes and sorbet make sense based on what's been described. I'm curious how the rest of it works. I likely need to try one.
I've had one for a while now. I don't call anything that comes out of it ice cream. There are some recipes that are very ice cream like, and you can make great things, but I don't try to fool...
I've had one for a while now. I don't call anything that comes out of it ice cream. There are some recipes that are very ice cream like, and you can make great things, but I don't try to fool anyone into thinking it is ice cream.
How it mostly works is: you freeze something, depending on desired product, into a solid block essentially. Then a fast spinning bladed paddle slowly plunges into the frozen block. The frozen product is being scraped (almost like shaved ice), aerating the product, which depending on your recipe makes it like ice cream. The texture is "creamy" even when the recipe calls for no cream because of the aeration.
Personally I love it because I can make a healthier alternative to store bought products, then even add any mix-in so you get exactly what you want.
As previously mentioned by another, the con being it is loud, and too small a portion for many people, and needs to freeze for at least 24hrs before processing. Other cons - it is a relatively big appliance for counter tops or cabinets imo, have to be careful to freeze only soft/pureed/liquid and make sure the surface is even. I imagine if that blade-paddle hits a hard ridge and not a flat surface as it plunges initially, it would do some damage. The blade isn't directly attached to the shaft, it actually attaches to the inside lid of the outer container, then the shaft grabs it as it spins.
Overall it is a strange device that works quite well.
You just mix the ingredients for your ice cream together, pour it into the special containers it comes with, and freeze it for a day in those containers. After it's frozen you put the container...
You just mix the ingredients for your ice cream together, pour it into the special containers it comes with, and freeze it for a day in those containers. After it's frozen you put the container into the machine and it turns it into the finished product.
I'm super late to the party, but you can definitely get close to soft serve if you "re churn" your ice cream. The instructions even tell you to do this if you want softer, creamier ice cream....
I'm super late to the party, but you can definitely get close to soft serve if you "re churn" your ice cream. The instructions even tell you to do this if you want softer, creamier ice cream.
Although everyone says at least 24 hours, it actually heavily depends on your ingredients. You can get away with 12 hours at a minimum depending on your ingredients and how cold your freezer is/how quickly you can get the ingredients to freeze thoroughly. I've done ice cream, milkshakes, and even Italian ice in under 24 hours with great results.
Typically, you do a "first pass". Then you add your mix-ins. If you don't have any mix-ins, you should almost definitely re-churn. Once you've done two passes, you're usually good, although sometimes another churn is needed depending on what's in your ice cream base.
Personally, the only downside is that you need a ton of their special pint cups because you'll be wanting to have multiple bases queued up. Although this also leads to reduced freezer space. But worth it for my family haha
A yet unmentioned explanation is that ice cream now competes with more dessert choices. We're in a gastronomic golden era. We have so many options thanks to a combination of food innovation and...
A yet unmentioned explanation is that ice cream now competes with more dessert choices. We're in a gastronomic golden era. We have so many options thanks to a combination of food innovation and cultural mixing and importation.
Urban Americans can get a boba milk tea just as easily as a Big Mac. Bakers and pastry chefs are experimenting with interesting new cakes, pies, donuts (mochi donuts!), croissants (the infamous "cronut), and so on.
We have so options to choose from and only so little room in our stomachs.
Grocery shopping here can be a nightmare. Decision paralysis in every aisle because there's a million things competing for your attention and money. It's hard for me to give new products a chance...
Grocery shopping here can be a nightmare. Decision paralysis in every aisle because there's a million things competing for your attention and money. It's hard for me to give new products a chance simply because I've trained myself to not even look, lest I be overwhelmed and cranky before I'm even in line to checkout. And I'm someone who bypasses a LOT of the aisles as is.
Here in Portugal, I do my best to support flavor variety in my region. This does require purchasing groceries online, too - local supermarkets are even less interesting. But lots of products I...
Here in Portugal, I do my best to support flavor variety in my region. This does require purchasing groceries online, too - local supermarkets are even less interesting. But lots of products I liked pulled out of the country over the years anyway. It really sucks. And for many types of food, it never even gets close to what you might find in an american city.
In Singapore we get a great variety of Asian produce in our markets (I just bought some frog among other stuff earlier this morning) and a decent variety of international stuff but nothing...
In Singapore we get a great variety of Asian produce in our markets (I just bought some frog among other stuff earlier this morning) and a decent variety of international stuff but nothing compared to the huge avalanche you get in American stores at comparatively low prices.
Interesting. Ice cream is a staple in my house. I'll take ice cream over a beer for dessert any day. I'm also trying to lose a bit of weight and tracking macros. Usually at the end of the day I'm...
Interesting. Ice cream is a staple in my house. I'll take ice cream over a beer for dessert any day. I'm also trying to lose a bit of weight and tracking macros. Usually at the end of the day I'm short on fats and carbs, a scoop of ice cream is perfect to fill in that gap.
Ice cream might be my favorite dessert. But I'm pretty picky about brands. I'll typically buy generic stuff at the store, but it's Tillamook or bust for ice cream (when it comes to grocery store...
Ice cream might be my favorite dessert. But I'm pretty picky about brands. I'll typically buy generic stuff at the store, but it's Tillamook or bust for ice cream (when it comes to grocery store availability).
I love ice cream, it's my favorite dessert. But most of what's in the freezer case at the supermarket isn't ice cream. "Frozen Dessert" isn't ice cream. You pick up the carton and the block of...
I love ice cream, it's my favorite dessert. But most of what's in the freezer case at the supermarket isn't ice cream. "Frozen Dessert" isn't ice cream. You pick up the carton and the block of ingredients is more dense than the contents. Full of gums and chemicals and all sorts of stuff you have to look up.
What's supposed to be in ice cream? Easy. Cream, sugar, skim milk, egg yolks, vanilla. Other additions should be similarly simple and obvious. Fruit, chocolate, cookies, whatever. Real ingredients, real food. How hard is that?
Apparently very, because what they want to sell isn't ice cream and doesn't have real food in it. Just chemical laboratory stuff.
Aldi's sells half gallons of vanilla for six bucks where I live. That's three-ish more than the frozen dessert crap, but it's heavier, tastier, and doesn't leave you wondering why it doesn't melt or what you're trying to eat.
We need food purity laws. At the very least, we need hard-core label integrity laws.
Food used to be made out of, wait for it, food. Not test tube slurry. I've read sci-fi stories that have a "fish out of water" element where locals are aghast at the concept of real food (often meat, sometimes other stuff); they've lived their entire lives in civilizations where food comes from the factory and is built like a science experiment.
I won’t argue that grocery store I’ve creams are generally trash that shouldn’t be called ice cream, but I will push back on this sentiment that I commonly see. Everything is chemicals. Sometimes...
I won’t argue that grocery store I’ve creams are generally trash that shouldn’t be called ice cream, but I will push back on this sentiment that I commonly see.
Everything is chemicals. Sometimes they have friendlier common names, but having one doesn’t make them special or better. “Milk” is just a name for a set of chemicals, which people would find scary if fully listed out scientifically. We often add “real” ingredients to recipes for specific chemicals, like adding a fruit with more pectin to help one with less when making a jam; adding isolated pectin would serve the same purpose, and pectin is pectin whether it was made by a lab, extracted from plant A, or included with plant B.
I’ve met people who rarely touch fresh fruit, but they sure do like their fruit shaped gummy vitamins.
sci-fi stories that have a "fish out of water" element where locals are aghast at the concept of real food (often meat, sometimes other stuff); they've lived their entire lives in civilizations where food comes from the factory and is built like a science experiment.
I’ve met people who rarely touch fresh fruit, but they sure do like their fruit shaped gummy vitamins.
I love ice cream, but I've given up nearly all dairy for both health reasons and to oppose factory farming. After a lot of searching, my favorite vegan dessert is currently So Delicious coconut...
I love ice cream, but I've given up nearly all dairy for both health reasons and to oppose factory farming. After a lot of searching, my favorite vegan dessert is currently So Delicious coconut milk yogurt. Great taste and mouthfeel (especially the Key Lime flavor). Between that and oat milk for cereal, I don't miss dairy at all.
There are pills you can take for when you can't resist dairy. Not that I've tried those, it's not an urgent priority for me. Also a ton of alternative ice creams exist now, made from soy milk,...
There are pills you can take for when you can't resist dairy. Not that I've tried those, it's not an urgent priority for me.
Also a ton of alternative ice creams exist now, made from soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, and cashew milk. I don't like the textures of all of them, but it seems like everyone has different preferences anyway so it might be worth it for you to try them out.
I'm mildly lactose intolerant and I have figured out how much cow ice cream I can have in a 48 hour period before all hell breaks loose.
Something that's missing from the article: decline in quality. Some ice creams are so full of stabilizers that you can leave a scoop out on a plate on the counter and at room temperature it'll just slump a little bit rather than melting. The mouthfeel is weird, and it's just not very pleasant to eat. I love ice cream, but the article is right that it's a pricey treat rather than a staple because only the pricey stuff is actually nice to eat rather than junk riding a wave of residual positive sentiment.
To the contrary, I think there’s been a widening, rather than decline, in quality. You can get all kinds of ultra premium ice creams, dairy and non-dairy, Western or Asian, etc. where Haagen-Dasz is now merely mid-tier. Gone are the days where you only had vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Now you can get ube, matcha, vanilla bean, melon, fior di latte, pistachio, marionberry, earl grey, lavender, and so on.
But there’s also an increase in cheap-o ice cream: $10 buckets, “frozen dairy dessert”, and so on.
Anyway, I think it’s an exciting time for ice cream at least.
I share in your experience and think I agree. But I live in a part of California where I've got easy access to ice cream made by small and/or diverse shops, so I wonder if this is the experience everyone in the US has? Might be harder to get "good" ice cream if you're not in a great location for it.
Not in the US, but I don't have a local ice cream shop, so all I get is supermarket stuff, which is pretty awful.
I'd imagine it's similar in major metropolitan areas. I'm in Houston and have no trouble finding loads of high-end ice cream options.
There are more premium ice creams than ever in major cities for sure. I think the problem is that good ice cream with very few ingredients is now wildly expensive, and the stuff most people can afford isn't that good anymore. We used to go out for ice cream cones at the local supermarket which made their own ice cream in house, I think it was like 25 cents a scoop when I was a kid so a family of 4 could get a cone for a dollar. Now for my kid to get soft serve at the mister frostee truck it's like $7. I have 4 kids, am I going to get them all their own little pint of Talenti for eating at movie night? Add in my wife and that's like $40 in ice cream.
I think you can safely blame Childless Millennials™ like myself for that, haha.
Ultra premium ice cream makers and boutiques have proved that there's demand out there for $12 pints of ice cream and $8 soft serve cones — at least here in San Francisco where Childless Millennials™ go nuts for a $10–11 (with tax and tip) cone of (checking Bi-Rite Cramery's menu) ricanelas, black sesame, balsamic strawberry, or toasty ube sourdough ice cream. That's been setting price expectations around here, so $8 for a pint of not-so-exotic ice cream and $6 for normal soft serve seem less exorbitant.
I don’t have any problem with high end ice cream but I lament that simple and cheap fresh made store brand ice cream has gone the way of everything else. I mean when the ice cream truck came around it was a reasonable treat for the kids now it’s a $30 visit.
I bought an ice cream maker that is very easy to use. I just don't take the time to use it for my husband and myself. But If I had kids to provide for, I bet it would be cheaper and tastier than buying quality ice cream for them.
There’s a very brief window of time where your kids are mature enough to not be running you ragged all day (to the point where you have no time to think about making them ice cream) and not yet independent enough to where they have zero interest in staying home eating ice cream with their parents.
Yup. I live near a creamery that makes their own ice cream; when I'm in the city I know where to find real ingredients gelato, and for store bought I'd have a mouth sized mochi-wrapped yukimi-daifuku ice cream.
https://lotte.com.vn/en/brand/yukimi/
I don't want to spend time eating "ice milk"
This is my experience too. Whenever I've lived in the US I've always missed good ice cream. Even American brands like Ben & Jerry's and Häagen Dazs taste better outside the US.
In general, processed US foods are just worse than their counterparts elsewhere. Sure, the market favors cheap foods, but the quality is so low saying away from premade stuff is often the only option.
To make the situation complete, buying actual ingredients in the US is also expensive, so it ends up being expensive getting decent food at all.
I had shipped to me some Graeter’s ice cream from Cincinnati for my dad’s birthday. I knew what I’d been buying in the grocery store - even many of the so-called premium brands - weren’t great, but holy cow, the difference was incredible.
Seconding Graeters. They're raspberry chocolate chip is heavenly.
If the article didn't include how Unilever ruined Breyers's then it doesn't know what it's talking about. ;)
Try and buy ice creams from smaller dairy farms if you have the option.
Western Canada recommendation:
Luckily my local grocery store stocks an excellent option: https://dutchmendairy.ca/If you're outside of the lower mainland in BC, or in some parts of Alberta, chances are you can find this somewhere nearby. It's the best ice cream in BC, in my opinion.
Ontario recommendation
https://kawarthadairy.com/ice-cream-products/
Also sold at Costco! Although the flavor selection is usually limited (my local ones just have vanilla and Moose Tracks or whatever they call it).
Reid's Dairy is also a nice option for those near it.
For those in the Durham region, enniskillen ice cream store is amazing and has tons of Kawartha flavours. Their serving sizes are hugemonous: get the Little Baby. Don't challenge yourself to Big Baby unless you are sharing, and even then it's probably going to be too much.
It's been the biggest victim of shrinkflation I can think of.
Look how much it is you used to get a fucking pint and you won't anymore. Therefore it's a no sale from me. Just like chips, the best part about this is I've lost over 25 lbs this year due to how angry this shit makes me.
Chips are by far one of my favourite snacks, and I agree. It’s simply ridiculous how much they cost. Buying them has slowly been on the decline in our house, and within the next couple months, we’ll probably stop buying them all together.
I feel you. I only buy chips when they're BOGO. Fortunately at least one brand has their products on sale each week at my grocery store and I'm not particularly picky. I just can't justify the cost unless they're buy one get one though especially when there are other snack options out there that I enjoy just as much at a better price.
If it’s a fancy brand definitely, but if it’s a giant bag of mission tortilla chips it still goes a long way!
We've cut back because we're more conscious of our food costs.
We used to be able to pop into the grocery store, spend ~$100 on sale items, after coupons, etc and be set with staples for nearly the week for our family of 6. Sure, toss in one of two things of $5 ice cream for dessert!
Now, it is closer to $160 sometimes after we've switched to generic brangs, decided we don't need that particular expense this week, maybe we don't need 2# of deli meat this trip, etc. An extra $8-9 for 1 thing of ice cream isn't worth it anymore to us.
Add to that becoming more health conscious and realizing we really don't need all that added sugar and dairy.
I'm sure dairy consumption is also down across the board
I’m glad the increase in plant-based diets was at least mentioned (although briefly), because I think that’s had a meaningful impact on the overall consumption of dairy products.
I was surprised to see lactose-malabsorption not mentioned though, because it’s statistically prevalent in certain populations and the demographics across North America have changed dramatically since the 1950s.
One more thought, and this may only be the case in my social circle, but I find there’s a lack of interest in desserts, in general. I almost never have any dessert of any kind.
As a plant-based dieter I see my old ice cream machine being stored on the windowsill behind my kitchen sink. Every day that I do dishes I look at the thing and sigh wistfully.
Do those machines not work for vegan ice cream?
You can't exactly make ice cream out of soymilk. But really it's more because I'm trying to lose weight. There are things you can make out of it that are vegan, like sorbet.
Shit, it's ramped up in my house.
The Ninja Creami is amazing. We use protein powder, Fairlife, and a few things like resse's cups and oreos for mixins. 70g protein per pint.
Just wanted to chime in here since a co-worker brought his Creami into the office and a bunch of us got to try it out. Flavors aside, the mouthfeel of the ice cream it produced was out of this world. It was some of the creamiest, most enjoyable ice cream I've had. The flavors themselves almost took a backseat to just how fun it was eating this stuff.
I saw one of those and was skeptical. What's so special about it?
It's a home version of an extremely expensive commercial kitchen appliance called a Pacojet.
Instead of mixing a bowl of ice cream as it slowly freezes, it mechanically shreds and churns a mixture that has already been frozen.
I've heard mixed things about it; some people love it and others don't. But there is one primary advantage in that you can use it to "ice-creamify" some things that you couldn't before, to my understanding.
Interesting. I'm very much into kitchen appliances but have never heard of the concepts behind the Pacojet. I'd definitely have to try something like this before buying one. I have way too many kitchen gadgets that don't get enough use to be worth the purchase.
It's hard to describe. I'm not a food scientist, but there's something about the way the machine processes whatever ingredients you froze in your pint that makes it taste top-shelf and smoother than ice cream makers from the past. I don't want to mislead anyone into buying one of these things, but I can vouch for its results. If you're at all into experimenting with flavors and enjoy ice cream, then you're smack dab into the middle of the Venn diagram for this thing.
Gotcha. I'll have to see if I can find someone who has one to try it out. I occasionally use a Cuisinart ice cream maker with the frozen bowl that churns ice cream from cream/milk/eggs/sugar/etc and I've figured that out pretty well. But I once bought some Yonanas thing that was supposed to make frozen deserts out of frozen bananas or something and it was awful - I ended up using it once and never again. So hopefully I can avoid another one of those types of purchases.
pros: Makes milkshakes, sorbet, frozen yogurt, ice cream, etc. Allows soft and hard mixins.
I've literally just put canned peaches in syrup, froze it and then made sorbet from it. You can completely control the sugar and nutrition contents of what you make. Easy to clean.
cons: Has to deep freeze for ~24hrs before processing. Only makes a pint at a time. Is very loud.
How does the ice cream part work, though? Is it kind of like soft serve? You put regular ice cream into it (and freeze) and out comes something that's more the consistency of soft serve? Or you put ice cream ingredients into it (and freeze) and out comes normal ice cream?
The idea of milkshakes and sorbet make sense based on what's been described. I'm curious how the rest of it works. I likely need to try one.
I've had one for a while now. I don't call anything that comes out of it ice cream. There are some recipes that are very ice cream like, and you can make great things, but I don't try to fool anyone into thinking it is ice cream.
How it mostly works is: you freeze something, depending on desired product, into a solid block essentially. Then a fast spinning bladed paddle slowly plunges into the frozen block. The frozen product is being scraped (almost like shaved ice), aerating the product, which depending on your recipe makes it like ice cream. The texture is "creamy" even when the recipe calls for no cream because of the aeration.
Personally I love it because I can make a healthier alternative to store bought products, then even add any mix-in so you get exactly what you want.
As previously mentioned by another, the con being it is loud, and too small a portion for many people, and needs to freeze for at least 24hrs before processing. Other cons - it is a relatively big appliance for counter tops or cabinets imo, have to be careful to freeze only soft/pureed/liquid and make sure the surface is even. I imagine if that blade-paddle hits a hard ridge and not a flat surface as it plunges initially, it would do some damage. The blade isn't directly attached to the shaft, it actually attaches to the inside lid of the outer container, then the shaft grabs it as it spins.
Overall it is a strange device that works quite well.
You just mix the ingredients for your ice cream together, pour it into the special containers it comes with, and freeze it for a day in those containers. After it's frozen you put the container into the machine and it turns it into the finished product.
I'm super late to the party, but you can definitely get close to soft serve if you "re churn" your ice cream. The instructions even tell you to do this if you want softer, creamier ice cream.
Although everyone says at least 24 hours, it actually heavily depends on your ingredients. You can get away with 12 hours at a minimum depending on your ingredients and how cold your freezer is/how quickly you can get the ingredients to freeze thoroughly. I've done ice cream, milkshakes, and even Italian ice in under 24 hours with great results.
Typically, you do a "first pass". Then you add your mix-ins. If you don't have any mix-ins, you should almost definitely re-churn. Once you've done two passes, you're usually good, although sometimes another churn is needed depending on what's in your ice cream base.
Personally, the only downside is that you need a ton of their special pint cups because you'll be wanting to have multiple bases queued up. Although this also leads to reduced freezer space. But worth it for my family haha
It's so dang good.
A yet unmentioned explanation is that ice cream now competes with more dessert choices. We're in a gastronomic golden era. We have so many options thanks to a combination of food innovation and cultural mixing and importation.
Urban Americans can get a boba milk tea just as easily as a Big Mac. Bakers and pastry chefs are experimenting with interesting new cakes, pies, donuts (mochi donuts!), croissants (the infamous "cronut), and so on.
We have so options to choose from and only so little room in our stomachs.
Reading through the replies, as always I'm stunned by the amount of product variety Americans have
Grocery shopping here can be a nightmare. Decision paralysis in every aisle because there's a million things competing for your attention and money. It's hard for me to give new products a chance simply because I've trained myself to not even look, lest I be overwhelmed and cranky before I'm even in line to checkout. And I'm someone who bypasses a LOT of the aisles as is.
Part of that is that the country is roughly the size of Europe and is not uniform in it's food suppliers.
Here in Portugal, I do my best to support flavor variety in my region. This does require purchasing groceries online, too - local supermarkets are even less interesting. But lots of products I liked pulled out of the country over the years anyway. It really sucks. And for many types of food, it never even gets close to what you might find in an american city.
In Singapore we get a great variety of Asian produce in our markets (I just bought some frog among other stuff earlier this morning) and a decent variety of international stuff but nothing compared to the huge avalanche you get in American stores at comparatively low prices.
Interesting. Ice cream is a staple in my house. I'll take ice cream over a beer for dessert any day. I'm also trying to lose a bit of weight and tracking macros. Usually at the end of the day I'm short on fats and carbs, a scoop of ice cream is perfect to fill in that gap.
Ice cream might be my favorite dessert. But I'm pretty picky about brands. I'll typically buy generic stuff at the store, but it's Tillamook or bust for ice cream (when it comes to grocery store availability).
For me, ice cream is something I eat when I'm on holiday or miserable. If I'm neither of these things, I won't eat it.
I love ice cream, it's my favorite dessert. But most of what's in the freezer case at the supermarket isn't ice cream. "Frozen Dessert" isn't ice cream. You pick up the carton and the block of ingredients is more dense than the contents. Full of gums and chemicals and all sorts of stuff you have to look up.
What's supposed to be in ice cream? Easy. Cream, sugar, skim milk, egg yolks, vanilla. Other additions should be similarly simple and obvious. Fruit, chocolate, cookies, whatever. Real ingredients, real food. How hard is that?
Apparently very, because what they want to sell isn't ice cream and doesn't have real food in it. Just chemical laboratory stuff.
Aldi's sells half gallons of vanilla for six bucks where I live. That's three-ish more than the frozen dessert crap, but it's heavier, tastier, and doesn't leave you wondering why it doesn't melt or what you're trying to eat.
We need food purity laws. At the very least, we need hard-core label integrity laws.
Food used to be made out of, wait for it, food. Not test tube slurry. I've read sci-fi stories that have a "fish out of water" element where locals are aghast at the concept of real food (often meat, sometimes other stuff); they've lived their entire lives in civilizations where food comes from the factory and is built like a science experiment.
I won’t argue that grocery store I’ve creams are generally trash that shouldn’t be called ice cream, but I will push back on this sentiment that I commonly see.
Everything is chemicals. Sometimes they have friendlier common names, but having one doesn’t make them special or better. “Milk” is just a name for a set of chemicals, which people would find scary if fully listed out scientifically. We often add “real” ingredients to recipes for specific chemicals, like adding a fruit with more pectin to help one with less when making a jam; adding isolated pectin would serve the same purpose, and pectin is pectin whether it was made by a lab, extracted from plant A, or included with plant B.
“Real food” is practically meaningless as a term.
I’ve met people who rarely touch fresh fruit, but they sure do like their fruit shaped gummy vitamins.
I love ice cream, but I've given up nearly all dairy for both health reasons and to oppose factory farming. After a lot of searching, my favorite vegan dessert is currently So Delicious coconut milk yogurt. Great taste and mouthfeel (especially the Key Lime flavor). Between that and oat milk for cereal, I don't miss dairy at all.
cries in lactose intolerance
I think they make lactose free ice cream now right? Maybe not so many flavours....
There are pills you can take for when you can't resist dairy. Not that I've tried those, it's not an urgent priority for me.
Also a ton of alternative ice creams exist now, made from soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, and cashew milk. I don't like the textures of all of them, but it seems like everyone has different preferences anyway so it might be worth it for you to try them out.
I'm mildly lactose intolerant and I have figured out how much cow ice cream I can have in a 48 hour period before all hell breaks loose.