Cold Stone History

I love Cold Stone with all their mix-ins and delicious ice cream. I was eating there the other day and I was wondering where it started from. Cold Stone started in 1988 and was co-founded by Susan and Donald Sutherland. Cold Stone Creamery opened its first store that year in Tempe, Arizona.Cold Stone's name comes from the frozen granite stone, used to mix "mix-ins": candy, nuts, or other edibles into various flavors of ice creams. In 1995, Cold Stone Creamery opened its first franchise store in Tuscon. After Tuscon the company went out of state and now has over 1400 stores. Its the 6th best brand of ice cream in U.S. and it also sells out side of the U.S.

Handel's Ice Cream = Heaven

Voted #1 in the WORLD for ice cream, beating Haagen-Dazs and Coldstone's, Handel's is a place you can't miss if you're looking for that perfect cup of ice cream.

I had the chance to visit one with Dave this weekend, and I have to say that this place knows ice cream. They pride themselves for making all of their ice cream on-site and their take on ice cream desserts is enough to go on a pilgrimage for. Yeah, I'm being over-the-top here but I just have to say they're really good.

Their decor is unassuming, and at first glance, it looks forgettable. Don't go to Handel's to see or be seen. Go to it for the ice cream. You won't regret it.

Last word of advice: Get the Belgian Waffle Sundae!

Here's a link to their website where you can find out what flavors they have and where they're located: Click here!

Banana Splits

The other day was the first time I ate a banana split, and it wad delicious. I think it's funny how something so simple is a classic dessert that has been around for a long time. In my opinion a banana split was made for indecisive people who couldn't decide on a sundae they wanted. I mean look at a banana split, it's three different flavors of ice cream with whipped cream on top. Every scoop of ice cream has its own toppings, such as nuts, syrup, or cherry. Those are three different sundaes on a plate with a split banana on both sides. It was good and the banana just compliments the ice cream so well. It's like they were meant for each other. I recommend this dessert to anyone!

Milkshake: Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake

This one's really easy to make, and chances are, you probably have these ingredients at home.

You need:

-3 tablespoon Peanut Butter

-1 cup Milk

-3 scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream

-1 big squeeze of Chocolate Syrup

Blend them all together and you got yourself a Peanut Butter Cup Milkshake : )

Mochi yo! oishii desu ne! Mochi is a Japanese dessert made with ice cream and mochi (pulverized sticky rice). It came to United States in 1993 and has became an international dessert since. I love mochi! mochi daisuki desu yo! Mochi itself is delicious, just the pulverized sticky rice, but when its wrapped around ice cream it is a dessert like no other. Mochi is about the size of a golf ball and comes in a pack of 6. It's at any supermarket and is worth a try if you haven't had the privilege of tasting one yet.

My favorite milk shake

Aww the milk shake, don't you just love them. Their is no better dessert, in my opinion, then a milk shake. They're so simple too! Just add milk and ice cream together and you have yourself a milk shake. I'm going to share my favorite milk shake and how to make it. I like it when chocolate and vanilla are blended together to really shake up my taste buds. So to make my favorite milk shake you take your blender out and put in: 3 big scoops of vanilla ice cream, 4 tablespoons of chocolate syrup, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and then fill to the top of the ice cram with milk. After you blend them together put it in a glass and then add whip cream to the top. Also, if you really want to make your sweet tooth happy, drink this while eating a chocolate bar. Any chocolate bar well do and it is delicious. I give it a 10/10!

Milkshake: Whopper Milkshake

Whopper Shake

Ingredients (mostly taken from the Carnation Malted Milk container):

-3/4 cup milk

-3 tablespoons malted milk

-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-2 scoops of ice cream

-Liberal squeeze of chocolate syrup

Combine all of the ingredients except the syrup and blend. Pour into a nice glass cup and squeeze the syrup liberally into the cup.

I'd imagine if you had Whoppers on hand to top off the shake with crushed Whoppers, it'd be perfect : )

Otherwise, this milkshake tastes just like a Whopper to me. Not the hamburger, the candy! Though a hamburger milkshake sounds interesting but really disgusting.

Sundae Recipe: Mandarin Pear Sundae

Ingredients:

-Pears (Stronger/More flavorful, the better!)

-1 Can of Mandarins

-Plain vanilla ice cream

Slice the pear into bite-size pieces. Strain out Mandarins from can. Scoop vanilla ice cream into bowl or tall glass. Top off with pear pieces and Mandarins.

This is a really simple sundae recipe. Not only that, the taste is mellow yet complex. The first taste is the vanilla. Depending on how vanilla the ice cream is, you'll either get a punch in the taste buds or it'll be a slow and mellow start. As you bite into the Mandarins, there's a sudden burst of flavor, and finally, followed by the pear aftertaste which is smooth and calming. It tastes like summer transitioning to fall.

The one problem I have is that the pear I used was really bland. I highly suggest that you use a flavorful pear for this recipe. Otherwise, it's a simple and mellow dessert, a perfect way to end a meal or have as a mid-day snack. 

McDonalds chocolate dipped vin

This baby packs in 330 calories, 4.5g of fat, and 35g of Carbohydrate. One key factor though to counter how bad it is for you is how delicious it is. McDonald's dipped cones are the best thing ever from any fast food restaurant. If you eat it right when its served the chocolate is so soft it almost testes like the fudge in a hot fudge sunday. Then when u wait a while to eat it the chocolate is hard and sweet providing an excellent texture to go with your creamy vanilla ice cream. The ice cream it self is delicious but then when McDonald adds the chocolate its perfect I give this ice cream snake a 10/10.

Dreyer's vs. Breyers

When comparing these two companies chocolate ice cream I have found that people liked Dreyer's more. The reason behind peoples taste was that Dreyer's chocolate ice cream was more thicker and smother compared to Breyers where one can taste the tiny icicles. So after the results I went and looked at the ingredients.

Dreyer's
Milk, Cream Skim Milk, Sugar, Cocoa processed with Alkali, Cellulose Gum, Guar Gum, Mono and Diglycerides, Garragenan, and Dextrose

Breyers
Milk, Cream , Sugar, Cocoa processed with Alkali, Whey, Natural Tara Gum, Natural Flavor

After looking at the ingredients people can see why Dreyer's is thicker, it has three thickening agents where Breyers only has one.

Also Dreyer's has more fat then Breyers

Dreyer's has 8g of fat
Breyers has 7g of fat

I recommend Breyers, it is more natural with less fat.

Flavor Review: Dreyer's Vanilla Sandwich

This post is mostly a rant, just to warn y'all who are reading. Flat out, Dreyer's Vanilla Sandwich is disappointing. Everything is great about the ice cream, it's just that it's been done before by another flavor: Cookies n' Cream.

Let's go over the good parts about this ice cream. It's creamy, chewy, and mildly flavorful. Dreyer's seem like they're playing up their "Fun Flavors" brand by putting a Nestle logo on it and making a flavor based on a basic ice cream sandwich.

Here's my gripe about this flavor. Like I said before, it's pretty much a copy of Cookies n' Cream. They look the same and they taste the same too. If you think about it, an ice cream sandwich is usually vanilla ice cream between two soft chocolate cookies. An Oreo is the same thing in principal: Cream stacked between to chocolate cookies. It makes sense that Cookies n' Cream tastes like Vanilla Sandwich.

My opinion would be to just stick with whatever is cheaper if you have the urge for Cookies n' Cream ice cream.

Health

McDonald's reduced fat ice cream Calories150 Calories from Fat 32

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 3.5g 5%

Saturated Fat 2.0g 10%

Cholesterol 15mg 5%

Sodium 60mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates 24.0g 8%

Sugars 18.0g

Protein 4.0g

Dippin' Dots

Calories 190 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 9.0g 14%

Saturated Fat 6.0g 30%

Cholesterol 40mg 13%

Sodium 70mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates 22.0g 7%

Sugars 22.0g

Protein 4.0g

Breyers

Calories 150 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 8.0g 12%

Saturated Fat 5.0g 25%

Cholesterol 50mg 17%

Sodium 45mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates 15.0g 5%

Sugars 15.0g

Protein 3.0g

Skinny Cow

Calories 140 Calories from Fat 14

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 1.5g 2%

Saturated Fat 0.5g 3%

Cholesterol 1mg 0%

Sodium 90mg 4%

Total Carbohydrates 30.0g 10%

Dietary Fiber 3.0g 12%

Sugars 15.0g

Protein 3.0g

When choosing what ice cream you want to eat don't forget to consider how to eat sweet with less fat.

What is Guar Gum and Carob Bean Gum?

I was looking at a package of Fresh & Easy's Chocolate Ice Cream and realized there were two out of the eight "all-natural" ingredients that made me do a double take.

What the heck is guar gum and carob bean gum?! What are they doing in my perfect bowl of ice cream?!

Rather than trusting the claim that Fresh & Easy is committed to using all-natural ingredients in their products, I went out and did some quick research. What I discovered was a massive ice cream conspiracy of epic proportions!

...yeah, right.

Wiki "guar gum" and "carob bean gum" on wikipedia.org and this is the information you'll get.

First off, they truly are all-natural. They are the extracts of plant matter, both of them being derivatives of beans. Even though guar gum sounds like some animal chewed on gum and spat it out, it's actually bean based.

Second, if it wasn't for these plant extracts, ice cream would have a completely different texture. Guar gum and carob bean gum, also known as locust bean gum, are used as thickening agents, making ice cream feel creamier but not having the higher amount of fat associated with creaminess. Think cornstarch, but cheaper because the viscosity (thickening) level is much higher than cornstarch so less is needed to produce the desired result.

Third, guar gum "retards ice crystal growth non-specifically by slowing mass transfer across the solid/liquid interface." Way to go wikipedia for explaining what guar gum does in layman terms. Technobabble translated, guar gum slows down and prevents, to an extent, the formation of ice crystals in ice cream.

Wait, isn't ice cream ICED cream? Yes, but the ice crystal formation that guar gum prevents is actually a bad one. Ever ate ice cream and instead of it being creamy, it was like eating a combination of ice cream and slush? Ever noticed that when you refreeze slightly melted ice cream, it gets crunchy and icy? That's what ice crystals do to your ice cream! The stuff that guar gum tries to prevent!

So, not only am I pleased that Fresh & Easy isn't lying about their "all-natural" claim, I'm glad that they use guar gum and carob bean gum in their ice cream. Cause without it, my perfect bowl of ice cream would be imperfect, which would make me very sad indeed.

A Tale of Two FroYos: Golden Spoon vs Yogurtland!

One's been around since 1982. The other is riding on the wave of the latest frozen yogurt craze. One's more traditional with serving customers by having employees serve customers. The other is making the customers serve themselves. One has rotating flavors. The other has all flavors presented at the same time.

And it's time for them to fight to the creamy death!

In this corner, we have Golden Spoon! Venerable, having been on the FIRST frozen yogurt wave back in the late 70's/early 80's, most people would find it a familiar sight as it serves the frozen treat in a traditional, employee-serves-the-customer way. 

In the other corner, we have Yogurtland, a relatively new kid on the block, riding on the wave of the current frozen yogurt craze. Talk about recycling fads. They serve frozen yogurt in a non-traditional way, forcing having the customers serve themselves and then pay by the ounce at the register.

To comment on Yogurtland's self-serve approach, I like it. Because the whole cup is weighed and then priced (like self-serve candy stores you see in the mall), you can get as many different toppings and flavors of frozen yogurt you want without adding additional charges for each individual topping, which is Golden Spoon's way. It's a double-edged sword though; the more you get, the more you pay since the cup is priced by the ounce.

Down to the meat of things! How does the two compare when it comes to taste? For this one, I got the basic plain-jane vanilla from both for comparison. Hands, down Yogurtland wins in the vanilla department. While the Golden Spoon vanilla frozen yogurt tasted mild, not leaving much of an impression on me, the Yogurtland vanilla frozen yogurt tasted like a cup of premium Grade A vanilla ice cream. I wouldn't call the flavor overpowering, but the vanilla left a pleasant impression on my taste buds. Also, unlike Golden Spoon's vanilla frozen yogurt, Yogurtland's vanilla left on a clean note, not leaving a funky aftertaste on my taste buds.

On a side note, the Orange 50/50 from Golden Spoon tastes more like licorice than an orange creamsicle which left a bad impression on both me and Blue. On the other hand, Yogurtland's taro flavored frozen yogurt was peculiar and delicious! Blue and I came to the conclusion that it tasted like buttered popcorn or like Cap'n'Crunch. Also, Yogurtland, like many other new-age frozen yogurt places have tart frozen yogurts which taste like non-frozen yogurt you get at the market but in frozen form. Yogurt flavored frozen yogurt. Huh.

Decor-wise, Golden Spoon's is plain, but clean. It's not stylish, but when you just want frozen yogurt, who cares if the place looks stylish? Just grab it and go. On the other hand, if you can't tell from the picture, Yogurtland tries to appeal to the trendy and fashion-conscious consumer. It feels more like a place to hang out and be seen. Then again, the furniture looks like it's from some sort of Swedish discount furniture catalog, meaning it looks trendy, but flimsy and cheap (Criticism of today's iPod generation? Beats me, I'm part of it.).

So far, it seems Yogurtland has the upper advantage, but when it comes to price, the old-timer has a final trick up its sleeves. Yogurtland charges 30 cents per ounce which sounds cheap, but realistically speaking, that's about five bucks for a cup of frozen yogurt. For five bucks, I got the same cup of frozen yogurt and another one for both me and Blue. As a strapped-for-cash college student, Golden Spoon looks much more appealing to me if I just want a frozen treat.

So who wins this duel of the froyos? I have to say it's Yogurtland. Golden Spoon may be cheaper but I'd rather pay extra for the better flavor and customizability I can get at Yogurtland. You can take your date to Yogurtland as an after dinner treat since it looks much nicer than Golden Spoon. Although Yogurtland doesn't have a rotating cycle of flavors, it boasts much more interesting ones like the described taro and tart variations. Yogurtland wins this round.

Ice cream commercials!

These commercials show how different companies use different ways to promote ice cream. Humor and showing off the item are both good ways to promote for a food item.