Blue Bell Returning - Page 4

italia8140 · ‎10-24-2015

@colliegirls wrote:
@FLgardener wrote:
I hope Blue Bell makes a successful comeback. It is good ice cream. I hope it still comes in a full half gallon. I prefer to buy a half gallon.

We have been eating Publix frozen yogurt, which is quite good.

I know that Breyer's still makes some ice cream, but one must read the label carefully. Most of their stuff doesn't even qualify as ice cream. I made the mistake of picking some up on sale, got it home and saw that it was "frozen dessert". It was awful.
I have eaten Breyer's ice cream for ages. Breyers makes many ice cream flavors that they carry at all the stores around me, I have never seen a "frozen dessert" container.

It's NOT a frozen dessert. It's ice cream.

sidsmom · ‎11-25-2011

@FLgardener wrote:
I hope Blue Bell makes a successful comeback. It is good ice cream. I hope it still comes in a full half gallon. I prefer to buy a half gallon.

We have been eating Publix frozen yogurt, which is quite good.

I know that Breyer's still makes some ice cream, but one must read the label carefully. Most of their stuff doesn't even qualify as ice cream. I made the mistake of picking some up on sale, got it home and saw that it was "frozen dessert". It was awful.

@FLgardener

Interesting. Quick Google search found a nice educational piece on the identifications of frozen desserts/ice cream. It might be a regional thing w/ Breyers Frozen Desserts.

Did You Know? Why Some Ice Cream Is a "Frozen Dairy Dessert"

You scream, I scream, we all scream for... frozen dairy dessert?

With summer now in full-swing, I thought it'd be a good time to take a look at the official hot weather dessert: ice cream.

The words "frozen dairy dessert" sound far less appealing than "ice cream," which evokes a sense of childhood nostalgia (at least for me) about the satisfying sweetness that made hot summer days just a little bit more bearable. But the reason that some ice cream packages note that the product inside is a "frozen dairy dessert" is due to FDA regulations on the the term "ice cream."

In order to qualify as ice cream, a product must meet two criteria:
1. Ice cream must contain a minimum of 10% dairy milkfat.
2. Ice cream must have no more than 100% overrun and weigh no less than 4.5 lbs. per gallon.

But what the heck is "overrun," you ask? Well overrun is the amount of air that is whipped into the ice cream base during freezing and is usually presented by a percentage. For example, with 100% overrun, for every gallon of ice cream base you would wind up with 2 gallons of finished ice cream.

The more air churned into the ice cream base, the lighter and fluffier the texture. A product with low overrun will be more dense and heavier. The FDA regulates the amount of overrun in ice cream in order to prevent unscrupulous manufacturers from producing and selling an ice cream product that is mainly air instead of cream. (Thanks, U.S. government!)
So now we know what constitutes ice cream. Anything with less than 10% milkfat and/or more than 100% overrun cannot use the term "ice cream" officially, hence the designation of "frozen dairy dessert."

But to make things even more confusing, the "frozen dairy dessert" category itself can be broken down into numerous subcategories based on the milkfat percentage, and all of those categories include the words "ice cream" (in conjunction with descriptors) despite failing to meet the criteria for ice cream proper.

Keep in mind, though, that these labels are Commercial Item Descriptions set out by the USDA. That is, they are marketing terms and, with the exception of "ice cream" as defined, are not federally regulated. Companies may choose to use these item descriptions for their products if they wish.
The following are labels you might see applied to frozen, creamy treats regarding their milkfat content, and an example of each.

Ice Cream - As mentioned, ice cream must contain no less than 10% dairy milkfat. Examples: Dreyer's/Edy's.

Reduced Fat Ice Cream - Contains at least 25% less total milkfat compared to standard product. Example: Dairy Queen and McDonald's soft serve.

Light Ice Cream - A minimum of 50% less total milkfat.

Example: Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned line.

Lowfat Ice Cream - Has a maximum of 3g of total fat per 1/2 cup serving. Example: Skinny Cow Lowfat Ice Cream.

Nonfat Ice Cream - Contains less than 0.5g of total fat per serving ("nonfat" is a bit of a misnomer, but companies are allowed to round down to 0g fat on their nutritional information labels).

Example: Breyers Fat Free line.

A company may sell multiple types of dairy-based products from line to line. For example, Breyers sells both ice cream (their original "Natural" line) and frozen dairy desserts (the entirety of the Breyers Blasts! line), which include many of the candy flavors like Reese's.

In addition to labels based on the fat content of the ice cream (or frozen dairy dessert, to be more accurate), there are likewise quality segments within the official "ice cream" category based on overrun and ingredient quality. Once again, these are marketing definitions set out by the USDA but are not federally regulated.

Superpremium Ice Cream - These ice creams tend to have a very low overrun (as low as 20% even) and a high fat content (>14%), resulting in a very dense and rich product with a weight typically greater than 80g per 1/2 cup. They also typically use higher-end ingredients with a price point to match, and come in smaller containers with gourmet flavors.

Examples: Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry's

Premium Ice Cream - Premium ice creams tend to have lower overrun (~60-90%) and higher fat content (11-15%) than regular ice cream, resulting in a heavier ice cream (weight of about 73g per 1/2 cup).

Examples: Blue Bell, Baskin-Robbins

Standard Ice Cream -Meets the fat (10%) and overrun (100% or less) required of the federal ice cream standard. The weight of standard ice cream tends to fall around 65g for 1/2 cup.

Example: Breyer's ice cream line

Economy Ice Cream - Meets the fat (10%) and overrun (100% or less) required of the the federal ice cream standard, but tends to sell for a lower price than standard ice cream.

Example: Typically the store brand, or those large tubs of ice cream ubiquitous to kid's birthday parties everywhere.

So what about the other kinds of treats that pop up in the frozen dessert aisle at your local supermarket? What makes gelato and frozen custard different from "ice cream" as we have now defined it?

Gelato is ice cream's Italian cousin. The word gelato actually means "ice cream" in Italian, but there are differences between gelato and ice cream in the U.S. regarding milkfat content. Gelato generally contains less milkfat than the FDA requirement for ice cream, but it also tends to have a particularly low overrun (typically 20-30%), resulting in a lower-fat but still dense and rich frozen dessert.

There is no standard definition set out by the FDA regarding gelato, but the Italian government requires their gelato to contain a minimum of 3.5% milkfat with no upper limit established.

Talenti is an an example of gelato, which has a dense texture with a weight of 100g per 1/2 cup but only 9% milkfat (according to my calculations of the nutritional info on the Tahitian Vanilla Bean flavor).

Frozen Custard, also known as French ice cream, is very similar to ice cream except that it must contain a certain amount of egg. Frozen custard must contain a minimum of 10% milkfat as well as at least 1.4% egg yolk (anything with less egg yolk is simply considered ice cream). Frozen custard is characteristically very dense and typically has an overrun of 15-30%, and combined with the high milkfat and egg yolk, produces a frozen dessert with a smoother consistency than ice cream.

Unlike ice cream, frozen custard was typically prepared fresh at the place of sale (such as a frozen custard shop), but recently Dreyer's/Edy's has released a Frozen Custard line commercially available in supermarkets.

Personally, no matter the label attached to the container, I'll always just call it "ice cream" if it's creamy and frozen. This includes the pints upon pints of Talenti currently nestled in my freezer.

If you'd like to read the official FDA regulation code on ice cream, you can find it here. If you'd like to see the USDA Commercial Item Description for ice cream and related products, the document can be found here.

Posted by Brand Eating Staff

newziesuzie · ‎02-21-2014

http://consumerist.com/2012/09/11/new-breyers-recipes-when-ice-cream-is-frozen-dairy-dessert/

From 2012:

"New Breyers Recipes:

When Ice Cream Is 'Frozen Dairy Dessert'"

"When is ice cream not ice cream?

When it’s a “frozen dairy dessert.”

Recently, Breyers made changes to some of their ice cream flavors. These changes were drastic enough that the products are still tasty, but can no longer legally be called “ice cream.”

Do most consumers know the difference, or even care? We don’t know yet, but observant Consumerist tipsters noticed the label change, and they noticed the growing list of unfamiliar ingredients in a familiar food."

••• Please adopt don't shop ••• Save a life adopt a pet •••

Sister Golden Hair · ‎03-09-2010

@Kachina624 wrote:
They said something to the effect that there could be Listeria lingering in parts of the plant but they are testing every batch of product and thus far found nothing. As closely as they and the product are being monitored, ill take my chances.

If there was danger, I doubt they'd be allowed to resume production.

@Kachina624 I hope things go well because when we travel, we like to stop at Russell Stovers for chocolate and Blue Bell ice cream.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

@Sister Golden Hair wrote:
@Kachina624 wrote:
They said something to the effect that there could be Listeria lingering in parts of the plant but they are testing every batch of product and thus far found nothing. As closely as they and the product are being monitored, ill take my chances.

If there was danger, I doubt they'd be allowed to resume production.
@Kachina624 I hope things go well because when we travel, we like to stop at Russell Stovers for chocolate and Blue Bell ice cream.

@Sister Golden Hair Are you talking about the Russell Stover outlet in Montrose, CO.? One of my favorite places on earth. I had been in NM a long time without Blue Bell and we wandered into that superstore of heavenly treats. I saw that BB sign and made a beeline for it, ignoring tables and tables groaning with the weight of delectable sweets. I ordered a double black walnut and spent my Russell Stover time nursing that ice cream in the cafe.

Shortly after that, they brought it to New Mexico and I was one happy camper. I could then find nirvana at Walmart, one of the few people to do so.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

FLgardener · ‎12-15-2013

Thanks to those who did the homework on my statement. Here in central FL, the "frozen dessert" selections from Breyer are the predominant offerings in grocery stores.

I did note in my post that I am aware that Breyer does still make ice cream also.

FLgardener · ‎12-15-2013

@italia8140 wrote:
@colliegirls wrote:
@FLgardener wrote:
I hope Blue Bell makes a successful comeback. It is good ice cream. I hope it still comes in a full half gallon. I prefer to buy a half gallon.

We have been eating Publix frozen yogurt, which is quite good.

I know that Breyer's still makes some ice cream, but one must read the label carefully. Most of their stuff doesn't even qualify as ice cream. I made the mistake of picking some up on sale, got it home and saw that it was "frozen dessert". It was awful.
I have eaten Breyer's ice cream for ages. Breyers makes many ice cream flavors that they carry at all the stores around me, I have never seen a "frozen dessert" container.
It's NOT a frozen dessert. It's ice cream.

@italia8140, WRONG!

italia8140 · ‎10-24-2015

@FLgardener wrote:
@italia8140 wrote:
@colliegirls wrote:
@FLgardener wrote:
I hope Blue Bell makes a successful comeback. It is good ice cream. I hope it still comes in a full half gallon. I prefer to buy a half gallon.

We have been eating Publix frozen yogurt, which is quite good.

I know that Breyer's still makes some ice cream, but one must read the label carefully. Most of their stuff doesn't even qualify as ice cream. I made the mistake of picking some up on sale, got it home and saw that it was "frozen dessert". It was awful.
I have eaten Breyer's ice cream for ages. Breyers makes many ice cream flavors that they carry at all the stores around me, I have never seen a "frozen dessert" container.
It's NOT a frozen dessert. It's ice cream.
@italia8140, WRONG!