The Great Strawberry Ice Cream Debate
Are strawberry ice cream lovers doomed to Neapolitan packs for their berry fix? Photograph from Wikimedia Commons
There's a fiery internal debate concerning strawberry ice cream going on here at Serious Eats World Headquarters that we'd like the Serious Eats community to settle. I am a huge fan of strawberry ice cream. When it's good, strawberry ice cream is as good as ice cream gets. That means it has an intense strawberry flavor, is magnificently creamy and smooth, and avoids the classic strawberry ice cream pitfall of having too many frozen chunks of not-very-sweet strawberry.
The other serious eaters in the office beg to differ.
They believe that strawberry ice cream does not deserve consideration for entry into the ice cream hall of fame. Furthermore, they believe that the marketplace bears out their opinion. First, they said they couldn't even find strawberry ice cream in supermarkets outside of those weird combo packages called Neapolitans.
Are they fruit colorblind in the supermarket?
They dared me to name a commercial strawberry ice cream that I could unabashedly get behind. I mentioned Häagen-Dazs strawberry, though it does suffer from the frozen-strawberry problem. I think Ben and Jerry's and Dreyer's make creditable strawberry ice cream.
So, serious eaters, help us settle this debate. It's getting mighty heated here at headquarters.
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62 Comments:
My opinion is that Strawberry Ice Cream is a summer thing. I would not be tempted by it in January, but now, after having seen all of the fresh berries in the market, I am definitely more disposed to choosing it. The best Strawberry ice cream (actually I think it is frozen yogurt) is from La Loos, which is made with goats milk. They leave chunks of strawberry and weave traces of balsamic through it too. It is superior to any other strawberry ice cream I have ever tried.
Berthillon in Paris has a Coupe de Frais de Bois, which is a sundae dotted with fresh wild strawberries. It is everything an ice cream sundae should be!
sophia kitchencaravan at 8:40AM on 06/26/08
I don't know if Graeters is considered "commercial", but they use real strawberries (hand selected premium Oregon Totum Strawberries, they say) and it is pretty darn good.
FoodBoy at 8:41AM on 06/26/08
Never say die! Just for you, I went to my freezer and took my first bite of a gallon of strawberry ice cream that we bought at Stew Leonard's. Umm...it's 8:45 in the morning, y'all. That's dedication. Anyhow, their strawberry ice cream is pretty darn good! They make it from the milk of their own herds. It's very creamy, but has just enough tart to make it addicting.
Teahlo at 8:44AM on 06/26/08
What about good ol' Blue Bunny from the midwest? Granted, the variety is much bigger when I go visit my parents in Minneapolis then it is on the east coast. I haven't seen Kemps out here either.
But non-commercial? CHINATOWN ICE CREAM FACTORY. I loooooove their strawberry. So creamy. I suggest a company field trip over there.
fritesandfries at 8:49AM on 06/26/08
I like Breyer's, but I'm not sure if they are a nationwide brand
seadkdc at 8:54AM on 06/26/08
Strawberry ice cream is my favorite flavor :)
stumbler02 at 9:00AM on 06/26/08
Most people (in the general population - not necessarily SE readers) who have eaten strawberry ice cream had some of the strawberry third of "Neopolitan" and invariably it was low quality supermarket brands in which artificial strawberry flavoring was the primary flavor component.
I detest that type of strawberry ice cream but can't tell you whetehr I like "the good stuff" as I've never tried it.
phaelon56 at 9:03AM on 06/26/08
Strawberry ice cream is OK but more impotantly, what color should it be?
I always thought pistachio ice cream was green until I had GOOD pistachio and discovered it wasn't green at all. So if strawberry ice cream is pink doesn't that indicate that food coloring has been added???
RichardCrystal at 9:07AM on 06/26/08
I can't say that I've had a ton of commercials strawberry ice cream (I remember Breyer's being good and Neopolitan being a bad mix of 3 substandard ice creams), but I prefer to make it myself with fresh picked Michigan strawberries. That means I have it a couple of times in June and that's it...but then peaches start in the middle of July!
oishi at 9:09AM on 06/26/08
The only way I like "fruit" Ice Creams -- Peach, Strawberry, or Cherry being my three favorites is made fresh at home. That way, I can control the "intensity" of flavor (if the fruit is under-ripe, and needs a little help, I like to be able to add a liqueur or flavoring that enhances the natural flavors), the amount of sweetness (if the fruit is sweet, I prefer to cut the sugar), and the ratio of fruit to cream (I like lots of fruit) -- all things I feel are very important to fruit ice creams.
This way, I also know how fresh my dairy products are, the quality of my vanilla, and the purity of my sugar.
It's about honoring the ingredients. That's what makes berry and fruit ice creams that sing!
Brownie at 9:15AM on 06/26/08
Strawberry is the *only* kind of ice cream that I actually have cravings for! And I think it *needs* to have strawberry chunks in it (although tastless frozen lumps of strawberry-like material need not apply). If I can't go to one of the local stands that make their own ice cream, which are inevitably loaded with yummy bits of berry, then I head to Friendlies and get a strawberry frappe. It's a little on the processed side, but meets the craving guidelines.
@Sophia - where is La Loos? That strawberry balsamic thing sounds like pure heaven!!
leeapeea at 9:16AM on 06/26/08
I hate fruit flavored ice cream--I eat tons of regular fruit, but when I want dessert, I want chocolate.
As a kid, I always remember insisting on chocolate and vanilla. My father was the only person in the house who would eat the strawberry and only the strawberry.
It seems like there are 'fruit' ice cream people and non fruit ice cream people and never the twain shall meet.
HeartofGlass at 9:25AM on 06/26/08
@seadkdc: Breyer's is absolutely nationwide. I've enjoyed it on both coasts...
Strawberry is one of my favorite ice cream flavors! Although a vanilla bean ice cream with strawberry puree on top would trump that....
modysoul at 9:40AM on 06/26/08
Strawberry ice cream is divine when it's good, but I'm not crazy about it because most of the time it's not good. We've just discovered a place in West Tampa that has the best homemade ice creams, especially tropical fruits. Their strawberry ice cream is wonderful.
CrispyGirl at 9:43AM on 06/26/08
Strawberry ice cream is THE BOMB -- when it's good, there's nothing better. I confess, though, that I also love the strawberry shortcake ice cream pops the Good Humor man sells, though there's nothing authentic about them...
I agree with Sophia about LaLoos - it's divine!
@leeapeea - look here for where you can buy it. I also love the cappuccino flavor, and she has a fig flavor that I'm dying to try. Enjoy!
CookiePie at 10:08AM on 06/26/08
Breyer's is the best strawberry ice cream that I've had. I'm happy to sample more for the sake of debate. Bad strawberry ice cream is very bad. Good strawberry ice cream is very good.
I think I've just hit upon a new metaphor for sex.
Ed, don't let it get too heated at the headquarters. You wouldn't want the ice cream to melt.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 10:11AM on 06/26/08
As a child, my parents always took me to this huge, multi-state fair in MA (The Big E, I think?). Anyway, going to the fair always meant getting a strawberry milkshake at the dairy barn. My sister got vanilla (too much!), my mother chocolate (too powdery!), but for me, it didn't get better than a strawberry milkshake.
I'm too lactose-intolerant to eat ice cream at all anymore, but at the local farmer's market, I tried a strawberry-tarragon sorbet that evaded the frozen strawberry problem and brought back so many strawberry-picking memories. Strawberry sorbet is almost more strawberry than strawberry ice cream ... I only wish there was a way to buy a tub and get it home before the VA sun melts the lot!
KarynMC at 10:21AM on 06/26/08
I absolutely agree with HeartOfGlass! Fruit ice cream just does not do it for me at all. My favourite ice creams have chocolate in them, often in several different forms (also marzipan, but I don't think that's available in the States). I think it is partly because I am squeamish about the combination of fruit and dairy (don't like fruit yogurt either).
That said, there has been one single time that I tasted strawberry ice cream and really thought it was delicious. That was in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen in June of 1997. My (then) boyfriend got it, along with pistachio and white chocolate. That is basically my ice cream nightmare troika, although as you can imagine, the colours were lovely. But actually all three were very intense and fresh and real tasting, the strawberry in particular. And I suppose it made an impression on me, as I still remember it eleven years later.
caley at 10:31AM on 06/26/08
I love Haagen-Dazs strawberry! As a teenager I worked at a Haagen-Dazs in the Mall and had my fill of all of their flavors, but invariably I always came back to the strawberry. I served it last weekend with some grilled peaches and it went over very well. The heat of the peaches tamed the frozen berry texture quite nice. Try it I'm sure you'll like it.
nhfoodie at 10:32AM on 06/26/08
Heed the advice of your co-workers.
@caley Ice cream with marzipan...droool.
bobbob at 10:37AM on 06/26/08
Ice cream, like jelly beans, should be available in as wide a variety of flavors as human imagination and food-chemistry will allow. Strawberry isn't even a particularly odd or exotic flavor. It fully deserves its place in the list of good ice cream flavors.
Hall of Fame of Ice cream? Well, I'm not so sure about that. I guess it depends on the Hall. If your Hall of Fame of ice cream flavors includes the top 100 flavors, then sure, I can see Strawberry in there. Somewhere around #37, I think. But I wouldn't put it on a top 10 list.
Thomasj at 10:42AM on 06/26/08
Are you kidding??? I LOVE strawberry ice cream! And I really like the frozen not-too-sweet strawberry chunks, they are so refreshing. Kinda like crunching ice cubes in your iced tea on a blazing hot day. Although I can eat strawberry ice cream in a blizzard in February if left to my own devices. And this is not an idle boast, I have actually done that.
Flavor-wise, I also like that the frozen strawberries are not so sweet, it balances out the sweetness of the cream and gives a nice refreshing tartness to the overall experience. Häagen-Dazs does it best among the commercially available brands. I think this might an ice cream for more adult palates. For those who don't need sweetness in every bite.
Maybe it's no coincidence that I despise ice cream flavors with candy and / or chocolate / other junk mixed in. In fact, come to think of it, strawberry ice cream is the only ice cream I like with stuff mixed in, otherwise, I'm a mix-in hater.
As for this: "It seems like there are 'fruit' ice cream people and non fruit ice cream people and never the twain shall meet."
I disagree whole heartedly! My other ice cream passions are hazelnut, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, pistachio (in that order) and more esoteric flavors like burnt caramel, black currant, rose water, mascarpone, lavender, lilac, olive oil, almond, fig, oatmeal stout, shortbread cookie (no chunks of cookie, the flavor is infused into the ice cream,) white chocolate, red and gold beet... (I have an ice cream maker)
Must I go on???
simon at 10:57AM on 06/26/08
I really like strawberry ice cream, and I really LOVE strawberry milkshakes. Hang in there, Ed, and fight the good fight!
OneWallKitchen at 11:03AM on 06/26/08
I had no idea you worked with morons and nincompoops. That's too bad.
Just because something is hard to do doesn't make it not worth doing. Strawberry ice cream is excellent but there are, of course, bad examples and good examples, just as there are with vanilla, chocolate, and so on. Hagen Daas and Ben and Jerry both make/made excellent varieties. Breyer's is also very good. Hood (a New England brand) makes a pretty good strawberry.
Furthermore, when one mixes strawberry with other flavors, the results can be excellent. Strawberry mint ice cream? Divine. Strawberry chocolate? Better than chocolate covered strawberries. Peanut butter strawberry? Delicious.
Wally East at 11:10AM on 06/26/08
Commercial strawberry ice cream is, with a few exceptions, awful. Bluebell makes a nice strawberry ice cream, but I'm not sure how far their distribution chain extends right now. It used to be available only in Texas and a few surrounding states, and also by the scoop at Russell Stovers stores. If you do come across the stuff, their Birthday Cake flavor is amazing as well.
I usually make strawberry ice cream from scratch at home so that all factors can be controlled and adjusted. I've had a lot of luck with adding either honey or a little dessert wine to the mix. Anyone have a basil ice cream recipe? I've always thought it would make strawberry ice cream better, but I can't find a way to infuse the flavor without also getting gross chunks and an awful color.
bialy at 11:35AM on 06/26/08
bialy,
I haven't made basil ice cream but with mint ice cream, I steep the herbs in the dairy for about 15 minutes. Then, make the custard (if that's the route you're going). That should give you a nice flavor, no gross chunks, and no weird color.
Wally East at 11:39AM on 06/26/08
I love Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, if that counts. And Coldstone's Strawberry isn't bad either.
agk685 at 11:48AM on 06/26/08
Strawberry ice cream stinks but for some reason a strawberry milkshake may be one of the best milk shake flavors out there.
ESNY1077 at 12:01PM on 06/26/08
Ciao Bella strawberry gelato, the best.
modernemama at 12:09PM on 06/26/08
Breyers strawberry is great! Unfortunately, in Texas, I can only find it as part of a Neapolitan. So I make my husband eat most of the vanilla and chocolate and I go heavy on the Strawberry!!
akeeran21 at 12:13PM on 06/26/08
I adore strawberry ice cream, which is available in many options anywhere i've ever lived. It is the best and all the fruit-haters in my life are just plain misguided. I am usually more of a relativist, and believe that to each his own, but on this topic too many people have their heads up their butts. More for me and the lucky few.
www.breadbabies.blogspot.com
rosasharne at 12:17PM on 06/26/08
Strawberry ice cream is the best. It's my favorite flavor of all. I love Haagan Daz's.
pequenalooloo at 12:35PM on 06/26/08
I agree on the Ben & Jerry's strawberry cheesecake ice cream. The strawberry cream flavor coupled with the graham cracker swirl is divine!
krissyc at 1:05PM on 06/26/08
Good strawberry ice cream is one of my favorite flavors but a bad strawberry ice cream is one of the most vile things known to man. Cheap strawberry ice cream tastes artificial and almost candy-like.
blim8183 at 1:27PM on 06/26/08
I actually do have one more thing to add, which is, the chocolate and vanilla ice cream in the "neapolitan" brick pictured above most likely taste nothing like chocolate or vanilla. they are in all likelihood too sweet and tasting of chemicals. So why is the vitriol directed solely towards the strawberry part, while the pseudo chocolate and vanilla get a free pass? I find this to hypocritical.
simon at 1:28PM on 06/26/08
I love strawberry ice cream. It has drowned in glamour due to all the new fancy flavors. It's definitely my top 3 flavors "in general", meaning not specific flavors from specific brands. I think peach ice cream is much harder to get right.
pickle at 2:14PM on 06/26/08
Neapolitans? How 'bout BANANA SPLITS!? An integral 1/3 of this masterpiece warrants a HOF entry for this black sheep of ice cream flavors. I love me some Braum's.
http://www.braums.com/index.asp
oh, BTW, Adam Kuban, they have killer hamburgers as well...maybe the best fast food (cooked to order) hamburger in the south.
adkim at 2:31PM on 06/26/08
I brought a big container of Häagen-Dazs Strawberry Ice Cream to SE HQ today. I managed to limit myself to one small scoop, no small feat given how fine that stuff is. It's a lovely light pink color and tastes mostly of cream and strawberries. Here's the ingredient list: Cream, Strawberries, Skim Milk, Sugar, Egg Yolks. If this doesn't make converts of all the strawberry ice cream doubters here I don't know what will.
Ed Levine at 2:32PM on 06/26/08
What would anyone have against strawberry ice cream?
I'm glad Breyer's is mentioned more than once, because that is the commercial brand that immediately came to my mind. Breyer's strawberry was my all time favorite in high school bc back then I could get a big container for the same price as a pint of HD.
In college, I discovered Cline's Dairy Bar in Harrisonburg, VA, open only during the warm weather, offering only 3 flavors (vanilla, chocolate, and a flavor of the moment usually peach, blueberry, or STRAWBERRY!!!!)
Nowadays, I'll buy a pint of HD over a half gall of a cheaper brand any day.
I think I'll run to the store for some HD strawberry.
I might have to make strawberrry ice cream this weekend. The strawberries in Indy are finally looking and smelling and tasting great.
wookie at 3:17PM on 06/26/08
I don't know why most people don't know about the brand, LaSalle. It's the best commercially made ice cream I've ever eaten. Check it out. Although the vanilla and cherry vanilla are my favorites, the strawberry is also great.
SavtaShayna at 3:32PM on 06/26/08
I can do fruit-based frozen yogurt, but I detest all fruit-flavored ice creams. Strawberry ice cream ruins Napolean, which is the type of ice cream my family likes to buy for summer celebrations. Yuck.
July at 3:42PM on 06/26/08
I love strawberry ice cream. I hate pink ice cream. The two are so very different.
beth1 at 3:46PM on 06/26/08
@beth1 THANK YOU!!!!!
RichardCrystal at 4:11PM on 06/26/08
braums. braums ice cream is the best, period.
that or blue bell..
seikel at 5:35PM on 06/26/08
Quick! Track down some Tillamook brand Oregon Strawberry ice cream and treat yourself to a bowl. You'll be a strawberry ice cream believer.
sanbiki at 6:46PM on 06/26/08
i adore good strawberry ice, mainly Breyers or Haagen-Dazs. Made with real chunks of strawberry in them. I can't stand the fakey neopalitan stuff.
Alm25 at 6:55PM on 06/26/08
I bought some Breyer's strawberry recently and it's good, but doesn't have an intense strawberry flavor as I hoped. I have access to Graeter's at a local grocery store, so that brand is next. They do make wonderful ice cream, but if you are near Columbus, Ohio try "Jeni's Ice Cream". She specializes in unique combinations and one of her current seasonal flavors is 'Strawberry Rose Petal'. Her 'Lemon Blueberry' is one of the best lemon flavored ice creams I've ever had, but is not on her current menu. 'Riesling Poached Pear Sorbet' is really good too.
She also does mail order, but it is $70 for six quarts. Too bad it too far a drive for me!
olaf56 at 9:20PM on 06/26/08
strawberry is unquestionably worthy of respect and praise. I agree with Ed that Haagen-Dazs strawberry is excellent. Most other brands have an artificial aftertaste.
norman at 10:22PM on 06/26/08
I used to despise strawberry ice cream because of the artificial flavor and the odd bits of alleged fruit which usually seemed gummy to me. Blech. But that was usually part of the tricolor "that way everyone will get what they like" cheap ice cream that tasted more like the carton than like a flavor you'd want to eat.
Then I made my own strawberry ice cream, carefully straining out the seed and odd bits. And it was like eating fresh strawberries with whipped cream. Oh, yum.
Is there a premium brand that is that good? I don't know. Don't need to know. More fun to make my own.
dbcurrie at 11:07PM on 06/26/08
I'd love taking the D train into the city, picking up a pint of Haagen-Daz ice cream from the little newsstand at the station. I always finished it before the train crossed the East River.
I'm not sure if anything with artificial flavors or colors is not worth mentioning as "Strawberry Ice Cream" in this discussion.
eschk at 3:14AM on 06/27/08
One of my favorite things is combining fruit ice cream like strawberry or cherry with chocolate. When I worked at a Haagen Dazs back in the 80's, I'd make myself strawberry shakes with chocolate syrup. B&J has since created Cherry Garcia, but the chunks get caught in the straw.
daveinfred at 7:53AM on 06/27/08
Ben & Jerry's strawberry cheesecake = swoon.
As Ed indicated in his most previous comment, the simpler the ingredients the better. Cream, Strawberries, Skim Milk, Sugar and Egg Yolks is as close to home made as you can get in a carton bought from a store.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 8:36AM on 06/27/08
@Wally East: Strawberry mint?!?!?!??!?!
I will devoted this weekend to find this in Manhattan.
fritesandfries at 9:01AM on 06/27/08
Okay, good strawberry ice cream is a thing of beauty. One of the reasons Häagen Daz has been so good is they have a thing for Oregon berries which have been mentioned at least twice already. A Ranier strawberry is one of the finest things I've ever tasted. I ate two pints [of berries, not ice cream] the first time I encountered them. I'll do it again someday. Now, I won't be happy until I've had a scoop.
Sieseye at 11:35AM on 06/27/08
For you who mentioned Graeter's, you might be in Columbus. If you are, you should check out Jeni's Ice Creams in the North Market, on High Street or in Grandview. If you aren't from there, just GOOGLE Jeni's Ice Cream and try (as quickly as you can possibly get it) her Strawberry Rose seasonal flavor. If is the very last word on strawberry ice cream. It lacks the graininess of Graeters (which I still like) from the over developed ice crystals. In addition, it has just a whisper of rose flavor. Can you think of anything prettier than a strawberry rose?
meascanbe at 1:18PM on 06/27/08
I submit that the finest ice cream experience to be had in the United States is the fresh-strawberry milkshake at the Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, Alabama.
Alabama strawberries!
condiment at 2:23PM on 06/27/08
My new favorite Strawberry Ice Cream (as of last year when I threw some lavender in for the first time from my backyard garden), when strawberries are in season, is Strawberry Lavender. Lavender, in moderation, adds a complementary depth to strawberry that cannot be fucking beatin'. Mine is made with half of one whole vanilla bean. I have a recipe if you are interested. Mine is the best I've tasted so far and yes, I can put my money where my mouth is.
angrywayne at 7:55PM on 06/27/08
I would argue that the best ice cream of whatever flavor is first cream, then whatever else is added in. This is why haagen dazs strawberry (ie cream, strawberries, sugar...) was able to sustain me for an entire pregnancy.... The pink stuff that tastes like strawberry jelly doesn't count in the debate. As for what's the best formulation, you can't beat homemade in june with freshly picked berries, unless it's homemade peach in august.
czera at 8:09PM on 06/28/08
I am a lover of chocolate or mint chip almost always when it comes to ice cream. However, yesterday in the extreme humidity of NYC we went out for some gelato, went over to the little stand outside Eli's on Third Avenue, ridiculously expensive, I know, and lo and behold I ordered the strawberry. It just looked so strawberry-y and good and refreshing. And it was. I am a convert. But I'll still order chocolate or mint chip 9 times out of 10.
studioandy at 10:18AM on 06/30/08
i love strawberry ice cream, BlueBell calls theirs "strawberries and homemade vanilla". they are based in texas but now available in about 17 states through the south and some of the southwest. their seasonal peaches and homemade vanilla is very tasty as well. and yes, difficult to mass produce. before they started making it, i had only had actual home made. i think there are so many bad strawberry ice cream experiences out there because strawberries are difficult and artificial flavors were widely used in the past, especially "strawberry" which has no relation whatsoever to the actual strawberry. BTW, BlueBell also has "ultimate neopolitan" which is their straberries and homemade vanilla, dutch chocolate and homemade vanilla. it will change your mind about neopolitan...thanks
eli225 at 10:49AM on 06/30/08
i'm a very huge strawberry ice cream fan. but i dont like the strawberry chunks that's in there. i think that it can't have any strawberry chunks init, because the strawberry chunks are so very gross and also too hard as a rock. i also love strawberry milkshakes at mcdonald's, burger king, and any other restaurants including denny's.
jburr1982 at 8:47PM on 02/19/09
im also a very huge fan of pink ice cream, too, as well.
jburr1982 at 8:53PM on 02/19/09