"Is there such a thing as milk-flavored ice cream?" With summer pie season around the corner, it's important to have the right vanilla ice cream for proper scoopage on top. We conducted a blind tasting with six readily available nationwide brands: Häagen-Dazs, Ben and Jerry's, Blue Bunny, Breyers, Horizon, and Edy's (aka Dreyer's in the western states). They were judged on a scale of 1 to 5, according to texture, flavor richness, and overall vanilla-ness. The results, in descending order: Häagen-Dazs Score: 4.5 This was a unanimous crowd favorite. It had all the trademarks of a good vanilla ice cream: nice silky mouthfeel, major potential as an apple-pie buddy, and, hey, it actually tasted like vanilla. Keep up the good...
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If you don’t already know how to make your own vanilla extract, it’s easy. Clotilde Dusoulier gives you a great walk-through at her blog, Chocolate & Zucchini. All you need are some vanilla beans and some high-proof alcohol—vodka or rum work nicely. [via Lifehacker]...
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The Boston Globe taste-tested six brands of vanilla ice cream: Edy's, Whole Foods' 365 Organic, Brigham's, Häagen-Dazs, Breyers, and Ben & Jerry's. No one brand was the clear winner but 365 Organic scored the lowest....
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Good question and answers at Ask Metafilter: I bought some Mexican vanilla at an import shop, but after some reading I'm sure that it's synthetic. Is there any way to tell if it's safe? A commenter points to the FDA's list of brands known to contain coumarin....
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