Graeters Strawberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

[By Nick] Along with The Fresh Market's Sweet and Spiced Gingerbread Gelato, I also picked up another limited edition flavor. This time it is in the form of Graeter's Strawberry Chocolate Chip. It's been awhile since we've reviewed a Graeter's product and I honestly can't remember the last time I've had any of their ice cream. I blame that on stores around me removing Graeter's from their inventory over a year ago. All that said, I'm excited to try this flavor especially with the nice weather we're finally experiencing here in Upstate, NY.

Graeters Strawberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Well that's a nice welcome back! As most of you should know, Graeter's chocolate chips can be ridiculous in size and that chunk on the top is further proof. Let's extract that quick and see what exactly we're working with.

While not the biggest chunk I've gotten from Graeter's, it's still a feat to see. Now the chocolate is high quality stuff but I'm in the camp (with Dubba) that feels like they take away from the unique french pot process Graeter's utilizes. That's different here because the chocolate is necessary from a flavor standpoint.

You see while the base is rich, dense and all around great textually, the strawberry flavor isn't strong at all. While it isn't artificial, it tastes as if the strawberries used in making this one have been diluted with water. This definitely compromises their bright fresh flavor. There aren't even any traces of real strawberries incorporated into the mix beyond a few tiny bits of seeds and whatnot here and there.

Thankfully the inclusion of chocolate helps to remedy the situation. With the faint strawberry flavor, the chocolate gives the pint a chocolate covered strawberry vibe. The problem with this is the sheer size of the chocolate. Since they’re so large, it's hard to get chocolate in every bite leading to too many spoonfuls of the mild base.

This flavor was a bit of a letdown for me. The combination of strawberries and chocolate is under represented in the ice cream world and this one isn't helping the cause. The main draw is the chocolate in this pint and since they have a whole line of chip flavors, you'd be better off passing on this limited batch for something tried and true like their black raspberry version.

Verdict?  Too mild of a strawberry flavor
Buy Again?  nope

Dubba's Note: This is now a "seasonal" flavor with slightly adjusted nutritional stats and while I agree with Nick's thoughts, I actually came to a different conclusion on the new version. Read my review here.