Gifford's Cannoli Ice Cream

[New for 2021] I remember this coming out and being pretty excited, but then I never got around to trying it.... until now! (with now meaning 3 months ago hehehe)

Gifford's Cannoli Ice Cream

sweet ricotta ice cream chock-full of tiny chocolate chips

& crispy pieces of cannoli pastry

That's not the most inspiring opening shot...

but that's decent right?

I take my first tiny bite... and I am afraid. Despite the bite being very small, there's something weird going on. I remind myself this is supposed to be ricotta flavor, so I do a quick ingredient check. Well, that explains it. The cannoli base has ricotta cheese which uses vinegar! It's not a straight up vinegar taste, but it's definitely not anything I am used to in my ice cream.

Part of me things I should quit while I am ahead.... but I haven't saved this container for months just to give up now. I dig in, slow and steady, and it's not bad actually! What saves this one is the cannoli pieces. I don't have an exact flavor description for them at the moment, but I do know that they balance things out. Actually, they are probably the star of the show here.

The chocolate bits were pretty much a none factor here, and the overall ice cream is fairly light, but at least it's not coming across as gummy, so that's a step up from it's mainstream competition.

Yup, definitely digging the cannoli factor. I want to say here is a bit in every bite, and that definitely saves this ice cream for me. Not that it was bad, but it's weird... ok, saying it's weird would probably offend Gifford's, but I'm sure even they would admit that this one is off the beaten path. I mean, I'm not cannoli connoisseur, but I can't say that I've even eaten one with a hint of vinegar tang to it... unless I blocked it out... no, I don't think that's how cannolis taste.

With a finished bowl and a quick follow up scoop of Ben & Jerry's Cannoli ice cream, I'm actually pretty excited to second scoop this one tomorrow to see if things get better or worse.

On Second Scoop: This is still a little weird on the first few bites, but as the crunchy cannoli bits add up, this swings more towards... dare I say it... a lemon meringue pie vibe. Not real strong, but I swear I taste a little lemon in here.

MFG Note: If I remember right, this came out at the same time as German Chocolate Cake, Scoop-a-Snack, and Full Court Pretz.

Verdict?  weird and different but kind of cool 
Buy Again?  maybe?

note allergy info on package