Well, it's been over 10 years, but I'm finally going to pull the Cuisanart Ice-20 out from underneath the cabinet and make some ice cream. Actually, it's been closer to 15 years since I was truly trying to make ice cream. Anyway, what finally got the Ice-20 out of the cabinet? Well, I was in Walmart one morning and walked past several flavors of Nostalgia brand ice cream mix and decided to bring home...
Nostalgia Cookies 'N Cream Ice Cream Mix
I pour out the mix and it smells of so very, very, very sugary.... I am afraid... .but it also smells like waffle cones, so I'm also kind of excited.
I'm not seeing a ton of cookie crumbs in the mix. There are bigger bits, but I would like to see a ton more smaller ones too.
I pour in the 3/4 of the mix (since the Ice-20 is only a 1.5 Quart ice cream maker) and then pour the last cup of mix in to a paper cup... and big surprise, there is a whole lot of sugar at the bottom of my mixing bowl.
That's kind of disturbing actually.
Ok, we are ten minutes in and I decide to take a taste..... holy cow is that sugary! Regular readers know that my sugar tolerance is pretty high, but even I think that's too much.
15 minutes in and we're getting closer. It's still quite sweet, but I'm hoping everything balances out more as it transitions from liquid to solid.
20 minutes and the Ice-20 is still chugging. Also, I think we're just about there. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough cookie wafer flavor and I'm pretty sure that's how this turned out. That's a shame since I think that chocolate would balance out the sweetness. Also, despite using heavy cream (and 2% milk), I think it tastes a bit watery.
I wind up waiting five more minutes, and during that time, I smash in a little pack of Walmart oatmeal cookies. Does it help? That's highly debatable. Maybe if it was two (or three) bags and I had done it at the beginning, then maybe it would have helped more.
Where did all of the chocolate wafer bits go?
So is the lack of cookies in my cookies & cream mix my biggest complaint? Nope, it's all the gums and stabilizers that are my biggest problem with this mix. Now, I'm not saying that this mix is bad, but I'm saying that I prefer my ice cream to not have a texture that reminds me of frozen dairy dessert.
If you want to put it another way, I'm getting the consistency of a (heavier) frozen dairy dessert but with the calories of a super premium ice cream. Actually, wait, let's check my math... doing some quick napkin math and.... wait, it's hot, I need a real calculator... ok, so using heavy cream and 2% milk means that this ice cream comes out to 238 calories per 2/3 cup serving. So not quite super premium, but still fairly hefty for an afternoon treat.
Oh, also, not only is it kind of gummy, but it leaves a bit of residue on everything too. The overall experience kind of reminds me of the Klondike Shakes (review here).
I don't want slimy ice cream, I want good ice cream, so I think Nostalgia is going to be a fail for me, but not a hard fail. Like I said, it's not terrible, but it's not something I would want regularly. My wife and I did
both eat a serving or so, and I'm going to freeze the rest to see how that goes, but overall, I don't think I'll buy it again.
On Second Scoop: Ok, I was probably a little harsh on this one yesterday, as it has frozen pretty well. In hindsight, I'm leaning back to the flavor being the bigger issue here, so I will try Nostalgia again. I'm open to suggestions of which mix flavor to try next, otherwise I'll probably go strawberry (I think).
Verdict? sickeningly sweet
Buy Again? different flavor
Do you have to use a mix? I just use a recipe in my ice cream maker. Fairly straightforward using whole milk and heavy cream. I pick my add ins. It always works and tastes great.
ReplyDeleteI have done that in the past long ago, but I was curious what my pre-made options were these days. I guess I was most curious about how the ice cream would hold up over time as I know the real basic recipes dont have the best frozen texture when made with an Ice-20.
DeleteIf you have an Albertsons by you and LOVE banana I would recommend Ben and Jerrys Chocolate peanut butter split. The banana ice cream mixed in with the chocolate is so good and then the mini peanut butter cups man it is so good
ReplyDeleteis that flavor still around? technically Shaw's is owned by the same people as Albertsons, so they might have it... I think I remember this flavor maybe, but I definitely forgot about it.
DeleteYea it's an Albertson's exclusive I believe, I hope you can find it
DeleteUse the recipe we sent you……..
ReplyDeletesure, but sent to where?
DeleteYoinks, thought it was posted on your IG
Deletehttps://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1jPDOzNFASdcfE9DriCvUHwPdvMmlp_np3-Gpq7ypgWQ/mobilebasic
Since you've hauled the machine, and being that it is currently summer after all, it would be a crime not to give the Dole soft serve mix a try if you've not done so already and like that type of product. It's a very summer-friendly product after all, and the results using the ICE-20 or similar machine are quite good.
ReplyDeleteFor those unfamiliar, the Dole soft serve mix is extremely similar/the same as the popular Dole Whip product - made popular in the Pineapple flavor - at places like Disney, the Dole Plantation, etc. Except the soft serve mix comes in a large variety of flavors including Strawberry, Orange, Lime, Mango, and a few others.
Some tips for anyone giving this a try for the first time: mixing 12 to 24 hours ahead of time and refrigerating can sometimes yield better results. The mix calls for water only but partial or full substitutions with milk, cream, coconut milk, etc can produce a creamier end product if that's the desired result.
Ok, I'm game, but does any place carry it in something besides 4.4 pound bags?
DeleteYes! You can also buy it by the 17+ pound case as well! (sorry, warped sense of humor here)
ReplyDeleteBelieve those ~ 4 pound bags (which vary in size slightly by flavor) are the smallest option. Only other way I could see getting a smaller size would be to check small local ice cream shops that offer Dole soft serve and see if they'll sell you a partial bag? Or split a bag with others?
Apologies for the delayed reply. Even with the "Notify Me" option on, notifications are clunky and not that great. Have you considered using Disqus instead?
HAHAHAHAHAHA, too funny!
DeleteI'll have to dig in to disqus a bit. I'm up for it if it encourages more comments. Maybe a few others will chime in to encourage the switch as well.