Häagen-Dazs

Update Review, August 2024

Another year, another round of birthday freebies, and of course Häagen-Dazs was on my list, as they actually make decent ice cream.

Mint Chip.

"Sweet cream infused with mint and mixed with chocolaty chips make this a dreamy, cool classic."

For my birthday scoop, I was a bit boring, and got the mint chip.  I was craving it.

It was fairly basic, but I was in the mood for something simple.  Slight minty flavor, quality chips, reasonable number of chips and well distributed.  Nothing remarkable, but good.  No freezer burn, no icey chunks (ahem, Baskin-Robbins and your horrible scoop shop quality control!).  ***+.

Pistachio (new recipe).

"Lightly roasted and salted California pistachios paired perfectly with velvety pistachio ice cream."

Häagen-Dazs changed their pistachio ice cream recipe, and thus, they gave it for free to everyone (first 500 per location) to celebrate.  Of course I went for the freebie.

This is a flavor for those who truly like pistachio. Very intense flavor, both in the base ice cream and in the plethora of nuts it was loaded with. You really truly need to be in the mood for pistachio, but if you are, this one really delivers. ***+.

Update Review, 2023

Another year, another birthday freebies crawl, this year I was in Manhattan for my birthday, which meant I could get my free Häagen-Dazs for the first time ever.  Häagen-Dazs may not be the most exciting, but, I do find that I enjoy their ice cream, and for a generic grocery store brand, it is better than most.

My visit was to an actual Häagen-Dazs store, located in Penn Station.

Cookie Dough, Mini.  $5.99.

"For those who relish a taste of something playful, we re-created a childhood treat. We blend chunks of buttery cookie dough and sweet fudge chips with our finest pure vanilla ice cream. Ah, such sweet memories."

The Häagen-Dazs I visited only had 8 flavors available (Amtrak train station location).  I tried the butter pecan, but wasn't particularly into it, so, I went for cookie dough, without sampling.  It was decent cookie dough ice cream. I appreciated the generous size flecks of chocolate, in addition to the cookie dough pieces.  Basically bits of goodness in every bite.  Fairly nice quality vanilla base, I do always think Häagen-Dazs makes a nice vanilla.

Nothing amazing, but, a good reliable choice. ****.

Update Reviews, 2020-2021

I've reviewed Häagen-Dazs flavors before, both originally in 2013, and later in 2018, so these are just a few updates.  Summary?  While it may be an "everyday" brand, I do find the quality high, and their vanilla has become my go-to.  I'm eager to try some of their new "Spirits" line.

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Vanilla.

"Vanilla is the essence of elegance and sophistication. This marriage of pure, sweet cream and Madagascar vanilla creates the sweet scent of exotic spice and a distinctive taste that lingers on your tongue."

I've reviewed this flavor before, but it continues to surprise me every time I have, just how good it is.

It is *just* vanilla.  Vanilla!  Vanilla is bo-ring.  But this is really, really good vanilla.  Complex flavor (if that is possible with vanilla!), rich, creamy.

I think my favorite vanilla on the mainstream market these days.

*****.

Vanilla Chocolate Chip.

"Our delectable chocolate chips are swirled with our creamy, smooth vanilla ice cream, allowing two flavor titans to come together in this classically indulgent treat."

Given how much I've liked the vanilla before, it should come as no surprise that I adore the vanilla chocolate chip as well.

Same high quality vanilla base, with plenty of chocolate chips (er, chunks?) throughout.

****+.

Chocolate.

"Rich, creamy, and totally indulgent. Made from the finest cocoa and pure, sweet cream, our chocolate ice cream is the ultimate experience."

I often comment that I'm not really a chocolate ice cream kinda girl.  But, much like the vanilla, Häagen-Dazs has done something kinda magic with their chocolate ice cream.

Rich, creamy, indulgent.  Very very "milk chocolate", if that makes any sense.  I always really enjoy it.

****.

Update Review, January 2018

I've reviewed Häagen-Dazs flavors before, so these are just a few updates.

Chocolate Peanut Butter.

"We start with our legendary chocolate ice cream and swirl in ribbons of creamy, smooth peanut butter.  The experience is an irresistible blend of flavors in every delicious mouthful."

Well, this was delicious.  Rich and indulgent.

I'm not normally a huge lover of chocolate based ice cream, but, the peanut butter and chocolate combination is one that is hard to resist.  The ice cream was smooth and creamy, and the chocolate flavor fairly deep and rich.  A very good base.

The peanut butter swirl was excellent.  Very creamy, strong peanut butter flavor, smooth, and, most importantly, it came in very big globs.  

This also melted nicely, and it helped to make it melt a little so the peanut butter also softened.

Overall, very good, and I'd gladly have it again.

Peppermint Bark (Limited Edition).

"Celebrate the season with our rendition of this holiday classic. rich white chocolate ice cream is blended with crunchy chocolaty peppermint bark and peppermint candy pieces."

I didn't know this was white chocolate ice cream until I looked up the description later.  I thought it was a vanilla base.  Which tells you about how, uh, white chocolately it was.

I did like the bits of peppermint bark and peppermint candy though, so I got a scoop.  That said, it had a "fake mint" taste to it that I couldn't quite get past.

Overall, ok, but I wouldn't get again.

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Caramel Cone.

"We balance a creamy blend of caramel ice cream and rich caramel swirls with the sweet crunch of chocolaty cone pieces to create a sweet, harmonious bite."

This sounded far more exciting than it was.  It was just kinda sweet with a few assorted bits of chocolate covered slightly crispy cone chunks.  Better than Americone Dream from Ben & Jerry's because the waffle cone pieces weren't soggy at least?

I should have read my notes from last time, because, well, my opinion didn't change.

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Pralines & Cream.

"Ribbons of golden caramel and sweet nutty praline pecans swirled into our signature vanilla ice cream."

 This was very sweet, but about as promised.  Lots of caramel, lots of sweet covered pecans.  Fine, but you certainly needed to want sweet to enjoy it.

Again, I should have read my notes from before, because my opinion is the same.

Original Review, November 2013

As you may have noticed, I like ice cream.  Particularly when it is part of an elaborate sundae.  Or when served alongside warm pie.  Or soft serve, in a cone, with sprinkles.  But for the occasions when the ice cream craving hits and I'm at home, I always have my freezer stocked.  I have some favorite local brands of store bought ice cream from back in New Hampshire, but I haven't really found any here in San Francisco.  So I've been exploring all the widely known "premium" brands, like Ben and Jerry's, Baskin-Robbins, and now, Häagen-Dazs.  I'm not impressed.  This seems as generic as any other store brand ...

• Caramel Cone: “This creamy blend of caramel ice cream with rich caramel swirls balances the sweet crunch of chocolaty-covered cone pieces for a harmonious bite”. Tasting notes: Decent sweet caramel ice cream, nice crunchy chocolate cone pieces.  Better than the Ben & Jerry's version of something similar.
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: "Chunks of buttery cookie dough and sweet fudge chips blended with our finest pure vanilla ice cream." Tasting notes: it was loaded up with generous chunks of cookie dough, but they weren't particularly good, and the ice cream wasn't very creamy.  Meh. [ Generous amount and size of chunks of cookie dough, good flavor. ]
• Praline and Cream: “Ribbons of golden caramel along with sweet and nutty praline pecans swirled into our signature vanilla ice cream.” Tasting notes: super sweet, too much sweet.
• Salted Caramel Truffle: “Smooth, sweet-cream ice cream, ribbons of rich salted caramel, and decadent chocolaty truffles”. Tasting notes: Not very caramely or salty.  Meh. [ Has little chocolate truffles in it, but not very creamy or interesting. ]
• Spiced Caramel Biscuit: “Crumbles of sugary, crunchy cinnamon-sparked biscuits blended into velvety caramel ice cream.”  Tasting notes: Biscuit pieces give a nice crunch, but otherwise boring and forgettable.
• Strawberry Cheesecake: Tasting notes: just sweet, not good.
• Vanilla: Tasting notes: This was probably my favorite of theirs, which is crazy, because it is so plain.  But it is a decently creamy ice cream with good enough vanilla flavor.  I don't ever want a bowl of it plain, but alongside some pie, or topped with berries and whipped cream, it can hit the spot!

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