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Haagen-Dazs


DonRocks

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People remember the Coke fiasco when they changed their recipe, but I wonder how many people realize that large companies toy with their recipes all the time.

Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond isn't what it was just a few years ago, the last time I tried it. There's no way the almonds were as smokey flavored as they are now.

Still a good store-bought ice cream, but not quite the same flavor profile as it used to be (I also don't remember a pint of this having 1200 calories in the past). Unlike so many other brands, it maintains a fairly honorable list of ingredients.

I believe, based on my experience, that there's a McDonald's in Fairfax that serves a small amount of Indian spice, perhaps turmeric, in their late-night cheeseburgers, and I wonder if it may be in the mustard.

So many examples of this type of thing.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Only the late-night cheeseburgers? I'm gratified to know that I'm not the only one around here who has slogged through a McDonald's drive-thru in the wee hours--I'll have two--and lived to repeat the experience. (I'm guessing that "late-night" is the only time either of us eats those things.)

Don't know about the Vanilla Swiss Almond, but I can tell you that their Vanilla Fudge is as good as ever. If anything, there's even more fudge in there. God that stuff is good....

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We didn't eat a lot of Haagen-Dazs back in the States, except for the pineapple-coconut, which I loved. HD has become my ice cream of choice in Japan because they put out more interesting, rather than merely strange, flavors than "31 Flavors" does (not that the prominence of Pop Rocks in the 31 Flavors array doesn't count for something). I was addicted to the Bitter Caramel flavor over the summer.

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I had my first Haagen-Daz over twenty years ago, in a health food store in South Carolina. The only two flavors they carried were carob and honey vanilla, both of which have been "retired". (According to Wikipedia). The honey vanilla was really good stuff and was my go-to ice cream for years. They should bring it back, as it's far better than many of the boutique "flavors of the week".

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I had my first Haagen-Daz over twenty years ago, in a health food store in South Carolina. The only two flavors they carried were carob and honey vanilla, both of which have been "retired". (According to Wikipedia). The honey vanilla was really good stuff and was my go-to ice cream for years. They should bring it back, as it's far better than many of the boutique "flavors of the week".
I believe right after they retired the Limited Edition Green Tea flavor last fall, they introduced the Limited Edition Vanilla Honey Bee flavor, which may be similar to what you had. It was vanilla with a very light honey flavor that didn't make the ice cream over-syrupy or sticky sweet. It was at HT when I went shopping yesterday and may be in your local grocer's freezer too.
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Zora, why haven't you reported back on the new Fleur de sel caramel? Saw pints recently in grocery stores.
Probably not, since it was introduced in April 2008.
My goodness it's delicious. I first had it at a friend's house in Florida, and it took me a month to find a grocery near my house that stocks it. (Fenton St Safeway, in case you're wondering).
I was hooked on the stuff when it was introduced last year--not sure why I never posted about it. But it disappeared after about six months. If people are seeing it now, it's because HD must have brought it back in response to popular demand. I stopped looking for it after I realized that they had moved on to another special flavor. I haven't seen it at my local Safeway, but I'll have to start looking for it again. That's a good news/bad news scenario. I'll have to buy it if I see it. And if it is in my freezer, I'll have to eat it. It's so good, but so bad for me.
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I haven't seen it at my local Safeway, but I'll have to start looking for it again. That's a good news/bad news scenario. I'll have to buy it if I see it. And if it is in my freezer, I'll have to eat it. It's so good, but so bad for me.
I've only seen it at the Safeway on 14th St. SE. Thanks, Hannah, for further details.*

I'm all for limited editions that are seasonal, made w just-picked fruit. Good way to teach people that peaches aren't worth buying in February. Don't get why this flavor might have been pulled, though it might have been the distributor that decided D.C. wasn't the right market.

*The 5-ingredient flavors are H-D Roots and a marketing gimmick. Sort of like that Breyer ice-cream commercial w kids reading the label on their respective boxes in which one can't pronounce the strings of long words used for stabilizers and artificial ingredients. Cream. Strawberries. Sugar. Lemon. Hydrochloric acid. Simple. Pure. Natural. Nothing more.

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I was hooked on the stuff when it was introduced last year--not sure why I never posted about it. But it disappeared after about six months. If people are seeing it now, it's because HD must have brought it back in response to popular demand. I stopped looking for it after I realized that they had moved on to another special flavor. I haven't seen it at my local Safeway, but I'll have to start looking for it again. That's a good news/bad news scenario. I'll have to buy it if I see it. And if it is in my freezer, I'll have to eat it. It's so good, but so bad for me.
I find it out in the 'burbs. For some reason, most places in the city never have it. I think I may have seen it once at the HT in AM.
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I was hooked on the stuff when it was introduced last year--not sure why I never posted about it. But it disappeared after about six months. If people are seeing it now, it's because HD must have brought it back in response to popular demand. I stopped looking for it after I realized that they had moved on to another special flavor. I haven't seen it at my local Safeway, but I'll have to start looking for it again. That's a good news/bad news scenario. I'll have to buy it if I see it. And if it is in my freezer, I'll have to eat it. It's so good, but so bad for me.

Out here in Gaithersburg I see it at Safeway regularly. Whole Foods doesn't carry it. Fortunately, I don't get to Safeway much so I don't buy it often but it is the best ice cream I've had in years.

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I believe right after they retired the Limited Edition Green Tea flavor last fall, they introduced the Limited Edition Vanilla Honey Bee flavor, which may be similar to what you had. It was vanilla with a very light honey flavor that didn't make the ice cream over-syrupy or sticky sweet. It was at HT when I went shopping yesterday and may be in your local grocer's freezer too.

Thank you so much! I'll look for it tomorrow, along with the Fleur de sel caramel. The description of Vanilla Honey Bee at the HD website--along with it being made a permanent part of their selection "by popular demand"--makes me believe that it must be Honey Vanilla.

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I'm not much of a fan of Haagen Dazs supermarket products, I find that many other smaller specialty brands are much better and don't cost any more. That said, many years ago I used to stop in the Haagen Dazs stores to buy Casis sorbet, but they haven't made if for a long time. It was great, tart and perfect. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if they ever brought it back, but I haven't seen it in over 20 years.

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How come I can't find Fleur de sel caramel anywhere in Silver Spring?

Could swear Safeway carries it in D.C. and I even managed to persuade the Capitol Hill location of Harris Teeter to do likewise.

Am I overlooking a reliable source is it it a matter of either a different distributor or perception of demographics that needs to be revised?

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Go into a Safeway or Giant and pick up a box of sealtest or whatever the brands of the day. Most will have 15 or more ingredients with most of those more reminiscent of a high school chemistry class than a kitchen. If you're ever interested to test this, buy vanilla ice cream at a grocery. Compare one of the half-gallon, chemical boxes to vanilla from a pint Haagen Dazs. It's night and day on flavor; ingredients aside.

Yes, *but*, Haagen-Dazs has recently gone to the dark side, and I don't buy it any more because they use HFCS in their ice creams (with the exception of their relatively boring "Five" line). I went so far as to do a 3 AM 7-11 run awhile back, and walk away empty-handed when I saw the ingredients.

Another one bites the dust.

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Yes, *but*, Haagen-Dazs has recently gone to the dark side, and I don't buy it any more because they use HFCS in their ice creams (with the exception of their relatively boring "Five" line). I went so far as to do a 3 AM 7-11 run awhile back, and walk away empty-handed when I saw the ingredients.

Another one bites the dust.

Not entirely true. To me, Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerrys went over the dark side when they sold out to Intercontinental (HD's first corporate owner) and Unilever. But, since then, being an ingredient hound, I've been super vigilant about regularly checking their labels. Agree with you on the Five line but check again, next time you're in a store. The basic flavors (Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla...along with a few others) remain true. Maybe too boring for many but for a tried-and-true milkshake guy, that's my focus since I'm more apt to buy or make a milkshake than eat ice cream straight. Likewise with B&J. Both HD and B&J use HFCS and all kinds of other crap in many of their flavors. But those flavors have no business in milkshakes anyway. Beyond the big corporate marques, there are a few local ones available in stores that are promising. Moorenko is one that comes to mind and, having met her at a Whole Foods demo a year or two ago, I thought she had the right focus on product.

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My all time favorite flavor, for any brands for that matter, was their Cappuccino Commotion. Not sure why the flavor was retired. It was delicious. Coffee ice creams studded with macadamia brittle and thick broken pieces of dark chocolate. I have been on the hunt for a flavor that comes close, but no dice.

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