DonRocks Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 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.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xochitl10 Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jparrott Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 There's a Sticky Toffee Pudding HD flavor now. Haven't tried it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 The best was the tiramisu flavor in Europe. Over here it's some weirdo mascarpone mess. Over there it was this glorious coffee rippled, ladyfingered conglomeration. Mmm... Maybe it's just me, but most of the ice cream in England was either "premium" (B&Js or Daaz) or nasty ice milk-type stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Slater Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 You just have to like "European" sounding ice cream made in good ole Brooklyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 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". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweaked Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I find the same thing has happened to Doritos, the up front nacho cheese flavor is the same but now there is a weird funky after taste...I suspect that they reformulated Doritos, no doubt some anti-transfat thing. It's pretty much ruined Doritos for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Blume Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Zora, why haven't you reported back on the new Fleur de sel caramel? Saw pints recently in grocery stores. Think this was created as a presidential homage? * * * FYI The company is going the way of tuna fish canners and down-sizing their pints to 14 oz. containers. Cost of ingredients, they claim, and not an effort to stem obesity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Zora, why haven't you reported back on the new Fleur de sel caramel? Saw pints recently in grocery stores.Think this was created as a presidential homage? Probably not, since it was introduced in April 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 FYI The company is going the way of tuna fish canners and down-sizing their pints to 14 oz. containers. Cost of ingredients, they claim, and not an effort to stem obesity.I wonder if it's due to part of their new "Five" line as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Zora, why haven't you reported back on the new Fleur de sel caramel? Saw pints recently in grocery stores. 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). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Blume Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synaesthesia Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookluvingbabe Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoramargolis Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I went to the Safeway this afternoon. It was there. I bought some. <hic> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I went to the Safeway this afternoon. It was there. I bought some. <hic>Uh oh. Do we need to do an intervention?Safeway seems to be the only store stocking this flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Zora, why haven't you reported back on the new Fleur de sel caramel? Saw pints recently in grocery stores. Picked up a pint of this at the Harris Teeter in Tyson's Corner on Saturday. REALLY Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Not to be super-encouraging here, but HT's weekly special advertised 2 for $6, which is a bit cheaper than Giant's ad for 2 for $7... Both are good until 4/28, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.H. Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 Mmmm... Haagen Dazs fleur de sel ice cream bars coated in dark chocolate, found at the Jenkins Row Harris Teeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinwiddie Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Dammit, Haagen Dazs. The Fleur de Sel Caramel was bad enough. Now you had to go and bring back the chocolate peanut butter too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Courtesy of synaesthesia, DCist reports free scoop day from 4-8pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Blume Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 How come I can't find Fleur de sel caramel anywhere in Silver Spring? I haven't seen it anywhere for awhile and now it appears it's not listed on their website, so they may have discontinued it. If it's any consolation, Cook&Bottlewasher has her version on August 18-19. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Blume Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 I haven't seen it anywhere for awhile and now it appears it's not listed on their website, so they may have discontinued it. Anything to do w recent polls? Please, you all, let them know you want it back! Please!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol_ironstomach Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Any sign of their peppermint bark, supposedly available Oct-Dec? FWIW, you can skip the "caramel apple pie" limited edition. Not enough pie crust, nor texture for that matter, unless your benchmark is the pie from Mickey D's. Moreover, it's absolutely crap compared to South Mountain Creamery's quite good apple pie ice cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted October 30, 2011 Share Posted October 30, 2011 Bananas Foster is my new favorite. No HFCS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Free cone day from 4-8pm today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol_ironstomach Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 13 minutes ago, DonRocks said: This is *exactly* why ongoing conversations about products are important <he says, while drinking a Bell'sTwo Hearted Ale, which is drinkable, but by no means "great" or even "pleasant">. Hear, hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiouskitkatt Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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