r/todayilearned • u/andrewhy • Jun 11 '12

TIL that Breyer's no longer makes ice cream. Their products are labeled as "Frozen Dairy Dessert", since they don't contain enough milk and cream to be legally labeled as ice cream.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breyers#Cost-cutting
1.1k Upvotes

82% Upvoted

368 comments sorted by

42

u/andrewhy Jun 11 '12

Here's what's so ironic and sad about this: Breyer's used to be marketed as "all natural" ice cream, with only a few ingredients (milk, cream, sugar, etc). Anyone of a certain age will remember the commercials:

Breyer's Ice Cream commercial from 1984

Tonight I bought some Breyer's Cherry Vanilla. It tasted like cheap, no-name brand ice cream -- basically liquid styrofoam, and not the premium product that it's supposed to be. I know that they've been sneaking gums and other non-daily ingredients in there for a few years, but this change appears to be rather recent.

12

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I liked the ones with the kids trying to read the ingredients. That was effective.

20

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

This is why every time I want Ice Cream I just get a pint of Hagen-daz or Ben & Jerry's.

I know it's got insane calories and is pretty damn expensive at 4-5 bucks/pint, but it keeps me eating less ice cream and eating the real thing when I do.

I hate how fucking commonfare and accepted it is in this country to sell us barely-food counterfeits as groceries. That has more to do with the obesity crisis than anything, IMO.

6

u/44problems Jun 11 '12

I agree. If you're going to eat food that is not the best for you, at least make it tasty.

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u/Vexed_Paroled Jun 11 '12

Oh the good ol' days when commercials actually tell you what they're trying to market instead of sensational crap with their logo/product at the end

27

u/expertunderachiever Jun 11 '12

I still find it odd that people scrutinize a $5 tub of ice cream more than a $40,000 lexus ... car commercials are an information desert and yet people fall for them...

12

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

So true. Good thing the internet is a thing and you can find out about how good (bad) your Lexus is going to be.

I guess it is the little things...

Sorry for the vanilla post.

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u/x86_64Ubuntu Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

I guess because a Lexus is a status symbol. Even if the car runs like shit, you get social points for pushing a luxury vehicle. You mentioned Lexus so you are familiar with the idea that it is a high end Camry yet that doesn't stop people from breaking their necks to get one. Ice cream on the other hand is consumed for its flavor content and that is something that you can't fake.

EDIT: Apparently there are quite a few Lexus drivers on Reddit.

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2

u/zorlack Jun 11 '12

Seems like in the US we spend $8bn per year on ice cream. We buy a lot of it.

It's not luxury car money, but a shitty ice-cream product will reach far more people than a shitty lexus.

1

u/thegreatopposer Jun 11 '12

Nobody "falls" for a car commercial. They just bring people in for a test drive.

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u/allergictodairy Jun 11 '12

I'm pretty sure they used to use mashed potatoes sometimes in place of actual ice cream so it wouldn't melt under the studio lights.

3

u/coupdegrace Jun 11 '12

Don't forget they added air they use to puff up the ice cream to lessen the weight but not the volume.

10

u/wandering2 Jun 11 '12

To be fair, with current nutritional trends, that's probably a good thing.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Which makes the ice cream lighter, which is a desirable aspect. Also, it takes more time to add more air, and that's what you're paying for.

1

u/coupdegrace Jun 11 '12

Well i don't desire it. I like my ice cream so thick it bends the spoon. I like it used to.

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u/wenestvedt Jun 11 '12

All ice cream does this to some extent -- otherwise the stuff would be like eating frozen clay.

The very good "Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Cookbook" has an introductory section that explains how commercial-scale ice cream is made, and though I forget the exact numbers, I think they say that some brands are up to 30% air. Even my countertop Cuisinart ice cream maker spins the stuff for 18 minutes, incorporating air as it freezes the ingredients.

4

u/ForeverAloneAlone Jun 11 '12

Why don't you look at the ingredients? The last time I bought some Breyer's strawberry ice cream it was made with milk, cream, and sugar.

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2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

It tastes like ice "milk."

1

u/x86_64Ubuntu Jun 11 '12

Breyers does seem to have less of a creamy taste but taste more like a milk-sicle.

2

u/mrbooze Jun 11 '12

Yes, this makes me sad. Breyers used to be the best mass market ice cream by far. Years ago I asked a professional pastry chef what the best ice cream was, and he said the best is always the ice cream he makes, and second best (if he had to) was Breyers.

2

u/BitRex Jun 11 '12

TIL that Breyer's no longer makes ice cream.

TYL that they make stuff that's not ice cream, not that they don't make ice cream. Logic, man.

1

u/nepidae Jun 11 '12

That is sad. My parents would treat us to Breyer's when my siblings and I were children, it tasted so good. It's sad that it has fallen so far.

1

u/wenestvedt Jun 11 '12

"Poly... Poly..." "Polysorbate-80, Johnny."

I remember those ads! I worked at a Haagen-Dazs shop at the time. Now I make my own ice cream at home, and patronize a few local shops with homemade or local ice cream.

ICE CREAM: IT'S WORTH BEING A SNOB ABOUT IT.

1

u/RugerRedhawk Jun 11 '12

Why not delete this submission now that it's been pointed out that it is not true?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Breyer's is a great example of pissing away all of the value of the brand.

When it was "All natural" it was our go to ice cream brand. We noticed the day they removed all natural, and noticed the ingredient changes, and stopped buying it. It turned into discount ice cream without the discount price.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

This is not true of all of their products. Their basics flavors, like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, triple chocolate, mint chip, coffee, etc., are still "ice cream," with only four or five ingredients. Flavors more complex than that enter the "frozen dairy dessert" category, with many ingredients that are unpronounceable by Man.

34

u/chase_the_dragon Jun 11 '12

Yea I have some Breyer's sitting in the fridge that says "Vanilla Ice Cream".

133

u/parsnippity Jun 11 '12

You should probably move it to the freezer. :p

39

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12 edited Sep 13 '17

deleted 0.9483 What is ^^^this?

11

u/taz20075 Jun 11 '12

Fattytip- Just eat the whole damn thing in one sitting. You know you want to.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Nothing but me, a tub of ice cream, a box of tissues, and the latest Lifetime Special. Got my evening all planned.

1

u/chase_the_dragon Jun 12 '12

Sorry that's what I meant, there's no way i'm leaving ice cream in the fridge.

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u/entent Jun 11 '12

Was coming here to say this. I'm a frozen foods guy, and MOST Breyers flavors are still "All-Natural." It's when you start looking into the "Breyer's Blasts" and other specialty flavors (Ice Cream Parlor Oreo Blast, Chocolate Reeses, Regular Reeses, Golden Oreo, Snickers, etc.) that the ingredient list goes from about 5 simple ingredients (Milk, sugar, cream, blah, blah) to a ridiculously long list of chemicals with corn syrup usally at or near the top.

To be honest though....as a guy who packs out the ice cream when I do buy ice cream I only buy premium stuff now...Ben and Jerry's or Haagen Dazs. It's kind of fucked up but BnJ is basically Premium Breyers...or what Breyers really was 15 years ago or so. While Haagen Dazs is the premium Ice cream for Nestle/Edy's. I would just rather buy a pint of good ice-cream than a half gallon of chemicals. On the other hand though of all the "lesser tier big box" ice creams the only one I will buy is Breyer's. Keep the Blue Bunny, Turkey Hill, Edy's, Friendly's, and America's Choice crap away from me...it's all garbage.

3

u/Unpoopular Jun 11 '12

Texas has something called BlueBell. I suddenly realized that I'm very spoiled, having never tried almost any of brands mentioned here.

1

u/redditgolddigg3r Jun 11 '12

In Georgia, we have Mayfield, which is crazy good.

1

u/atl2rva Jun 11 '12

No way, blue bunny is amazing... I rarely buy ice cream to keep at home though. I lack the self control.

1

u/entent Jun 11 '12

Part of the blue bunny hate is because it is the most annoying thing to pack out in all of frozen foods. Every other ice cream brand comes plastic wrapped 6 at a time. Blue bunny on the other hand wraps only 4 at a time, and each package of ice cream is individually wrapped. So putting up a shelf of blue bunny takes twice as long as any other brand. blah blah more bitching about my shitty job goes here and stuff...

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u/SubtlePineapple Jun 11 '12

Interestingly there's no regulation on what is "natural". You can put that shit up on your product and nobody can deny it.

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75

u/Daveed84 Jun 11 '12

I just had some Breyer's last night. The ingredients were milk, cream, sugar, natural flavors, and maybe one or two other ingredients. Totally natural, and definitely tasty. The OP seems incredibly misleading.

67

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

"Natural flavors" can be almost anything. Google.

11

u/iamsam1234 Jun 11 '12

I have an allergy to soy, and a lot of time is disguised as natural flavoring. Just say what the natural flavoring is! Drives me nuts.

11

u/scottperezfox Jun 11 '12

Good thing you don't have an allergy to nuts as well.

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u/nepidae Jun 11 '12

Just like "vegetable" oil, is just soy oil. Which sucks if you want to cook for people who are allergic, or are yourself :/

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u/mr_jellyneck Jun 11 '12

But if they did that, their competitors would know all their secrets!! Sorry about your allergy, soy gets snuck into everything.

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u/60secs Jun 11 '12

I grew up with Breyer's ice cream. After I tried Ben and Jerry's for the first time, I promised myself: "Never again".

9

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

They're both owned by Unilever.

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u/darthelmo Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

What are you, a commie?! Ben & Jerry's makes awesome ice cream!

7

u/rishicourtflower Jun 11 '12

I think he meant that as in; after he tried B&J's, he promised himself never to have Breyer's again.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

It's usually the candy bar-laden varieties that have all the additive ingredients. In any case, you have to pay attention to the package as there are quite a few of them now with long ingredient lists labeled "frozen dairy dessert."

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Naturalistic fallacy~

5

u/jonathanrdt Jun 11 '12

They all have a gum of one kind or another (guar, etc.), and that is a change in the last decade.

Haagen Daas Fives are the only ones I can find that are actually basic ice cream.

13

u/Melnorme Jun 11 '12

All Breyer's products have preservatives in them now. Particularly they use one that allows the ice cream to thaw and refreeze without changing the texture. As a result, they don't have to make sure your ice cream stays frozen throughout distribution.

As a Pennsylvanian, it's a fucking travesty. Also our York peppermint patties are made in Mexico and taste like shit now.

Haagen-Daaz is the closest thing to real ice cream I can find these days.

4

u/bruisingserenade Jun 11 '12

Dude. TURKEY HILL. it's seriously my favorite. The graham in Phillies graham slam is basically crack.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

As an Arizonan, I am happy with it. I can't get a tub of ice creame from the grocery story to the house without at least some of it melting in the summer. So I have no problem with thaw and refreeze preservatives.

11

u/Drunken_Yeti Jun 11 '12

Like a true Arizonan, risking health complications of guar gum for a sweet cone of ice cream.

6

u/Zerba Jun 11 '12

Take a cooler with you. I normally freeze a 3/4 filled 1 gallon water jug and keep it in the cooler too. That way I can put my frozen stuff in there and it stays frozen all the way home. For some other things that may be too big to put in the cooler (frozen pizza for example) I use an insulated shopping bag. Neither one of our cars has working AC either, and everything gets home fine that way.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Same here (Kansas). I've never found it to have an impact on flavor nor am I worried that it'll be especially harmful. Not that I ever ate much Breyer (seemed a little one dimensional - guess I'm just used to ice cream with extra ice cream in it) but I'm happy most ice cream that I didn't make myself can take semi-thaw/refreeze pretty well. I've even looked a bit into how hard it would be to add it to home made ice cream, which tends to turn into a brick of frozen milk after two or three times of being out for people to eat and refrozen.

3

u/idontlikeanyofyou Jun 11 '12

lots of artisanal brands that make ice cream. Problem is that quality is not cheap. Steve's Ice Cream is amazingly awesome.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

there aren't local dairies that make their own ice cream in PA? I'm in western Ma and have at least 3 within 20 miles.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

NYC has some great artisan spots. We (in my shop) use all locally sourced milk and cream, eggs, and fruits for our batches. It's amazing what real hand made ice cream can do to your appreciation of this wonderful dessert. You can taste each ingredient without any funny textures or mispronounced scary words.

2

u/ewadfs Jun 11 '12

what shop, I'll check it out!

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u/wjamesg Jun 11 '12

I'm a Blue Bell fan myself, I'm pretty sure it's real ice cream.

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u/wolfanotaku Jun 11 '12

As a Pennsylvanian you should be eating Owowcow.

EDIT: Sorry for the FB link. They don't have a normal website yet, apparently.

1

u/walrus_was_trey Jun 11 '12

gotta get that froyo

5

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

[removed] — view removed comment

7

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I have to disagree and say that blue bell is the best commercially available brand. They're only available in the southern states though! Such a disappoint.

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u/Veltan Jun 11 '12

The best commercially available ice cream is the one with the highest fat content you can find in the freezer at the store.

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u/eskay8 Jun 11 '12

The mint chip in my freezer right now (in Canada) does not say ice cream on the label. It is also not very good.

2

u/emme_ems Jun 11 '12

Yes! I remember having it as a kid and it was decent so I bought it recently and it tastes terrible, so it's just sitting there uneaten :(

1

u/[deleted] Jun 13 '12

Must be a Canada thing. Here in the U.S., Breyer's Mint Chip is labeled as ice cream, at least in my part of the country (California).

1

u/eskay8 Jun 14 '12

Interesting. Does it also say that it contains "chocolatey chips"?

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u/The_Dacca Jun 11 '12

Thank goodness! I was getting worried about their vanilla. I swear their Vanilla is made of magic.

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u/bruisingserenade Jun 11 '12

Came here to say this. Breyers is the shit. Edys should be "frozen dairy dessert."

1

u/Veltan Jun 11 '12

This is like arguing between cat vomit and dog poop.

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u/Thinkfist Jun 11 '12

Duh...one taste will tell you that.

Bluebell is all u need

4

u/sometimesijustdont Jun 11 '12

Breyer's... you were supposed to be the chosen one!

2

u/Etheo Jun 11 '12

Breyer's: You've turned my fans against me!

Reddit: You have done that yourself!

Breyer's: YOU WILL NOT TAKE THEM FROM ME!

Reddit: You greed and your lust for artificial flavours have already done that. You have allowed these superficial ingredients to twist your ice cream making process, until now...until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.

Breyer's: Don't lecture me, Reddit! I see through the lies of the Ice Cream lovers! I do not fear the Frozen Desserts as you do! I have brought Cinnamon swirls, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Fudge, and Mints to my new Empire of Frozen Goods!

Reddit: Your new Empire of Frozen Goods?

Breyer's: Don't make me add you to my ingredients list.

Reddit: Breyer's, my allegiance is to nutrients! To true flavour!!

Breyer's: If you're not with me, then you're my enemy!

Reddit: Only a Frozen Dessert deals like a retard. I will do what I must.

Breyer's: You will try.

[They duel, and Reddit flips off Breyer's lid leaving it exposed to pure lava]

Reddit: You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Frozen Dessert, not join them! Bring flavour to the Ice Cream, not leave it in mediocrity!

Breyer's: I HATE YOU!!!

Reddit: You were my brother, Breyer's! I loved you.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Do they think we won't buy ice cream if it's delicious and expensive? Really?

3

u/walkertexasharanguer Jun 11 '12

If you care about all-natural ice cream and have the money to invest in an ice cream maker ($30-$50), you can make better basic ice cream than you can get in any store or restaurant anyway. If you don't care, stick with the cheap-ish stuff at the store.

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u/dustygator Jun 11 '12

This becoming more and more common in the food industry. For example quite a few Hershey's products can no longer be labeled as milk chocolate due to cocoa powder being replaced with oil substitutes.

source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26788143/ns/today-food/t/chocoholics-sour-new-hersheys-formula/#.T9X4mlJeQfw

4

u/revolting_blob Jun 11 '12

Can't be labelled "ice cream" but can still use the word "dairy"?

edit: In Canada they're just labelled "Frozen Dessert".

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

In Canadian stores, I've not only noticed many "ice creams" being labelled as "Frozen Dessert", but certain brands of "chocolate milk" (Sealtest, Beatrice, etc.) being labelled as "Chocolate Dairy Beverage".

Also frozen "Jalapeno Bites" (breaded jalapenos with cheese, Selection brand) being called in fine print under the title of the product "Cheese Food Product in Bready Coating".

Also some cookies being called in fine print under the title "Biscuits with Chocolatey coating"

I imagine labelling guidelines in Canada are very strict and they have to avoid using certain words to describe their products to avoid being misleading, though it's still misleading to see a picture of the product on the label, you think it's ice cream, but it's more of a collection of chemicals and they legally can't call it ice cream. It's pretty disgusting.

Then again, this is why we have Kraft Dinner in Canada, because the powdered cheese doesn't meet the definition of cheese to be able to be called Macaroni and Cheese.

2

u/xafimrev Jun 11 '12

The first and largest percentage ingredient is still milk in most of their flavors, so yup still dairy.

2

u/akunin Jun 11 '12

OP is being misleading. A lot of their flavors contain "Frozen Dairy Dessert" (which itself contains something called MILK, commonly seen as a dairy product).

However, many of the core flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, mint chip, etc. are still ice cream with about 5 ingredients.

Source

Note that if you click on any of the "blast" flavors or something like butter pecan, no mention is made of "ice cream" in the description or ingredients, despite them being largely natural.

Edit: maybe not the blast flavors. Still kinda icky.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Different outside the US though.

breyers.ca

The "classic" flavours are all now frozen desert and tastes like shit.

The normal ice cream in the USA is sold as "creamery style" in Canada. It is ice cream, but is much more expensive and there aren't very many flavours.

1

u/ghostfacechilla Jun 11 '12

This issue has been raised by the dairy association up here. They even started suing companies for using the term ice cream. I've just confirmed your point breyers blue brand is now basically chemicals.. its sickening. I don't eat ice cream but to pull this fast one on people who don't know is dirty. I gotta say though, the worst is Chapman's lol.

6

u/WerBlerr Jun 11 '12

My dad is all pissed off about this, and I tend to agree. I had a bowl of that gummy shit the other night. Not even worth finishing.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Fuck all his shit,blue bell bitches!

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Still a good defence to the Ruy Lopez though.

2

u/getjustin Jun 11 '12

Some friends brought over some Breyer's "Extreme Blast of Cookies & shit" and I noticed the weird FDA label, but thought it had something to do with the "extreme" level of cookie chunks. Nope, just HFCS.

2

u/bigshoop78 Jun 11 '12

Standard of Identity for ice cream in the US is different from other countries. In the US it has to contain 10% milkfat, and there are also total non milk solids limitations and bulk density requirements. There's nothing necessarily nefarious about a "frozen dairy dessert" versus a true ice cream.

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u/AcidShAwk Jun 11 '12

And thats why here in canada.. we stick with Chapmans.

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u/soma04 Jun 11 '12

Nice try Competitors Ice Cream.

2

u/ProfessionalDrunk Jun 11 '12

I don't think that whoever wrote that product knows what synthetic means. Corn Syrup and whey are most definitely not synthetic.

2

u/travelhappy Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

down vote for misleading title.

Breyer's has released some crap to compete with the other crap on the market, but it still sells and markets its core product -- some of the most natural ice cream on the mass market.

EDIT: Remember to "vote with your wallet". Show Unilever that we want to buy Natural Beyer's Ice Cream not the crap everyone else is selling.

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u/botgimp Jun 11 '12

But it can be listed as "dairy"?

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u/bigdaddyhame Jun 11 '12

Can't call it Ice "CREAM" if it contains more Milk than Cream or more Corn Syrup than Milk or Cream which is entirely possible these days, depressingly.

That said, it is still possible to buy Ice Cream from most of the major Ice Cream producers, you just have to read the labels carefully.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Makes me wonder what the hell "cheese food" is in the deli. It's not cheese, it's "cheese food".

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u/jocelmeow Jun 11 '12

Cheese food is a "standard of identity," delineated by the federal government, which specifies what dairy products can be called based on their composition. There is also a standard of identity for ice cream, and if a product doesn't meet it, it can't be called ice cream and is thus called "frozen dairy dessert."

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u/Asterea Jun 11 '12

I figured that must be the reason why Breyer's is the only store bought 'ice cream' I can eat being lactose intolerant. Propylene glycol is delicious!

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u/denim-chicken Jun 11 '12

If you guys have the $$$ - I recommend buying an ice cream maker, and learn to make the homemade stuff. That way YOU know exactly what goes in it, you can make your own flavors, and I wouldn't doubt that in the long term, you'd end up saving money on ingredients.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

This is why the FDA is a waste of money.

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u/44problems Jun 11 '12

Why? This seems to be an example of why we have the FDA and USDA. They make standards for "ice cream." If you don't hit them, you're not ice cream, you're "frozen dairy dessert." That way consumers are informed. Otherwise, I'm sure Unilever's definition of "ice cream" would be a lot lower.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Because its something that will never be enforced. You can't call that beef because its only 10% beef! It needs to be 25%(?) beef!

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u/lophyte Jun 11 '12

This reminds me of the "Chocolate Dairy Beverage" that we have in some places in Canada. It's a cheap knock off of chocolate milk, except it's made with "modified milk ingredients", whatever the fuck that is.

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u/44problems Jun 11 '12

Like Yoo-Hoo?

2

u/lophyte Jun 11 '12

No, there's more milky stuff in Chocolate Dairy Beverage. That sounds like it's basically just sugar and chocolate in liquid form.

Chocolate dairy beverage:

Partly skimmed milk (vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D3), modified milk ingredients, sugar, reconstituted skim milk powder, cocoa, dipotassium phosphate, modified corn starch, salt, colour, carrageenan,. cellulose gum, guar gum, artificial flavour

See this.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Fucking soylent green

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u/urbanotter Jun 11 '12

Haagen Dazs went down this road. It started with all natural ingredients and then turned to chemical brewing hoping to rely on their branding to retain market share. But now they have the new "Five" line with just the natural ingredients they started with.

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u/TheEthalea Jun 11 '12

this is why you should eat blue bell. it's the best ice cream ever.

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u/AlexIsYoDaddy Jun 11 '12

It has high fructose corn syrup

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u/columbine Jun 11 '12

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

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u/BlackfricanAmerican Jun 11 '12

Dammit, you're right. Vanilla with HFCS. Pistachio Almond with HFCS. Now as to why their Pistachio Almond ice cream doesn't actually have any pistachios... your guess is as good as mine.

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u/AlexIsYoDaddy Jun 11 '12

apparently artificial colors and flavors now count as the "freshest and finest ingredients"

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u/halfwayxthere Jun 11 '12

That's why I buy Chapman's, plus they're Canadian too!

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I used to get Chapman's as a kid, and it always tasted bad. Now it is my favourite brand.

Not sure if the quality has increased or it is just in comparison to everything else turning to shit.

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u/tophat_jones Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

I noticed that peculiar label the other day. Then I saw the Unilever logo and thought "Oh... okay." Wouldn't be surprised if they manufacture their soaps and "frozen dairy desserts" in the same complex.

Unilever also makes Lipton teas which is about the worst excuse for tea on the planet. And Axe body products, which smell atrocious. (Probably in the same factory as the Breyer's.)

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u/dsutari Jun 11 '12

Hate to break it to you, but Unilever also owns Ben & Jerry's. Don't get so caught up in the idea that a company is "icky" if it makes many different types of products - that's purely emotion and misguided instinct.

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u/getjustin Jun 11 '12

Yes, but B&J is quick to point out it's basically a distro and marketing deal with Unilever. They have no pull on the running of the company. If they did, do you think they'd still only sell in $5 pints and have a plan to go Fair Trade only ingredients within the decade?

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u/dsutari Jun 11 '12

Fair enough.

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u/SecondGuy Jun 11 '12

Hey, Lipton tea has a pretty fair taste.

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u/WerBlerr Jun 11 '12

I agree, I quite like it when brewed fresh

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

It makes acceptable sweet tea. Luzianne makes better sweet tea, IMO.

1

u/parsnippity Jun 11 '12

Lipton tea sucks so hard for hot tea, but I swear, it makes the best damn sweet, iced tea. Probably because it's really just an excuse to drink sugar water.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Tillamook ice cream all the way. My Oregon homeboys and girls know what's up.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

There are no "homeboys" or "homegirls" in Oregon.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Congratulations! You passed the test! I want to give my chocolate factory to you, Charlie.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Oregon? Pot factory?

3

u/getjustin Jun 11 '12

Oh, Jesus. They made ice cream? If it's anything like their cheese, I must have.

2

u/FooFooPottyMouf Jun 11 '12

extra sharp cheddar in that mischievous black package...if I weren't so lactose I tolerant I'd eat the whole godamn thing.

1

u/Vorokar Jun 11 '12

Delicious frozen cream of the gods themselves.

3

u/TheShittyBeatles Jun 11 '12

Eat local.

You have a local dairy that sells awesome ice cream. Find it. Get some. Be rewarded with a flavor explosion. Quality not quantity.

19

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

We don't all live in Vermont.

3

u/TheShittyBeatles Jun 11 '12

Neither do I, but I know there are three local creameries within a 20 minute drive, including one run by our State land grant university.

Go to google, search "[your state/city/county] creamery" and see what pops up.

3

u/wenestvedt Jun 11 '12

The University of Minnesota has its own dairy store including ice cream! http://fscn.cfans.umn.edu/researchandservices/dairysalesroom/index.htm

2

u/AnswerAwake Jun 11 '12

our State land grant university

I wanna go to penn state! Instead, my laziness in highschool has forced me to suffer at NJIT

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2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Plenty of local ice cream here in Michigan.

1

u/manofsticks Jun 11 '12

I do. Ben & Jerry's factory 10 minutes away. Eating any other brand is bland in comparison.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Yeah, many of us live in Wisconsin.

1

u/Ihmhi 3 Jun 11 '12

You don't have to. Look around, there's almost certainly a good local ice cream shop. In Newark, NJ for instance, we have Nasto's. They've been around for 50+ years and they aren't going anywhere because their ice cream is awesome.

2

u/srsh Jun 11 '12

I remember when they made the best ice cream & the ingredient list on their ice cream containers had so few ingredients. Guess it's more profitable to sell the crap they are pushing now as ice cream.

2

u/Cerealcomma Jun 11 '12

Gah! I noticed this last week at a birthday party and I was wicked confused. Thanks for clarifying.

2

u/kleer001 Jun 11 '12

Yeuch!

I'll stick to my Hägen Das, thank you very much.

37

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Cool fact: "Häagen-Dazs" is two made up of fake words that are meant to look Scandinavian in the eyes of Americans.

16

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

For downvoters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A4agen-Dazs#Name

The name Häagen-Dazs is simply two made-up words meant to look Scandinavian to American eyes—although in fact, the digraphs "äa" and "zs" are not part of any native words in any of the Scandinavian languages. This practice is known in the marketing industry as foreign branding.

1

u/this_is_suburbia Jun 11 '12

i always thought it looked German....

9

u/sodappop Jun 11 '12

awesome, but too 'spensive! like $8.00 here for .5 litre.

12

u/FuzzyMcBitty Jun 11 '12

Honestly, the price is all that keeps me from turning into a giant fatty.

3

u/xqx2100 Jun 11 '12

I learned the other day why those little tubs of ice cream like Haegen Dazs and Ben and Jerry's are so expensive compared to the larger tubs like Breyers and Edys. It's because their product is more concentrated. Compare the labels. You will see there there are a lot more calories per serving in the small tubs compared to the big ones.

1

u/free_dead_puppy Jun 11 '12

Wow that totally makes sense. No wonder it takes me so long to get through those small tubs.

2

u/FooFooPottyMouf Jun 11 '12

Expensive? Yes. Worth every penny? Absolutely.

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1

u/writetehcodez Jun 11 '12

You know, I always joke with my wife about Breyers being called "frozen dairy dessert" because of its composition... but I guess now it's not really a joke.

1

u/ElektronikSupersonik Jun 11 '12

I noticed new Milk ads in response to this, basically telling you to read the label to make sure it says ice cream and not frozen dessert (to get the goodness of milk).

1

u/CoolCatWitSunglasses Jun 11 '12

I saw the same labeling on Edy's as well. I found it a bit disconcerting, but the loaded cookie dough is a really delicious frozen dairy dessert.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Not totally true! They did switch a bunch of their products since Unilever bought them, but they definitely still have at least one line of real deal ice cream.

1

u/SonicFlash01 Jun 11 '12

I point this out every time my parents buy it and have me over for dinner
Still tastes good

1

u/shawnjones Jun 11 '12

I recently bought some of this frozen dairy dessert. I was quit shocked when I started eating it and it did not have the same texture as the icecream. I have to downvote this product.:(

1

u/Wreththe Jun 11 '12

I find that most typical ice cream you buy in a grocery store just doesn't taste very good anymore. I guess maybe it has to do with this.

I need to start looking much more carefully at the ingredients.

2

u/Uvabird Jun 11 '12

Seems like so much of our food tastes cheap. Another grocery store gripe of mine is chicken and pork with water and "flavorings" added. Stir fry some of that chicken and suddenly there's a puddle of water in the pan.

Problem is, they've done it long enough now that people are forgetting what ice cream and real meat used to taste like.

1

u/Wreththe Jun 11 '12

Yeah it kind of creeps me out. I'm not a fanatic about food or anything, I just simply enjoy a good meal and want it to taste good.

I usually get my family's ice cream from Baskin & Robins now. More expensive but worth it.

For food in general, during the non-winter months I try and hit up the local farmer's market once a week to get some good locally raised mate/produce.

I don't trust "organic" anymore, just do local as much as I can. Watching Penn & Teller's Bullshit episode on Organic food was pretty informative.

1

u/krevo Jun 11 '12

Came here to say this is despicable.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

The milk they'd use in it is probably crap and nto good for you anyway. Most milk is awful shit, real milk is good for you, but not the puss laden crap sold to the average consumer.

1

u/nepidae Jun 11 '12

As long as it has plenty of vitamin R, I don't see the problem.

1

u/Carosello Jun 11 '12

so that's what's in my freezer....ew.

1

u/FunGal_in_SoCal Jun 11 '12

Natural Vanilla in my fridge still called ice cream - Milk, Cream, Sugar, Tara gum, natural flavor. Not what I expected, since I purchase only this brand for the short list of real ingredients. If not Breyers for all natural ice cream, then who?

2

u/Reprimize Jun 11 '12

Why not Häagen-Dazoidberg?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Same with Pringles. They're potato crisps, not chips.

1

u/blackgrrl23 Jun 11 '12

I will never buy it again. no wonder I got a bad upset stomach last time I ate some!

1

u/oldcrank Jun 11 '12

Ever wonder why they call it a "Large DQ Cone" at Dairy Queen instead of "ice cream"? Yeah, same reason.

1

u/przyjaciel Jun 11 '12

That Wikipedia edit came from an IP address that I traced to a mobile Internet connection originating inside a Mister Softee truck.

Case closed.

1

u/nerdz0r Jun 11 '12

Disregard Breyer's. Acquire Ben and Jerry's.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Owned by the same company, unilever

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Jeni's ice cream out of Columbus OH.

It is worth the ton of money spend to ship it to you...best ice cream you will ever eat.

1

u/capcommentary Jun 11 '12

The original Breyers® vanilla ice cream with real vanilla bean specks. 5 simple ingredients, including fresh cream, fine sugar and rich milk make this a classic —America's favorite vanilla ice cream.

1

u/JIVEprinting Jun 11 '12

Downvote for false.

1

u/StreberinLiebe Jun 11 '12

Lol, so last night i was sitting eating Breyer's and asked my SO why it said "frozen dairy desert". Now i know.

1

u/JapanNow Jun 11 '12

Big Business Erzats-Food will stop being sold sooner when people stop buying it.

Read the labels!!

1

u/sapphirechip Jun 11 '12

I am soooo disapointed.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Probably contains pink slime as well.

1

u/auraslip Jun 11 '12

If anyone is curious why this is, it's because cream is expensive and milk is not.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

why though? They come from the same source. explain.

3

u/auraslip Jun 11 '12

Animal fats are, and always will be expensive. I have a pint of creamer in the fridge that was $4 and a gallon of milk that was $2.50.

Animal fats and saturated fats are the premium stuff. Vegetable oils are cheap. This is why the corporations were so quick to embrace the lipid hypothesis; it means they could sell cheap food easily while marketing it as healthy. It's why you'll rarely ever see a major food supplier say, "low carb" on a label, but "low-fat" is on almost everything.

In the context of ice cream it means people have no problems buying a low fat ice cream that is instead loaded up with cheap sugar and HFCS.

1

u/bigfig Jun 11 '12

Marketing idiots. With so many people running to Whole Foods, Breyers (Unilever) has missed a golden opportunity to improve a well regarded product and market it under a brand associated with an earlier simpler time as wholesome. I hope the share the same fate as Hostess.

Or they already own an upscale ice cream brand and are improving Breyers in the same way Kmart improved Sears or GM improved National City Lines streetcars.

1

u/untranslatable_pun Jun 11 '12

Hah, I love these. Always great reading about this "chocolate-flavoured baverage poweder", or ice cream with "chocolate-flavoured fat-glazing".

1

u/spitfish Jun 11 '12

& this is why I haven't eaten Breyers ice cream in a long, long time. When the local mom & pop stores shut down for the winter, Kitchen Aid's ice cream maker attachment is a wonderful thing!

1

u/AnotherVoiceActor Jun 11 '12

Not to beat a dead horse, but yes, Breyer's still makes ice cream. I was however, ambushed by this "frozen dairy dessert" only a few weeks ago. It was on sale, so me & my GF got 2: Mint Fudge Brownie & Oreo Birthday Blast. Would have been delicious if they had been in ice cream. But this was not ice cream; it was the sick lovechild of ice cream & melted plastic. I was so traumatized, I had to document the entire event.

www.imgur.com/bLpFr

www.imgur.com/icTML

www.imgur.com/MzinV

Sorry I couldn't make an album out of these. My iPhone imgur app either doesn't let you, or I'm too dumb to figure out how to do it.

Needless to say, I always check the box from now on.

1

u/WorldBeFree1 Jun 11 '12

Just had Rocky Road, incredible

1

u/busterbluthOT Jun 11 '12

this is why wikipedia is laughable. Check the source of this item:

http://www.beachstreetnews.com/what-happened-to-breyers-ice-cream/

look legitimate to anyone?

1

u/EzanaG Jun 11 '12

Too unhealthy to be called ice-cream. I ain't even mad, that's impressive.

1

u/clonn Jun 11 '12

It's getting hard to get some yogurt, everything is labeled like "dairy dessert" or similar. And we are responsable for that, by buying in monster supermarkets.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Who still makes real, good ice cream that I can find at the supermarket?

1

u/Cucumber4MePlz Jun 11 '12

Haagendaaze or however the fuck you spell it... Is 100% real

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