Okay, now THIS is lemon ice cream.
It's not lemon sherbet, sorbet, or shave ice. It's not frozen lemon curd. And it's not an ice cream that just has a hint of lemon essence. It has the sour zip of real lemon all through it, from start to finish and also the rich, creamy sweetness of real ice cream.
As if just to say, "We don't care about your silly opinions, you foodie-hacks," Trader Joe's slapped us in the face with their discontinuation of the legendary Lemon Triple Gingersnap Ice Cream many years ago. There hasn't been anything like it since.
And there still isn't. This isn't a replacement for that early entry into our Pantheon. It's not that this one is worse or better. It's just different. It's like comparing apples and oranges. Or...comparing lemons...to slightly different lemons.
Ahem. What I mean is: that classic discontinued treat was an incredible balance of deliciously subtle lemon and gingerrific snippity snaps. With this product, the lemonosity is off the charts. There's much less in the way of milky sweetness here, and nothing gingery either. And if you love lemon like I do, that's good news.
But in a way, this product is almost too sour. Like it borders on being too tartly lemony. The caches of lemon swirl throughout the ice cream are very similar to lemon curd, but not nearly as sweet. Each bite of it made my mouth pucker—but not in a bad way.
The shortbread pieces don't lend much flavor-wise. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if they were chock-full of ginger. The sweetness of the shortbread is totally overshadowed and overwhelmed by the lemoniness in the rest of the product, but it does add a bit of soft chewy cookie texture, which breaks up the absolute smoothness of the ice cream and lemon swirl nicely.
This is hands down the most lemony ice cream I've ever had and it's honestly pretty high on the list for most lemony product of all time of any kind in my experience...except for maybe an actual lemon.
If you LOVE lemon flavored things, you've got to check this out. Don't expect the lemon flavor to be balanced out by hints of ginger or vanilla or anything else, though.
This is much more of a summer flavor than an early spring one, in my opinion, but we'll finish the pint easily, even if it's not hot outside. I'd buy again in a couple months. About three and a half bucks. Four and a half stars from me. Four from the beautiful wifey.
Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.
MEH. Base is salty, which I normally appreciate but would prefer this to be sweeter. Lemon swirl too sour. Disappointing cookies. Unpleasant sense of chewing on lemon zest. I'll get through it but this will not be a repeat purchase. Actually, I think I might even take it back. That chocolate peanut butter one they have is really good. Might pick that up again.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved this. Picked up a 2nd pint in case this one is seasonal. Is it as good as the lemon ginger one? No. But that stuff was also the greatest product in TJ's history.
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