Favorite (Commercial) Ice Cream Flavors: My Top Five

Apparently Thursday is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day.

I'll celebrate that holiday in due course, but in the meantime was inspired to list my five all-time favorite commercial flavors of ice cream. These flavors aren't particularly complex, but they're my comfort food and many make me nostalgic. In another post, I'll tackle my preferred artisan/small-batch flavors.

A childhood favorite.

5. Friendly's Butter Crunch. My ice cream experiences growing up were largely dominated by three brands, Friendly's, White Mountain Creamery, and Brigham's. Although I more often ordered sundaes at Friendly's, if we didn't sit down I opted for a very large cone to-go with Butter Crunch. This flavor is similar to butter pecan, but in the absence of legumes amps up the butterscotch notes such that every spoonful is the perfect marriage of animal fat and dairy.

My grandfather's favorite.

4. Brigham's Chocolate.  Brigham's was the official brand of the O'Leary clan and when we visited my grandparents, nearly every meal save breakfast (though, wait, that one time...) ended with a scoop of ice cream. Generally, I'm not a fan of chocolate-based ice cream because to me they usually don't replicate the exact cocoa flavor present in say, a Hershey's bar. The exception is Brigham's Chocolate, which has a rich, dark, almost smoky taste.

3. Oreo/Cookies 'n' Cream.. Or "Cookies and Cream" or "Cookies and Creme"...you get the point. My failure to designate a specific type doesn't mean just old any brand will do but rather that I've had above-average versions from Breyer's, White Mountain Creamery, Friendly's, BlueBell, and others.

Yes, it's "light." Sample this flavor, please, before you sneer.

2. Turkey Hill Moose Tracks. Technically, it's "light" because the base is lower-fat vanilla ice cream. HOWEVER, the presence of thick fudge stripes (too large to be simply called "streaks") and miniature peanut butter cups definitely makes for a rich, nearly cloying experience. 

1. Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Heath Bar Crunch. I could probably eat two pints in one sitting if I tried. B & J doesn't skip on the large toffee chunks. The coffee version is wonderful if you want to chow down on creams and get a caffeine fix.

Recipe: Miso Caramel Sauce

The July issue of Food & Wine contains a mouth-watering recipe for miso caramel sauce:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 1/3 cup light corn syrup

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/2 cup white miso

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, combine the cream and butter and bring just to a simmer over moderate heat.

2. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, corn syrup and water and cook over moderately high heat, without stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Using a wet pastry brush, wash down any crystals from the side of the pan. Continue to cook, gently swirling the pan occasionally, until an amber caramel forms, about 5 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cream mixture; it will bubble up. When the bubbles subside, very carefully pour the hot caramel into a heatproof blender. With the blender on medium speed, gradually add spoonfuls of the miso until incorporated. Transfer to a bowl and let cool, then whisk in the vanilla.

The only thing stopping me from making this sauce RIGHT NOW is the absence of white miso in our pantry. I think we have approximately 400 different asian ingredients and condiments, but not that one. 

The article recommends serving the miso caramel sauce with vanilla ice cream. Pshaw! If you are going to go gourmet caramel, go all the way baby. Ladle that luscious sauce over multiple scoops of Haagen-Dazs Applewood-Smoked Caramel Almond.