Ultimate Coupons' Cool Ice Cream Infographic

We've posted about this topic in the past but none have had a fun Infographic for this same important question. In honor of National Ice Cream Month, Ultimate Coupons created this fun graphic based on "what does your favorite ice cream flavor say about your personality?" and we thought it'd be fun to share. Funny according to this chart I am a "romantic" (mint chocolate chip) and my husband is a "wildcard" (Rum Raisin). I was amused by his chuckle at that one. Must admit it's the other way around but still fun none the less. As Ultimate Coupons says, it's as accurate as reading your daily horoscope, but lots of fun to read. Check out what your favorite flavor says about you."

[Scoopalicious is celebrating National Ice Cream month with a Post-A-Day throughout the month of July!]

Grape Ice Cream FAIL

Someone once suggested I make grape ice cream. I did some research but was hard pressed to find recipes. I read somewhere that the reason it's hard to find good recipes is that natural grape, when used in recipes, isn't so much a flavor as a sweetener. It kind of makes sense, seeing as a lot of recipes that avoid sugar use grape juice as a sweetener.

I did try to make grape ice cream -- though I don't recall it very well -- which goes to saying that it wasn't that memorable -- I think I used grape juice concentrate and it came out very mildly flavored and pretty sweet.

When I came across a recipe in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Homemade Ice Cream for grape ice cream, I had to try it. I had to remember to half the recipe, since the recipes are always at least two times the amount that will fit in my ice cream maker. I don't know if I messed up on the conversion or the translation of tablespoons of gelatin to packets of gelatin, but the ice cream didn't work out. Go me, failing at a recipe in a complete idiot's guide!

I hate throwing stuff away, but this ice cream was too "chewy" and chunky -- it actually had clumps of gelatin in it! In fact, when I took it out of the bowl to put it into the ice cream machine, it was actually pretty solid -- kind of like a grape mouse.

Either way, I'll have to try this one again. Or should I? Have I not learned my lesson about gelatin and ice cream?

[Scoopalicious is celebrating National Ice Cream month with a Post-A-Day throughout the month of July!]

The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book

Anyone who reads this somewhat regularly knows I am a huge fan of Bruce Weinstein's book, The Ultimate Ice Cream Book. It's my go-to ice cream making book, my bible of ice cream making, the only book I have ever had to have rebound from so much use.

Last year, after finding out on their Harper Collins bio that Bruce Weinstein and co-author Mark Scarbrough live in the small county in Connecticut where my mother grew up, I emailed them just to say hi and let them know what a big fan I am.

Mark wrote back suggested I try out The Ultimate Frozen Dessert Book, which does not disappoint.

I haven't yet made too many flavors, but wow, I was blown away by their raspberry gelato recipe -- though I actually used black raspberries and admittedly a few more than the two cups the recipe called for (I told you before, my parents had an overwhelming crop of both black and red raspberries this year!) -- It was amazing. I would gladly take all of my parents raspberries and make pint after pint of this gelato.

I have also tried the marscapone gelato recipe, which was also very good, but I found myself a little disappointed since I was trying in vain to reproduce Perry's cannoli ice cream, which I still can't buy around Boston. The Ultimate Frozen Dessert marscapone gelato was very good though -- I was just hoping it would be a magical reproduction of the flavor I so desperately love.

I can't wait to make more recipes from their book. I honestly don't know why it took me so long to add it to my library.

Thanks again, Bruce and Mark...we love building our Ultimate collection (we have The Ultimate Peanut Butter Book, too) and I also have plans to get my sister your knitting book soon, too.

An awesome Ciao Bella guilt-free Sorbet Bar

A perfect treat on a 100 degree New England, or anywhere, day! Ciao Bella does it again with their Blueberry Passion Sorbet pops. Somewhat tart and super refreshing. I was very psyched to have these in the freezer yesterday when it hit 103 degrees. What's even better is that I felt no guilt eating it. It's simple... all natural Blueberry sorbet swirled with all natural Passion Fruit sorbet. Love it and it was honored with Self Magazine's "Best Fruit Pop" award in their 3rd annual Healthy Food Awards lists being dairy and fat free and a lonely 70 calories. Love it even more! The photo of my bar is a little sad because they didn't survive the heat all that well, or the delivery (thanks Ciao Bella for sharing with us!) so it's actually missing part of the bar along the bottom (see pic of it on box below...much bigger) but I had to share what's inside the box because these are super good and look yummy too. There are 3 to a box and definitely a decent size. 

Happy Vanilla Ice Cream Day!

Happy Vanilla Ice Cream Day!

The most popular flavor of ice cream in the United States is said to be vanilla. Honestly, it's not what I ever choose first when there is a big list of choices, but it is familiar and simple and at the same time it's the only flavor I will ever have in a sundae.

I'd have to say my two favorite vanilla ice creams are the now non-existent Brigham's French Vanilla and Carvel Vanilla (but this might not even count since 1. It has to be covered in rainbow sprinkles and 2. It might just be for sentimental reasons). I do recall once having an amazing vanilla gelato at Papa Razzi years (maybe 15 or so years) ago, but this could be a glorified memory and/or maybe it was a one time thing. I don't know enough to really count it among my favorites.

Above all, it's not that I don't like vanilla, or even that I haven't enjoyed the vanilla that I have had -- the thing is, I just don't think I have been blown away by any vanilla -- there aren't many vanilla's (see exceptions above) that really stand out and make me want to order vanilla above all other flavors.

I want to know what you think. What's the best vanilla ice cream you've ever had? Was it in a carton? Homemade? At a stand? At a shop? Was it french vanilla? Did it have specks of vanilla bean? Please do tell!