Save the World Ben & Jerry-style (Ben & Jerry's One Sweet Whirled)

Member Name: cmh4135

Product:	Ben & Jerry's One Sweet Whirled
Date:	25/11/03 (573 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic flavour

Disadvantages: Not so readily available

I have this theory. You're either a B&J lover or a Haagen-Dazs lover (assuming that you like ice-cream). I fall (Bailey's aside), firmly into the B&J camp.

Ben & Jerry's ice-cream is one of those products that sells itself by being a little different. From the "don?t you feel sorry for them" histrionics of the company, to the natty flavours and unmistakable tub designs, B&J stand out from the crowd that is the luxury ice-cream market.

One of the things that B&J seem to try to do is to be topical ? they launch products with satirical names and often have limited editions backing a cause. One Sweet Whirled falls into this latter category.

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The Ice-cream
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Light caramel and coffee ice-cream is packed with chunks of coffee flavoured chocolate chips with caramel and marshmallow swirls running throughout. Mmmmmm... smell that wonderfully, fresh-brewed coffee smell....

The caramel and coffee ice-creams are evenly balanced. I simply adore coffee ice-cream and had worried that the caramel would take the bite out of the coffee. No such worry. The creamy flavours combine perfectly to leave a decidedly coffee taste with a hint of sweetness. This is NOT a sickly ice-cream.

The caramel swirls are evident, lovely soft runny caramel (why doesn't this freeze solid?). There is just the right amount of goo here and it makes for an interesting texture to the ice-cream rather than a dominant flavour. The use of textures is one area where I think B&J do score over Haagen-Dazs. HD seem to throw things together in the hope that the textures and flavours will layer, but more often than not, I find that I have a confusing experience of individual tastes and flavours, rather than a combined whole.

I cannot locate the marshmallow swirls.

The high note of the ice-cream has to be the coffee flavoured chocolate chips. They are plentiful and chunky. They stick in your teeth
and allow you to crunch the ice-cream. The flavour is just so ? so coffee! It has the bite of an espresso, but the smoothness of a latte. Anyone who managed to catch B&J?s "From Russia with Buzz" and loved it will adore this. It's even more refined with the same level of bite!

As a whole, the ice-cream is exceedingly pleasant to look at. It has a natural look, none of the garish artificial colours here! Think of a caramel coloured chocolate chip ice-cream, increase the size of the chips and you'll be there.

If I have a complaint about the product it is two-fold ? first, few shops seem to have this flavour in stock and second, this ice-cream is so hard to get out of the tub! You will need an industrial strength ice-cream scoop to attack this one. Even leaving it to stand for 5 minutes before serving does not do the trick! The upside of this is that you tend to eat slightly less at a go (or eat it slightly slower)!

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The Packaging
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Who cares what the packaging looks like? If a packet is going to influence your buying decision more than the contents then I almost feel sorry for you. You'll spot the B&J range ? they?re the brightly coloured ones in the freezer section. The tubs are clearly labelled as to the flavour inside but do be prepared for a visual onslaught ? these tubs (and indeed the names of the flavours) are far from subtle.

The packaging does merit a mention, however. One complaint I have about the B&J range is that they do not have seals over the top of the pots (cue visual image of a sea-lion and a brightly coloured ball). Haagen-Dazs has a plastic film to pull back, protecting the contents from tampering fingers. Not so here, so select a pot from the bottom of the freezer!

The other little gripe is that the cardboard tub and its lid have a tendency to go out of shape making the seal far from good (no fish reward there then). The pummelling that is req
uired to get the ice-cream out of the tub generally means that you hold onto the tub rather firmly ? the top goes wobbly and the rest as they say?. Just remember not to pick the tub out of the freezer by its lid. It WILL fall off!

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The Campaign
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As I mentioned before, this flavour is a campaign flavour. The name comes from the name of a song, One Sweet World, performed by the Dave Matthews Band (who they?). B&J have also involved the WWF (wildlife, not wrestlers ? although wrestlers may be more appropriate for getting the stuff out of the tub!).

The campaign is simple ? to fight global warming by reducing CO2 emissions and some money from the sale of the flavour will go to a trust fund set up to aid environmental causes. Call me a cynic, but I can't find evidence of just how much will be donated. I guess something, even if it is only raising awareness, is better than nothing.

A good website has been set up to support the campaign ? it provides some quite interesting info: http://www.onesweetwhirled.org

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Stockists
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You should be able to find B&J icecream in most major supermarkets in 500ml tubs retailing at about £3.50. It is often on offer though at 2 for £5 or similar. Certain cinemas and cafes also stock this in mini-tubs or for sale as cornets. Tubs of this (still in date) keep surfacing from time to time!



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The Bottom Line
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A superb quality ice-cream that is simply heavenly.



CREDITS

I?d like to thank the SeeBoard for switching off our electricity at home for 6 hours as this meant that I just had to finish the tub in case it melted in the freezer.

I'd not like to thank my dentist who attacked me the next morning and left me with what an American friend so aptly described as "pillow face" ? a half numb face and a smile that goes up at one corne
r and down at the other. I could do with that ice-cream now!

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