heaven...thy name is Garcia (Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia)

Member Name: freddiesmom

Product:	Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia
Date:	03/03/04 (1324 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Deeeeelicious, creamy, just go get some!

Disadvantages: a bit pricey

If heaven exsits it's in a tub of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream. If hell exisits, it's when you realize the tub of Cherry Garcia is empty.
Ben and Jerry's make lots of ice cream flavors, only a few of which are available here in the UK. As I found out, they rotate what is available here so there are occasions when there is no Cherry Garcia to be found, those are low days indeed. I'd stock up but then I'd just eat more.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream fall into the "premium" range of ice creams. This means that it comes in a pint size tub, has very little air in it and costs lots. The ingredients in Cherry Garcia are:
Cream, Skim Milk, Liquid Sugar, Water, Cherries, Egg Yolks, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Coconut Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Cocoa, Natural Flavors, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Guar Gum, Caramel Color, Red Cabbage Juice Extract (For Color), Milkfat, Soya Lecithin, Carrageenan.

MMMMMMMM. Love that Red Cabbage Juice Extract, actually that is a whole lot better than a chemical colouring I guess. This ice cream is actually pretty good for using "real" ingredients.

Cherry Garcia ice cream was named in tribute to the late Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead fame. This flavour was suggested to Ben and Jerry's by a fan. You too can suggest a Ben and Jerry's flavour by going to www.benjerry.com

Now, I realize that officially a whole pint of ice cream reeeeeaaaally isn't just one serving but, it is convenient not to have to scoop it. When you first pry b
ack the lid on a tub of Cherry Garcia you will note a firm creamy ice cream with a slight pinkish tinge to it and flakes of chocolate and bits of cherry throughout. The tub is filled right up to the top and there will even be a little taste of the ice cream stuck to the lid. Don't let that go to waste, get in there and scrape it off...quick before it melts!

If you have never had a premium ice cream before I must warn you, directly out of the freezer it is hard. I mean it is next to impossible to get the spoon in there. See why it comes in convenient sized tubs for wrapping your hands around! You have two choices here as I see it. You can leave the ice cream sitting on the counter for 10 minutes while you sit in another room waiting...waiting...waiting...waiting. Or you could get that tub and eat the ice cream from around the edges working your way inwards. This way you get the bits that are softening slightly. Actually, it is best to let it soften slightly to get the best flavor.

The flavor of Cherry Garcia is fabulous. The ice cream base is cherry flavoured, though very subtley so. It is very creamy, sweet but not cloying and has a slight fruitiness to it. It is packed full of bits of dark chocolate and chewy tangy cherries. The chocolate retains its bittersweet chocolate flavor despite being frozen, it is not waxy at all. There are just enough chunks to have a few in each bite but not be overloaded, after all we're here for the ice cream. There are no nuts in it like the description says. When you take a bite of the ice cream, let it linger on your tongue. It will melt ever so slowly lightly bathing your mouth in the rich cherry luciousness...crunch down on some of those chocolate bit and let the rest smoothly melt away...repeat.

Cherry Garcia is definitely not a diet food, unless you're on the same diet I am! &#
73;t has 260 calories per 1/2 cup serving...ha ha ha, !/2 cup serving! In that serving is 15g of fat!

Ben and Jerry's sells for about £3.79 a tub but occasionally you may see it on for £5.00 for two. Now, it may seem like a lot for a small tub of ice cream but you get what you pay for. In this case it is a delicious, creamy, high quality ice cream that isn't made with lots of fake stuff or pumped full of air.

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