Haagen-Dazs "Reserve"

Ha.  They are making ice cream like a snooty cabernet now.  Reserve ice cream - only for the most sophisticated palate. A cult ice cream - only for the very few who are discerning enough to pick it from the grocery shelves.

*****

Knowing that post-wisdom tooth extraction, my daughter was going to be unable to eat solid food, and knowing that cold things would be indicated to help decrease swelling, I went out yesterday to buy her some ice cream.  As I was leaving for the store, she directed me not to get low fat ice cream - she was going to be "suffering" and felt she deserved the "real thing."

Ok.  I could understand that. Normally, I would not have the "real thing" in the house because none of us (ok, me) could resist it and we are all trying to watch our weight (ok, me), but when you have teeth pulled - maybe something a little more indulgent than usual is called for.

Daughter has been an ice cream fan from way back when.

I realized that I was going to have to keep it relatively simple; she wasn't going to be able to chew chocolate chips or butter brickle or cookie dough.  But I wanted it to be something yummy and out of the ordinary - plain old vanilla or chocolate  - - yuck. 

At last, I spotted something intriguing made by Haagen-Dazs.  A general description of the Haagen Dazs product, from Wikipedia (yes, I know it's been around for years - I just liked the description):

"The ice cream comes in many different flavors and is a so-called "super-premium" brand, meaning it is quite dense (very little air is mixed in during manufacture and no emulsifiers such as guar gum are used), and has a high butterfat content. Häagen-Dazs is also meant to be kept at a temperature that is substantially lower than most ice creams in order to keep its intended firmness." 

The flavor I found was called, "Hawaiian Lehua Honey and Cream Reserve." On the package, it described the honey as coming from the Big Island and having "floral notes."  I was immediately intrigued.  Would it have a velvet texture, rich tannins, and be cured in finely aged oak barrels?

Le description on their website:

Flavor notes

Rich, sumptuous waves of cream mingle with evocative glimpses of tropical honey. The rare and delicate texture of the Lehua honey is entirely different from any honey you've ever tasted.

Inspiration

Lehua honey comes from the remote volcanic slopes of Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii. There, honeybees gather nectar from the Ohia tree's fragrant Lehua blossoms. These beautiful red flowers are the unique flavor source for this rare, amber honey.

Food Pairings

Serve on a freshly baked Belgian waffle, then try to resist the aroma of warm waffle mingling with the cool ice cream and tropical honey.

Wine Pairings

A rich and balanced Sauternes from France.

Le picture:

Daughter insisted that I try some.

All kidding aside - I am a chocolate lover.  Always have been.  But this vanilla honey flavered ambrosia might have been the best ice cream I have ever tasted.

Or else maybe I've been eating Weight Watchers low fat ice cream for too long.

We both thought it was fabulous.  Daughter, who ate nothing else today, finished the entire container.

I am thinking that I might have to get some more. Just so husband can try it too.  It would be selfish to keep such a wonderful thing to ourselves.

The Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle sounds pretty good too... 

Comments

[DRaftervoi]

Terri and I tried this last night, based on your recommendation. I'm also on a dentally induced all ice cream diet.

[oceanguy]

The Food Network and Hagen Daz did a competition last year that had people create their own flavors... The winner was Sticky Toffee Pudding though my personal choice would have been the Toasted Coconut Sesame Brittle. Much to my surprise, the latter flavor has found its way into my freezer a couple of times the past couple of months... It's even better than I imagined!

Still I haven't tried the Sticky Toffee Pudding... didn't like the actual pudding when I was in England. I think the Lehua Honey and Sweet Cream is next though!

[DRaftervoi]

Gail's right about the lowfat ice cream: it's like drinking Near Beer. Or decaf. If I can't have the real thing, screw it, I don't want some phony baloney that is SORT of like the real thing, except not as good.