THE GRAETER GOOD JUST GOT EVEN GREATER

I had the utmost taste sensation of indulging in Graeter's Ice Cream several years ago when I was in Cincinnati, Ohio.  That's where this small batch French style ice cream is produced.  I not only loved the consistency and flavor of the ice cream itself, but it was all about the chocolate chips.

Of the name brands, Ben & Jerry's is certainly not on the top of my chocolate list.  Each time that I tried out a flavor that contained some form of chocolate chips, all I seemed to taste was palm oil.  Ben & Jerry's isn't the only brand that does this to chocolate.  The explanation is that you can't have "real chocolate" in ice cream because the chocolate would be much too hard to bite into.  On the other hand, Graeter's uses a small amount of soy oil instead continuing to maintain the full chocolate flavor.

Here is another factor on the side of Graeter’s. Air goes into ice cream, so if you think you are getting a pint or quart it's just the size of the container and not the weight of 16 oz. etc.  Graeter's actually weighs 16 oz.  I'm not sure about the weight of Ben & Jerry's if you were to get a simple flavor without all of the added "candy" which basically boils down to a lot of added sugar.

The way that Graeter's batches are made is that they are stirring the chocolate "liquid" into the ice cream and the paddles break it up.  This is the reason why the chips are not all the same size.  If fact, you get a little surprise of what is like eating a small chocolate candy bar inside the pint. 

Batches are made two and a half gallons at a time using a French Pot Process where their artisans pour and swirl the delicious ingredients into the spinning two and a half gallon French Pot freezer resulting in a dense and rich cream.
Now, let us get to the flavors starting with the chocolate chip variety including: Black Cherry, Black Raspberry, Buckeye (with peanut butter, cocoa, and peanut butter cookie dough), chocolate chip (with vanilla ice cream), double chocolate chip (with chocolate ice cream), mocha (with real coffee), mint (with real peppermint oi), toffee, and one of the new ones….s’mores that uses milk chocolate chips, soft mini marshmallows and creamy graham crackers. I never engaged in s’mores. I did not appreciate the marshmallow or milk chocolate but did like the graham cracker ice cream. I had thoughts of the  ice cream with cherries and chips for a Cherry Chip Pie.

A chocolate lover's delight is their Dark Chocolate Brownie ice cream packed with soft, chewy brownie bits complementing the richness of the dark chocolate ice cream. Can you really have too much chocolate?

Here is another newer flavor that I tried called Chunky Chunky Hippo, crafted to celebrate the Cincinnati Zoo. With a toffee ice cream base, salted roasted peanuts and milk chocolate caramel truffles and a portion of proceeds benefit the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.

Graeter’s came up with a “mystery” flavor that turned out to be Maple Cinnamon Crunch, a sweet maple ice cream and loaded with crunchy cinnamon covered shortbread pieces. Like having breakfast (any excuse to have their ice cream will do).

“Our annual Mystery Flavor unveil is a favorite time of year for all of us at Graeter’s,” shares Chip Graeter, 4th generation family member. “This year’s flavor is exceptional, and we’re really excited to bring it back into scoop shops throughout Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Chicago and Pittsburgh.”

Yes, I don’t have to always indulge in chocolate ice cream or chocolate chips although my absolute two favs are the raspberry chocolate chip and the black cherry chocolate chips. It’s the best way to enjoy some healthy fruit. Okay, that’s not really true. I love cherries and raspberries. Unless you grow your own or can pick them at a farm, raspberries don’t get the ripe sweetness that my flavor buds crave. Same with purchasing cherries that appear to be ripe because they look that way. Graeter’s does have a few selections of sorbet, of which I must try the raspberry and the lemon as a palate cleanser.

No  If you go to their website, you can either order online or find a location near you that sells Graeter’s. www.graeters.com

No,I haven’t tried all of the flavors and there are a lot more than I have already mentioned.

FAIRWAY THANKSGIVING PREVIEW

Went to the Fairway Market in Douglaston where they were having a free tasting from their Thanksgiving catering menu.  Got there before the lines were long.  Who says "there's no free lunch"?

Start at the beginning of a few hosted tables with a choice of either the Autumn Vegetable Soup or Butternut Squash Soup.  Me?  I had to sample both.  As much as I expected the butternut to be the winner for me, it was the vegetable that I thoroughly enjoyed more.  (Not that I didn't like the butternut). Here is one shopper opting for the veggie...

while another opted for the butternut.

Next tasting was of the roasted butternut squash....a bit different from the soup.  That was a good one.

Here's another shopper indulging.

Candied sweet potatoes is a must and what good is having turkey if you can't enjoy the stuffing.  Oh yes, there was turkey (white meat or dark meat), cranberry sauce, gravy.

The finale was dessert choice of either pumpkin or apple pie.

A copy of the catering menu was on hand and I'm told that if you just want the non-catered food....minus the cooked turkey...it will all be available at the deli counter. 

I was here for a few other things.  Fairway has their own hazelnut spread imported from Italy.  I'm doing a taste test between their yummy and Nutella.  Will get back on this.

Now, here's a new thing...craze?  Not sure. Fairway's Hannah Howard wrote about it.  Fruit flavored vinegars.  They are called Balsamic Drinks.  With a one to five ratio of vinegar to a liquid such as water, seltzer or even in a cocktail.  The stuff is supposed to be good for your system.  I'll do some searching on this.  In the meantime, not being one for vinegar in the first place, I wanted to at least taste some of them.

I picked out cherry, blueberry, pomegranate, and ginger, thinking of the health properties alone.  I mixed the cherry with water and blueberry with water and expected to get that acidic tart taste. OMG! Now I can understand the craze!  It is really delicious and slightly sweet from the ripe grapes. Now I'm going to look into how much can the stomach tolerate this.  It's imported from Italy, although I don't know if it comes from the same region as the hazelnut spread.

Finally...another comparison on ice cream.   Gifford's World Best Chocolate vs Graeter's Chocolate.  "World's Best" puts me in a challenge alone...being a chocoholic.   Quart size of Gifford's as no pint size is available.   Don't ever assume that the weight of a quart of ice cream is more than a pint.  It's all about how much air goes into it and how it's packed.  Sorry, Gifford's but your quart weighed less than the pint of Graeter's.   Didn't even have to put it on a scale.  Held it in my hand and made sure I used the same hand to get a sense of the weight. 

Ingredients of Gifford's. Cream, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Whey, Nonfat Dried Milk, Dextrose, Soy Lecithin, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Carrageenan, Vanilla.

Ingredients of Graeter's. Cream, milk, cane sugar, skim milk, cocoa (processed with alkali), eggs, carob bean gum, guar gum. All Natural

Satisfaction of Gifford's (Who the heck voted?  Is is sold all over the world?) was like having a very cold milk chocolate drink.  So full of air!  Taste was okay...after all...I am a chocoholic. 

WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO MY GRAETER'S

I was at Stop and Shop today and looking to buy my favorite ice cream, Graeter's.  OMG what have they been doing with it?  There was more than just freezer burn on these.  Doesn't anyone in the frozen food section notice?  This is not the first time and it looks as though they are not looking to fix it, either.  So, what happens when the reports go in saying that people are not buying the ice cream? 

I don't think you'll find this happening at Fairway Markets.  














Also, check out the signs.  You have a choice of buying strawberries or ones that are sweet for the same price and the same with cherries.  Hmmmm...which one would you choose?

GREAT FOR GRAETER'S

Just got word that all 12 Fairway Markets will be having a sale on Graeter's Ice Cream.  Usually $5.99 and on sale for $4.99.  So worth it.  I'll be checking out the flavors.  Sale is from June 3 to June 27th.  It missed the flyer...will see if it is in next week's flyer.  Ah....for the Graeter good.

FAIRWAY FAIRS IN RED HOOK

I went to the Fairway Market in Red Hook.  After Hurricane Sandy, this venue had to have an extreme makeover.  The location is just near the water in Brooklyn.  There were some major changes of which I wouldn't be able to comment on as this was the first visit to their Red Hook venue.  You need a map and they give you one.  I think I needed a GPS, but managed most of it.

I met up with the owner of the Fairway Markets, Howard Glickberg, who happened to be in the produce area.  Shopping in this section is an organic experience!  It's the first area one encounters as you enter the store.  It's so hard to make choices and the varieties are vast. 

I met the store manager, Andy Zuleta, who gave me the lowdown (and map).  I asked him about mushrooms.  When you buy mushrooms, they need to be washed.  What about mushrooms that are sliced?  It's not as easy to clean sliced mushrooms.  Are they already washed?  "Not necessarily", said Andy, "unless the label says so. However, if you are buying any produce that Fairway is cutting up, it is washed."  That proves to me that paying more for sliced mushrooms isn't really worth it over the price of whole mushrooms.

I continued my "tour" and checking out the meat department.  They had corned beef on sale for $3.99 lb. Not in the vacuum packed version but they do their own brining in a barrel.  Is it worth paying $1 or so per pound more?  I was going to do a comparison after purchasing two pounds and cooking it up.

I don't like cooking it in the liquid that it comes with.  I find it to be too salty and so I soak it in a pot and change the water.  I then cooked it up on a medium heat for a little more than 2 hours.  OMG!  It tasted not only better than any that I have cooked but better than any that I've gotten at a deli.  Going back for more.  When it comes down to it, $3.99 per pound for beef is not expensive and it comes out soft.  Great as a sandwich using challah bread that they get baked for them.  Add some cole slaw and you have corned beef and cabbage!

Cream cheese.  Fairway has this brand called Ben's.  It costs $5.99 per pound...WHAT?  There is no guar gum or any other additives.  Really delicious.  I then had to venture to the deli section for lox.  They do make their own lox, is the least expensive and tastes just great.  What I decided to do was buy a container of end slices with a combo of lox for more than less than half price per pound of any of the lox and to set off the high price for the cream cheese.  Then visited the bakery to get a few bagels. 

Graeter's Ice Cream hadn't arrived as yet.  I'll be back!