Frozen confections! Ice cream, sorbet, gelato, sorbeto... Thinking of it makes my mouth water. I live in Boston, so having the Ben & Jerry's Vermont factory a state away is a great thing. I've also tried food from smaller businesses like the Rhode Island based Roba Dolce.
The accompanying image is from the bed of my scanner. Two lids serving as testimony of a tale of two flavors. The one on the left, and it's predecessor on the right.
As a fan of these foods, I've witnessed the power of the people. If something doesn't feel that well, it may be taken out of retail circulation. If there's public outpouring of love for a flavor in moratorium, the company may very well put it back in production. I remember the story of Ben & Jerry's "Dave Matthews Band Magic Brownies". While I respect the views of people who prefer the safer favors, I like to see the companies get creative while in good taste (pun intended). The thing about Magic Brownies is that it presented itself to bring three main components to the table. Vanilla ice cream, fudge brownies, and a raspberry swirl. Aesthetically it looked great, but it tasted like black raspberry ice cream and fudge brownies. I wasn't tasting the three features for their separate qualities.
What do I do? I wrote. I put down the spoon, got the computer, and wrote the company a polite e-mail with suggestions. Having seen peanut butter filling pretzels (i.e. "Chubby Hubby"), I was thinking why can't the company fill the fudge brownies with the raspberry swirl. It would separate the flavors of the swirl and the cream, it would saturate the brownies with luscious berry flavor, and when in the process of production, should some brownies burst. The randomness would create some unique visual features in the ice cream.
A few months later, there was a sell-off. A "Dave Matthews Band Magic Brownies: Encore Edition" was introduced, and the two sold concurrently. The change wasn't exactly what I had suggested, but the statement of separating the components was to be noted. If as one lone writer or one of the many fans, I'd like to take some personal pride in bringing this change. The Encore Edition took out all but the fudge brownies and instilled a sweet cream swirl in with black raspberry ice cream. I'm not sure scientifically how this altered the taste experience, but it did. Encore Edition outsold the original, and eventually was the lone DMB flavor from B&J's.
That's what I have to say about from the perspective of this connoisseur and reviewer. I welcome any comments about your experience with this sell-off.
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