Non-Jewish Parve Ice Cream: Thank God
Rating Advisory: P
I don't generally post about kashrut issues, mostly because I am very cynical about the mercenary commercialism of the institution and I don't want to turn off my readers. But I can no longer hold my silence.
I love ice cream. I can eat it for breakfast, aruhat eser, lunch, supper and midnight snack (Hebrew?). Although I don't like to, sometimes I can live without it, such as when I am fleishich. In fact, I would never touch the parve stuff. Depending on the brand it can taste like many things; sometimes something good, but usually like you know what--and never like ice cream. (Incidentally, the same goes for Passover ice cream and the holov yisroel stuff, although the latter always tastes like you know what.)
On the way home from our Woodmere outing this past Shabbat (hopefully more on that in a future post), we stopped off in Trader Joe's on our host's recommendation. For those of you (like us) who've never been there, it is a supermarket that specializes in organic and other unusual food products.
We overwhelmed by all the new products and brands, as well as by numerous kashruth symbols that we had never seen before. In the freezer section I noticed a selection of soy ice cream (OU-P). My first instict was to take a container home to try it out on Shabbat, but then my better senses got a hold of me and I put it back. I've never tasted good parve ice cream and why should the "Double Rainbow" brand be any different.
I don't know what happened to me, but as we were on line I decided to run and grab a quart of Double Rainbow's "very cherry chip" flavor. I guess I figured that if they actually sell it in a non-Jewish store then it has to taste at least semi-decent. I tried it out as soon as I got home (almost nothing in the world is better than partially melted ice cream) and was delightfully surprised--this stuff is good. And it tastes like ice cream!
So how good is it? So good that when I went to the freezer for a little snack before retiring for the night I pushed aside the quarts of Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip and cookie dough flavors and grabbed Double Rainbow's very cherry chip. (I'm actually eating from the container right now as I type up this post and I am wondering if there will even be any left forShabbat tomorrow.)
Which leaves me with one question: Why is it that Double Rainbow can make a delicious parve ice cream but Jews can't? Heck, why is it that Double Rainbow's parve ice cream tastes better than the dairy cholov yisroel crap? (I'm not even going to get into the pricing differentials, though if you are interested I think Double Rainbow was just $3.69 a quart.)
Update: click here.
I don't generally post about kashrut issues, mostly because I am very cynical about the mercenary commercialism of the institution and I don't want to turn off my readers. But I can no longer hold my silence.
I love ice cream. I can eat it for breakfast, aruhat eser, lunch, supper and midnight snack (Hebrew?). Although I don't like to, sometimes I can live without it, such as when I am fleishich. In fact, I would never touch the parve stuff. Depending on the brand it can taste like many things; sometimes something good, but usually like you know what--and never like ice cream. (Incidentally, the same goes for Passover ice cream and the holov yisroel stuff, although the latter always tastes like you know what.)
On the way home from our Woodmere outing this past Shabbat (hopefully more on that in a future post), we stopped off in Trader Joe's on our host's recommendation. For those of you (like us) who've never been there, it is a supermarket that specializes in organic and other unusual food products.
We overwhelmed by all the new products and brands, as well as by numerous kashruth symbols that we had never seen before. In the freezer section I noticed a selection of soy ice cream (OU-P). My first instict was to take a container home to try it out on Shabbat, but then my better senses got a hold of me and I put it back. I've never tasted good parve ice cream and why should the "Double Rainbow" brand be any different.
I don't know what happened to me, but as we were on line I decided to run and grab a quart of Double Rainbow's "very cherry chip" flavor. I guess I figured that if they actually sell it in a non-Jewish store then it has to taste at least semi-decent. I tried it out as soon as I got home (almost nothing in the world is better than partially melted ice cream) and was delightfully surprised--this stuff is good. And it tastes like ice cream!
So how good is it? So good that when I went to the freezer for a little snack before retiring for the night I pushed aside the quarts of Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip and cookie dough flavors and grabbed Double Rainbow's very cherry chip. (I'm actually eating from the container right now as I type up this post and I am wondering if there will even be any left for
Which leaves me with one question: Why is it that Double Rainbow can make a delicious parve ice cream but Jews can't? Heck, why is it that Double Rainbow's parve ice cream tastes better than the dairy cholov yisroel crap? (I'm not even going to get into the pricing differentials, though if you are interested I think Double Rainbow was just $3.69 a quart.)
Update: click here.
Labels: Food, Jewish Community, Kashruth
posted by Lion of Zion at 12:55 AM
18 Comments:
I always wondered why it is so hard for them to make a decent cholov yisrael ice cream....
ice cream is my weakness as well.flying saucers,mint chocolate chip,jamoca almond fudge,pralines and cream,vanilla with chocolate sprinkles[called "jimmies" in philadelphia],butter pecan.I know what I'm having for lunch today!
First of all, it was very nice meeting you this past shabbos.
I have to say that over the past few years the Chalav Yisrael ice creams have improved greatly. I have a brother-in-law who only eats chalav yisrael so at family events we always try to have some Jewish ice cream so he is not left out when we are eating our hagen dasz and carvel. I've got to tell you that some flavors of Kleins...really not bad.
Hey Ari,
We were in Rochester, and Reva made napolians for my friends. Beraishis is coming, so I can take Danny's Shadal translation back to shul. I like that the Rav has taken an interest in the translations vs Rashi at times. One day maybe you can teach me hebrew.
Keep in touch!
Upstairs from Jacob da Jew
Milk milked by hasidim is not chalav yisrael.
You said that you found numerous kosher symbols you were unfamiliar with. Is there a place to get a list of the reliables? When we were in Rochester, we found some weird ones.
Ari,
There are more. The double choclate (dairy) is also great. My kids love the mango/vanilla flavor which is parve. Don't waste your hard earned money on kleins. Also, trader joes has a directory of hashgacha symbols in the store.
Look at the price of koshe meat/chicken which is much cheaper that the kosher stores. This is particulary true now when these stores tend to increase prices and "rape" us because of no othe options.
Goubg there now. Will pick up your pick and give it a try. They do not have belly lox...
http://www.kosherquest.org
RAFI:
probably for the same reason that most kosher pizza is crap and Kosher Delight can get away with selling s burger the size of a quarter with one ring of onion for 5 bucks. which is . . . i'm not really sure. we're all suckers?
probably something to do with the fact that in many cases these jewish brands have a monopoly on a captive market. although this is not always true. it explains why the pizza store in philie i once ate in was gross. but what about in brooklyn where you can literally find a pizza store on every block in some instances?
HAIM:
i prefer chipwiches to flying saucers. though i've recently gotten hooked at work on nestle's toll house cookie ice cream sandwiches
BATSHEVA:
nice meeting you as well.
"I have a brother-in-law who only eats chalav yisrael"
now that is what i call mesirat nefesh.
"I've got to tell you that some flavors of Kleins...really not bad."
i haven't had kleins in a while. unless its improved . . .
"we always try to have some Jewish ice cream so he is not left out when we are eating our hagen dasz and carvel."
i was at a birthday party for my wife's friend and i got all excited because i saw an ice cream cake in the kitchen. i LOVE carvel cakes. but stupid me. of course it was a CY cake; it tasted like water.
ANON:
"Milk milked by hasidim is not chalav yisrael."
correct. i believe they call it cholov yisroel. but since i don't buy CY i'm not really too sure about these things.
ANON:
"My kids love the mango/vanilla flavor"
if this is who i think it is, i saw the mango/vanil in your freezer. i was, however, afraid to touch it. mango is not my thing. isn't that a girl's fruit?
"Don't waste your hard earned money on kleins."
don't worry, i don't
"Also, trader joes has a directory of hashgacha symbols in the store."
i was considering asking them, but i was a bit embarrassed (not sure why). also, it still wouldn't tell me which ones are actually reliable
ANON:
"They do not have belly lox..."
heaven for you would be costco and trader joes under one roof? (if this is who it think it is)
JACOB:
"Reva made napolians for my friends."
lucky you
"Beraishis is coming, so I can take Danny's Shadal translation back to shul."
so you're trying out shul again? (-;
be careful. in our neighborhood some shuls could kick you out for bringing shadal with you (especially if you actually bring it to shul on shabbat).
"I like that the Rav has taken an interest in the translations vs Rashi at times."
i'm not sure which rav you are referring to. shadal?
i belong to the yahoo leining group. i recently cross-posted there my post on shadal's critque of rashi's understanding of the principles of trope and how it caused him to err in a translation (http://agmk.blogspot.com/2007/08/did-rashi-misunderstand-trope.html#links).
another member of the group responded that shadal was wrong and that it is disrespectful to question the knowledge of a rishon. i didn't understand this because other rishonim themselves disagreed with rashi's interpretations.
"One day maybe you can teach me hebrew."
danny would be a better teacher
ANON:
"Is there a place to get a list of the reliables?"
there are lists out there that identify the different symbols. but the problem is that determining which ones are reliable can depend on who you ask.
take where we live for example (assuming this is who i think it is). when i grew up the vaad was acceptable. today many don't eat from it. on the other hand, some people don't eat from gornish's hasgacha. so which one is reliable? or look at individual establishments. is pic n pay acceptable? what about famous pita? all depends on who you ask.
(see my next response to anon.)
ANON:
"http://www.kosherquest.org"
thanks for the link. but who gets to determine what is reliable? for example, i did not see vaad kashrut of massachusetts ("KVM") on the list (a lot of the items at trader joes has this hashgacha). is this an oversight or does he feel KVM is not reliable? why not?
My weakness too. I actually found a real Rocky Road Ice Cream (real Marshmellows, not fluff) and it was fantastic. Ou-D. Unfortunately, when I got ahold of it again the real was replaced with fluff. Too bad.
Sephardi Lady:
not to get philosophical on a blog . . . but is it better to have tasted and then be deprived or to have never tasted altogether!
I would love to send you a sample of my own Parve Ice Cream for you to compare with Double Rainbow. I promise you, it's so good, you'll want to double check for the hechsher. Sorry, but this is not an open invite for everybody to schnore some free ice cream. Send me an email and check out my website: www.shannonroadicecream.com
FYI: The website is not yet complete, so don't judge a book by its cover.
I used to be very disappointed with the quality of parve and chalav yisroel ice cream......being a former Hagan Dazz, Ben and Jerries, and Edys Junkie ( a pint every other day...)When I moved to Brooklyn, I discovered a company called Sweet Choice - it has several stores in Brooklyn and they make excellent ice cream - both Chalav Yisroel and Parve Flavors.....incidentally they also have ice cream cakes, and very beautiful specialty ice cream desserts that look practically like peices of art - or really fun grabs for kids at your next pool party, bar/bat mitzvah, shabbos gathering, ( or in my case...every other day habit .)
The pricing is higher - but that is always the case with smaller "mom and pop" stores with specialty items than companies that mass produce like Edys....
In any case - I highly recommend their ice cream, and ice cream treats. If you visit the shop - they also have soft serve available - and make many "Dairy Queen" like desserts ( Blizzards, etc.....for those of us who like DQ - but have a need to be parve or Chalav Yisroel every now and then.)
Sweet Choice
(718) 253-9131
1538 Coney Island Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11230
3006 Avenue L
Nostrand Ave & Avenue L
Brooklyn, 11210
For those who are ok without chalav yisroel and are missing Dairy Queen blizzards - try out cold stone creamery on w.72nd st on the upper west side of Manhattan - it's fab....and kosher ( though the ou-d, or kaf-k I think). ( note - not all franchise locations are certified kosher - but this one is.)
LEAH:
my son is allergic to dairy and i treat him to ice cream once in a while at sweet choice. i guess it's not bad, especially compared to a store i took him to recently on ave. m (his chocholate ice cream tasted like it was made from parve chocolate pudding mix)
true that sweet choice ice cream is not bad compared to other brands, but it still doesn't match up. and it's more expensive. especially if you are buying a lot. at baskin robbins 2 quarts is $9 and 3 quarts is $12. does sweet choice even sell by the quart?
i'll have to check out cold stone creamery
thanks for visiting.
you wouldn't by any chance be leah from the yavne minyan?
WWW.VEGANICECREAM.COM
try Turtle Mountain Soy and Coconut Milk Ice cream. I am one of the mashgiachim who visit the plant. Owner is Shomer Shabbas and has mezuzza's all over the factory
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