Jeni's vs. Graeter's
 

Finally got some of the famed Jeni's ice cream. $13.95 for a pint at my local cheese shop. Got Cherries Jubilee since cherry anything is my favorite dessert.

Had a pint of Graeter's Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip last night, $6.50.

I honestly have no idea why Jeni's is lauded, it's well above Ben & Jerry's but at the same level or below Häagen Dazs.

Graeter's is far, far superior in texture and creaminess, flavor being entirely subjective.

This stuff is great..

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Shaun better than jp licks???

JP Licks is good on a hot summer day when you are out and about, but I wouldn't call it amazing ice cream. I would put Jeni's on the JP Licks level, good/decent.

$112/gallon.

I prefer my homemade concoction, but Blue Bell is a close second. It's killer.

Interesting. We only pay $9.99/pt for Jeni's here at Whole Foods, but I think it used to be 12.99. We really like it A LOT. Some of the best ice cream that I've ever had. But for me, it's not only the manufacturer, but also the flavors. Jeni's Darkest Chocolate ice cream is the best chocolate ice cream I've ever had. I don't really like Hagen Daz. I guess I could try it, it's been a while, but I didn't like it the last couple of times I tried it. It's not bad, there's just something about its texture. There are some Blue Bell flavors that I really like, but I haven't had Blue Bell in a long time.

There are two local places that make excellent ice cream (well, one is gellato), Lick (based out of Austin) and Sweet Cup (gellato) here in Houston.
Jeni's is up there with those two.

Next for me under those three would be Three Twins Ice Cream.

Then Blue Bell would come under that.

Man...I had breakfast with Chip (Graeter) just a couple days ago....

You think the ice cream's good, you should try the custard filled donuts, schnecken or stollen. If they shipped as well as the pints I'd send you some. Let me know if you want me to FedEx some over to you.

Blue Bell is awesome. I downed many a gallon living in Houston. It is the best by far of any "over the counter" ice cream I have vacuumed. Maybe Breyer's is kind of close with their 1.5 QT, single serving offering. :D

It ain't craft ice cream, though. Butterfat content is present but it is not profound. That is the key.

Graeter's is in the craft ice cream group. I had Graeter's in the 80's when my brother was in school in Cincinnati.

Häagen Dazs has declined in quality over the years, I've written to them and conversed with the director of marketing and she bluntly said competition has forced them to use 14 ounce containers to maintain quality and while she didn't come out and directly say it, quality has suffered as well with their new flavors. They are not the same quality.

Only HD Vanilla Bean is the same quality as it was 25 years ago. Honey Vanilla, a flavor from yesterday, was some of the best ice cream I have ever had. It was discontinued to make room for the new flavors and she said it didn't sell that well. I drizzle honey on the Vanilla Bean now after 20 seconds of microwaving and it works.

Would like to try the Jeni's Chocolate but I can't see spending $14 on Jeni's ever again unless I find a $20 on the street while going to pick up some cheese, as a sign from God.

There are some local premium ice cream makers but none of them are that good and I have to wonder, how tough can it be to make amazing ice cream that retails from $5 on up.

Hey Pete!

I certainly owe my love of Graeter's and 10 extra pounds to you! When you see Chip again, let him know how much his ice cream is loved, things like the hand-dropped/formed chocolate chunks are really appreciated.

I think Priority Mail would be fine, 2 days tops, would love to try custard filled donuts. I don't have very much left these days but let me know the boys' sizes and I'll see what I can do.

Hope you are doing well!