Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Small Batch French Pot Ice Cream Review

I’ve tried (and sometimes over-ate) numerous versions of black raspberry ice cream here and there.  But this   Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Small Batch French Pot Ice Cream   ranks among the best in terms of texture, flavor, absence of artificial colors, and high density.  This ice cream has a deep purple or magenta color (very dark), as it contains lots of real black raspberry puree, which gives it a chocolaty yet fruity flavor.  The black raspberry flavor dominates this item more than the other respective flavors do so in the other Graeter’s ice cream products I’ve reviewed. But it’s lower in fat and calories than most of these others.

Here are my thoughts on this deliciously sweet dessert with the strong black raspberry taste, that could be made a main course if one is overly lured in  by its chocolaty berry combination.  Graeter’s obviously knows how much the addition of a moderate amount of chocolate chips to about any ice cream can appeal to customers, as they offer a complete line of chocolate chip ice creams of various flavors.

 

Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features

  • This ice cream smells just as it tastes; chocolaty and sweet with a decadent amount of black raspberry.  Like the flavor, the aroma does not overpower here, but is pronounced enough so that it can be recognized instantly.  The smell is somewhat subtle and so, truthful about the coconut chocolate berry taste to come.
  • Lots of large and small dark chocolate clumps herein that compliments the berry flavoring nicely.
  • The purple and white colors on the package do not mislead about how delightfully chocolaty black raspberry this treat impresses the palate.
  • They hit a high quality balance between the black raspberry, sugar, and chocolate in this all natural ice cream.  Black raspberry is the dominant flavor here.  But the chocolate compliments it well.
  • It’s definitely not excessively sugary, but sufficiently sweet to have kept me hitting it again and again, at least, until I had finished up the whole pint container.  Shame on me!
  • This is a markedly heavy ice cream, even though it’s somewhat less fatty.  It’s still quite rich.  So you won’t feel that you’re eating low-fat or diet ice creams when enjoying this one.  It’s not at all puffy.
  • Also, this is a somewhat slow-melting ice cream. So you can eat it outside on a hot day for a few minutes without worries that it will melt too quickly.
  • But even in melted form, it’s still notably creamy.
  • No corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup here.  The bulk of the sweetness comes from cane sugar.
  • The label says that Graeter’s makes this ice cream in small, 2-gallon batches.  This suggests that this dessert is less mass-produced than other, less premium brands, and closer in process to home-made ice cream. It sure tastes like it.

 

Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns

  • It would also be great if they included a few grams of fiber per serving here as well, given the chronic shortage of fiber in today’s typical American diet, and given how healthful a little fiber can be.
  • I paid roughly $5 for a pint.  That’s indeed pricy and by no means the cheapest available.  But it was convenient, as I purchased this at a local Sheetz convenience store near my studio.  Plus, this is surely a premium ice cream.  So I expected to pay extra for it. I would however, have liked paying $3 instead of $5.
  • At 8 grams of saturated fat per serving (and there are four servings in the 1-pint container), I get more than my entire day’s allotment of this bad fat in just this one canister.  It’d be awesome if they’d fashion this to taste this good, but without so much saturated fat.  However, to be realistic, saturated fat and great-tasting ice cream seem to go together.  Always.  Therefore, it’d be quite difficult to manufacture a good-tasting ice cream without that all naturally occurring saturated fat.
  • Each serving has 33 grams of sugar, and roughly 132 grams for the whole container of 4 servings.  It could definitely be lower, especially with all the zero-calorie sweeteners available today, and I wish it was.
  • This ice cream is very hard when you first take it out of the freezer.  Thus, It was quite difficult to scoop out for me when I tried it.  But I’d prefer that Graeter’s change nothing, if softening it would at all degrade the natural flavor balances.  I just let it warm up for a few minutes before serving.

 

Ingredients

Contains: cream, milk, cane sugar, black raspberry puree, semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor processed with alkali, cocoa butter, milk fat, soy lecithin, and natural flavors), skim milk, eggs, soy oil, carob bean gum, guar gum, and citric acid.

Allergy note: Ice cream is made on equipment that also processes nut and peanut products.

 

Nutrition Facts

  • Serving size: 1/2 cup or 114 grams.  Servings per container: 4.
  • Calories: 270.  Calories from fat: 120.
  • Total fat: 13 grams, 22% DV.
  • Saturated fat: 8 grams, 40% DV.
  • Trans fat: 0 grams.
  • Cholesterol: 50 grams, 17% DV.
  • Sodium: 40 milligrams, 2% DV.
  • Total carbohydrate: 34 grams, 11% DV.
  • Dietary fiber: 0 grams, 0% DV.
  • Sugars: 33 grams.
  • Protein: 3 grams.
  • Vitamin A: 10% DV.
  • Calcium: 10% DV.
  • Vitamin C: 0% DV.
  • Iron: 0% DV.

 

Product Rating

Though significantly fatty, I found this natural ice cream to be quite tasty, and would therefore highly recommend it to anyone looking for a rich, full consistency in their dairy desserts.  This berry ice cream satisfies with the right amount of everything (except for perhaps the saturated fat content), without going overboard on anything.  Not too much sugar, and not too much berry.  So try it the next time you want some all-natural ice cream,/  I think you’ll probably enjoy very much this classic cold meal topper.  I’d rate this product at 94 out of 100.  I like that they trimmed the fat a little.

 

Where To Buy Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Small Batch French Pot Ice Cream

I bought mine at a local Sheetz convenience store.  But it’s available in many larger grocery outlets and ice cream shops and parlors too.

Look for it in the purple, red, white, and striped light brown, round pint-sized (473 milliliters) canister.

 

References

 

Revision History

  • : Moved this post to the   Tom’s Diet Quest   blog, added whitespace, adjusted ad placement, and extended content.
  • 2012-07-19: Originally published.