Breyers Ice Cream

[Chefzhat]

I've never been a big fan of ice cream, but I buy (bought) Breyers for the family because of the ingredient list: cream, sugar, vanilla. That's it.

Well. Now they've changed the ingredient list to include, among other things, tara gum and a form of msg (for texture and shelf life issues). :eek: Ick. So I wrote to complain, and got this letter back:

Dear Ms K:

Breyers is proud of its all-natural heritage. It's a position we take
very seriously and one we work hard to
maintain. We value the confidence our customers have in our products
and go to great lengths to ensure
exceptional quality and great taste.

So when an overwhelming number of consumers expressed concern over the
texture of our products, we
responded. By adding a natural gum to Breyers® brand product, we've
helped to protect the product's texture
while staying true to our all-natural commitment. We use either carob
bean or tara gum from natural plant
sources to help your favorite Breyers ice cream stay creamier and more
enjoyable for longer periods of time.

Because ice cream is temperature-sensitive, this addition has further
allowed us to ensure your ice cream's quality
throughout it distribution. As you can imagine, ice cream's taste and
texture can be unfavorably affected if
exposed to temperature fluctuations during shipping or storage. Our
customers describe the problem as ice
cream with a "gritty" or "grainy" texture. In fact, growing
distribution and increased handling of our ice cream in
the marketplace has indeed resulted in greater chances for temperature
abuse and heightened potential for texture
problems.

Thank you for sharing your comments. Because we value your feedback
and your business, please use the
enclosure toward another Breyers ice cream purchase, with our
compliments.

Yours sincerely,

Jill Dougherty
Consumer Response Manager


256366

__________
Well, thanks for offering me a coupon (which was NOT included with the e-mail):mad: :mad:

Anyhoo - I thought people might be interested in the fact that Breyers has changed their ingredients. And perhaps anyone might know of an ice cream product that I can purchase to replace it???

Debie

[boisewinesnob]

Get a cuisinart ice cream maker and make it yourself! Seriously, it's not hard and the recipe we used only called for half & half and milk and sugar and whatever flavorings you wanted (other recipes call for eggs, but I didn't want to mess with those).

And even though I understand your frustration, at least they wrote what appears to be a "real" email, specifically answering your questions and not just some standard form letter.

Maybe use the coupons for popsicles (if they make them) or sherbert----if they ever show up, that is ;)

[wallycat]

Haagan-dazs vanilla or coffee...better yet, the strawberry have pure ingredients from what I recall.
I guess I'd better check those out too :mad: :mad:
I used to buy Breyers till I noticed the change.
DRAT those mfgs. !!

[donleyk]

I quit purchasing Breyers because of the grittiness. I agree that I just want natural products in mine so I bought the KA ice cream attachment which we've been very happy with. That said, we wanted ice cream last night so we bought Graeters Buckeye Blitz and I didn't even think about reading the ingredients. I know it's mostly all natural but I will look tonight to find out for sure.

[patissac]

Get a cuisinart ice cream maker and make it yourself! Seriously, it's not hard and the recipe we used only called for half & half and milk and sugar and whatever flavorings you wanted (other recipes call for eggs, but I didn't want to mess with those).

And even though I understand your frustration, at least they wrote what appears to be a "real" email, specifically answering your questions and not just some standard form letter.

Maybe use the coupons for popsicles (if they make them) or sherbert----if they ever show up, that is ;)


I agree, I just got my Cuisinart maker last month and have made at least 5 different kinds of ice cream already. Its super easy plus almost everything I made had 5 or less ingredients. I noticed I don't get a funny after taste also with home made then what I used to get from the store bought. Its always nice to know whats going into your ice cream;)

[mrswaz]

Oddly enough, Blue Bunny. DH bought some just the other day, because it was new and he wanted to try it. It was Premium All natural vanilla bean (this particular flavor) I was really impressed with the flavor, and checked the ingredients. I don't remember exactly, but it was all milk products, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. No gums or additives at all. it was also in a new container that was awesome at keeping out the ice crystals.

Normally I hate Blue Bunny ice cream, but this was really good.

Here's the product website: Blue Bunny Vanilla (http://www.bluebunny.com/ProductDetail.aspx?currentcategoryid=29&productId=409)

[Debralynn]

Speaking of Breyer's................how do they get away with selling a half a gallon of ice cream in a 56 oz container!!!!!! Baskin Robbins has been doing the same thing for years !!!!
Thanks for the addititive info............. All Natural, I think not.

[mbrogier]

We get Haagen Daaz or Ben and Jerrys if we buy ice cream.

Usually we make our own, though. It really isn't that hard. We bought our Cuisinart maker at Tuesday Morning for $37, and it had an extra bowl attached to the box... while we were shopping for makers, the Cuisinart at Williams-Sonoma had a rebate offer for a free bowl.

The Borden Eagle Brand Milk ice cream recipes are really easy and don't require chilling first. They're on the Eagle Brand Milk website.

Also, in the Foods section I posted a recipe for Almond Gelato. It's made with almond paste and is so incredibly rich and delicious. I got the recipe out of a book on ice cream and gelatos I got off of Zooba.com last summer.

[Chefzhat]

We have a churn ice cream maker - NOISY!!!! We use it occasionally, but the boys and DH go through GALLONS of ice cream. I don't think I'd be able to keep up. :D

I'll check out Ben and Jerrys or Haagen daz - thanks for the suggestions!

Debie

[Phoenixcooking]

I make my own and have for a long time, I had an attachment for my old oster kitchen center that I used for about 15 years and now I have a Cuisinart and I love it no ice or salt, just keep the shell in the freezer and it is ready to make ice cream with am minimum of ingredients and you get what ever flavor you like.

[boisewinesnob]

We have a churn ice cream maker - NOISY!!!! We use it occasionally, but the boys and DH go through GALLONS of ice cream. I don't think I'd be able to keep up. :D


Well, you could always get them involved in the making-process! :D
I'm sure the boys would have fun coming up with their own flavors.

[cumulus]

Oddly enough, Blue Bunny. DH bought some just the other day, because it was new and he wanted to try it. It was Premium All natural vanilla bean (this particular flavor) I was really impressed with the flavor, and checked the ingredients. I don't remember exactly, but it was all milk products, eggs, vanilla, and sugar. No gums or additives at all. it was also in a new container that was awesome at keeping out the ice crystals.

Normally I hate Blue Bunny ice cream, but this was really good.

Here's the product website: Blue Bunny Vanilla (http://www.bluebunny.com/ProductDetail.aspx?currentcategoryid=29&productId=409)

Funny- We bought blue bunny the other day and loved the new container as well! The ice cream itself wasn't that bad either, for the price at least. I'm still a fan of Haagan Daaz- but only as an occasional treat :)

As if I needed another reason to buy my own ice cream maker- thanks alot everyone :D