PRODUCT REVIEW: Organicville Caramel Swirl Ice Cream, organic, low-fat, gluten-free
Daughter Heather and I usually head to the organic food co-op with a carefully-prepped shopping list, and sticking to the list is a pretty good economical habit.
We had just about everything on the list. One more aisle to go down before heading to the checkout—the aisle with coolers of meat, frozen fruits and veggies, and frozen desserts. Heather stopped to eye the ice cream offerings. Then she spotted a pint-sized pail she’d never seen, Organicville’s Caramel Swirl ice cream, certified organic, low-fat, and gluten-free. She noted that Will, the cold foods buyer, had sale-priced it. Add it all up: On a warm autumn day in Central Minnesota, Heather stumbled upon a new ice cream brand in a flavor we love, the pail was on sale….
About that shopping list we pack along on food shopping trips—we very smartly build in a little wiggle room for those irresistible finds we happen across. Ice cream has long been a fave in our family, starting with my mom who had zero resistance to a new flavor (or, for that matter, old favorites).
Organicville's pint pail of creamy-good low-fat ice cream. Love the packaging!
Spoons at the ready, lid peeled off the pot of cool goodness, we each dived in. I’m not sure if Heather’s eyes rolled back, I know mine did as I savored that refreshing spoonful. “Very creamy,” Heather said, “tastes like a full-fat ice cream.” Vanilla was the first flavor to bombard our tastebuds, followed by caramel. Thankfully, we’d spotted plenty more “veins” of caramel waiting to be mined, later.
Our organic food co-op is a small community of like-minded shoppers who value having a trustworthy place to buy organic foods; read non-GMO foods. The staff there is like extended family, almost always fun to talk to, and dedicated in providing great service and great products. So it wasn’t unusual when I emailed Will shortly after our tasting to pass on kudos and to ask a couple questions. Subject line: “Yum!”
How had he picked this yummy ice cream, I wondered; Heather and I really loved it. He said that Organicville makes other products that another buyer orders—dressings, salsas, stuff like that. He added,
“Their products seemed good, the prices are always reasonable, and they don’t just meet the bare minimum of 75% organic ingredients for certification the way some companies do.”
What did I tell you? Will and his co-workers are always on the lookout for the best-of-the-best products, and that dedication is part of what makes our co-op so successful.
He went on, “Also, I’d been looking for a low fat or no-fat ice cream to compliment our super-naughty ice cream selection.” I found out that Will’s not a caramel fan like some of us are, but he didn’t let that stop him from bringing in Caramel Swirl.
So there you have it. A savvy food buyer, a couple of savvy shoppers, and an authentically great-tasting ice cream all came together serendipitously one warm autumn day.
Share this:
July is National Ice Cream Month. I’ll make mine organic!
Whoever has the job of picking ‘National Name-A-Food-Month’ sure got this one right! It’s July, the second month of summer, and it’s bound to be hot and uncomfortable somewhere in our great land. At times like those, what goes down better than scrumptious ice cream? Mmm…nothing!
Both of my daughters are culinary whizzes. Robin bakes and decorates cakes, celebratory ones that friends and acquaintances request her to make, and she loves to bake dozens and dozens of cookies and candy at Christmastime. Heather loves to cook and bake…and make ice cream using organic ingredients. Part of the fun for her is developing new flavors. Move over vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. You’re about to be ‘reborn.’
But for those of us who live with dairy allergies, ice cream is anathema (though I, for one, have to admit to sneaking spoonfuls more often than I should). So that I could join in the frozen dessert fun, too, Heather made sorbet, a dairy-free dessert. She came up with a winning, dee-licious flavor—chocolate coconut. I wish I could share a picture of it, however, the soft-serve didn’t translate well to image form.
But I can share this: Every bite was rich, creamy, and paired two of my favorite flavors—chocolate and coconut. In place of the milk and cream, Heather used coconut milk. It caused not one iota of discomfort as I savored each bite.
Making ice cream (or sorbet) is fairly easy, though it is time-consuming. But what joy awaits! Besides the fabulous sorbet Heather made recently, she tried a new ice cream flavor we both fell in love with. The star of the show? Bacon! Just about anything goes in the world of ice cream flavors. Love cheeseburgers? Steak? Pesto? No doubt there is a way to make it happen!
Watching (and tasting) new concoctions move from ‘design board’ stage to fulfillment stage is fun to be part of. Especially when a scoop of never-before-tasted ice cream plunks into a dish that’s been placed in front of me!
I wish I could say Robin and Heather caught the culinary gene from me, but I’m no great shakes in the kitchen. My biggest contribution is being Executive Cheerleader, in charge of Appreciation and Promotion. As such, I’m never too busy for the next knock-em-dead creation!
Natalie M. Rotunda's Organic Pantry Blog 
Recent Comments