The Big Muddy Ice Cream Blog

Although it's still listed on Walmart's website, Sam's Choice Ice Cream seems to be no more, at least at my Walmart, but there are some interesting new released under the Great Value Brand including some new ice cream flavors as well as some new treats, including the O'Chunka Chocolate Ice Cream Cones, rich and chunky chocolate chip cookie dough mixed with super velvety chocolate brownie dough, nestled in vanilla ice cream side-by-side with chocolate ice cream and coated in chocolate flavored coating in a sugar cone. What is up with that name? Is it trying to be Irish? I don't exactly associate ice cream with Ireland. Some of the other new flavors and treats also had pretty weird names, but not ~fun~ weird or ~whimsical~ weird. Just weird. These cones would have been great had they been manufactured by Ben and Jerry's, and cost more per box, but as they were, it felt like Great Value was kind of skimping on the mix-ins. The cones are slightly smalle...

Without really trying, I've been on a bit of a brownie kick as of late. Maybe brownies will be the it  dessert of 2017? Like move over cupcakes and donuts, here come lots of brownies and blondies in all sorts of fun flavors? I'd be into it, but my dessert and ice cream trend predictions (wishes) don't often come true. This flavor is described as Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Cream with F udge Brownies & a Brownie Batter Core. First off, I don't have a ton to say about the bases. Nothing too exciting here, though it was nice to see simple base flavors in the core series. Other Ben & Jerry's cores have been made too busy by fancy base flavors. The brownies were good, standard delicious moist and dense Ben & Jerry's brownies. However, they seemed smaller than in other B&J's flavors that feature brownies. There also could have been just a few more of them. Last but not least, the core was interesting. My first few bites, I didn...

This semester is flying by at quite a terrifying rate. I can hardly believe it is already spring break, which has more to do with the fact I've done very little work on my final papers than anything else... However, I recently realized it was MARCH and I hadn't yet been to Heyn's this semester. But don't worry, I haven't fallen off the horse with respect to my goal to try every Heyn's flavor before I graduate. Last weekend, I got to check two more flavors off the list when I went to Heyn's with my friend, Tarah, a dessert lover who hadn't tried Heyn's yet! There were a lot of flavors I was thinking about, but Brownie Batter caught my eye, because it was advertised as a rotating special flavor. I'd better try it while I had the chance! Heyn's also has a cake batter flavor I've seen a few times and hadn't tried. I figured, go batter or go home. I was surprised that both of these flavors were plain base flavors. From what I...

About a month ago, I wistfully imagined a Ben and Jerry's chocolate cake batter flavor.  It seemed like my prayers would be answered with the new Brownie Batter Core.  Alas, it was not to be. Brownie Batter Core is described as Chocolate and vanilla ice creams with fudge brownies and a brownie batter core. I'm about to rip into this flavor, so let me clarify that this ice cream was not objectively bad, it was just sub-par for what it should have been.  First the base flavors.  Ben and Jerry's does not have a strong vanilla base or a strong chocolate base.  To me their vanilla base tastes like gross, fake vanilla.  It's not the worst on the market, but far from the best.  The chocolate is not actually that bad, I just expect a brand like Ben and Jerry's who excels in ridiculously decadent flavors specifically designed to help you get over your break-up to have a killer chocolate base.  The chocolate and vanilla bases together were just ...

Dearest Reader, I am officially moved in to my house in Iowa City! And by officially moved in what I mean is half of my possessions are still in boxes and I have a lot more cleaning to do before this place is livable.  But after a long day of unpacking, dusting, and scrubbing cabinets, my feet are tired and I need a break. The exciting part about being in Iowa City is there are a bunch of new ice cream places to try. But before I try any new ice cream places, I have one last Missouri ice cream shop to review. This summer was a summer to revisit old high school favorites. I reviewed The Malt Shop and now I'm going to review Fritz's! Fritz's is a local chain with a few stores around the St. Louis area. There is one in Valley Park, which is the next town over from Fenton, so it was a popular spot in high school. I have not been since high school and last Wednesday my dad and I drove to Fritz's to get some custard. It was pretty busy when we arrived, but nothing Ted D...

A while back Ben & Jerry's took away one of my favorite flavors, Berry Voluntary, a Target exclusive. I was super disappointed, but I am thrilled they are replacing it with the new Brewed to Matter. I'll make this review quick, since Madeline already reviewed it and my opinions on it don't differ too wildly from hers. First, the description, Coffee ice cream with fudge chunks and a brownie batter swirl I'm going to jump straight in with the most interesting part of this ice cream. My sister noted there was a slight nuttiness in this flavor and she wasn't sure where it came from. This was one of the first elements I noticed. Looking at the ingredients list the only place I can think it may have come from is the coconut oil, but I'm not convinced. Madeline said she liked the nuttiness in this flavor, but I didn't. If had been a bit subtler I would have liked it because it would have added a bit of complexity to the coffee base. In reality, I thoug...

HOLD THE PHONE. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. This is a new flavor from Ben and Jerry's that speaks to my soul.  It's like they reached into the very depths of my being and extracted this flavor.  Brewed to Matter is a Target Exclusive flavor described as Coffee ice cream with fudge chunks and a brownie batter swirl. Staaahhhhhhpppp! True story, I caught mono from my roommate because we were eating brownie batter out of a bowl. Worth it. I mean why even bake the damn things at all, just eat the batter. Ok. I will try to stop hyperventilating for long enough to actually review this flavor.  I haven't actually had Ben and Jerry's plain coffee flavor, so I can't compare the coffee base of Brewed to Matter to their 'standard' coffee base.  That aside, it was pretty dang tasty.  It had the flavor of strong, dark coffee mellowed out by the addition of heavy cream and sugar.  There was also a ..... slight nuttiness .... there. I looked at the ingredient list...

My friend Molly asked me to review Yo My Goodness. Yo My Goodness is a fro-yo chain that just opened up a location on Wydown, not far from Wash U, this past spring, when Chill closed. I reviewed the Yo My Goodness Yummy Yellow Cake Batter Flavor  here . However, this was a review of just one flavor, not really the whole experience. As any avid fro-yoer (is some one who yo-yos at a fro-yo place a fro-yo-yoer??) will tell you, fro-yo is not just about the flavors, or just the textures, or just the toppings, but the whole experience. So how do I go about reviewing a froyo place for it's entire experience? I've decided there are a few categories with which I can evaluate the fro-yo experience: 1) The variety of flavors: Is there a good selection? 2) The flavor of my choices. 3) The quality of the combination of my choices. 4) The texture of the fro-yo (or sorbet, etc.) 5) The variety of toppings. 6) Quality of toppings 7) How well my toppings coordinate with my fro-yo flavor...

As a very excited new Central Missouri resident, I am obligated to attempt to overload myself on Central Dairy ice cream. Luckily my AmeriCorps job has helped me out. We went to Jefferson City yesterday as part of our orientation and got to stop by Central Dairy before we went home. YAYAYAY! Interesting fact, Central Dairy is owned by Prairie Farms, but according to reviews online, when they bought it out they didn't change the ice cream! Also their slogan is "Fresh as a Missouri Morning." Which I think is adorable. Especially when cows say it: http://www.centraldairy.biz/images/Morning%20TV.wmv As I attempted to peruse the flavors available in the ever crowded Central Dairy I spotted the flavor entitled Muddy River. I was all like er mah gerd I gotta have this! I even convinced one of my to get it to. Of course, I know that the muddy river they are probably referencing is the Missouri River, not the Mississippi a name is a name and the name of this ice cream made i...

After leaving Minneapolis, Madeline spent ONE WHOLE DAY in the lovely Lou before heading back to Minneapolis. Obviously we knew we would have to make this day an ice cream extravaganza. As I mentioned a little while ago, Jilly's Cupcakes was opening an ice cream bar. There has been a lot of buzz on St. Louis social media about the place. After the flavor list came out and it included My Lucky Charms as a June Chef/Fan Favorite, I knew we had to hit this place up in our ice cream extravaganza. I was obsessed with Lucky Charms as a kid. My love for Lucky Charms went beyond just being my favorite cereal. Seriously, the best Christmas gift I ever got was a special edition box of Lucky Charms that let you color in the box yourself. Look at the cool decor at Jilly's! Ice cream scoops! At Jilly's Ice Cream bar we got two scoops for only $4.50, one of the My Lucky Charms and the other of Gooey Butter Brownie Batter. The My Lucky Charms flavor is described as: Lucky Charms C...