Friday, May 11, 2012
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When I was young (50 years ago) my mother always purchased Breyers ice cream. We knew at the time that Breyers blew air into their ice cream, but it seemed to have the consistency of regular ice cream, and we liked the flavor. But as I got older, I got tired of the Breyers flavor, and I switched to other brands. Recently, however, I noticed that my local supermarket started carrying pints of Breyers "Blast" ice cream. Until then, the only pints they carried were Ben & Jerry's, which are too pricey for me. The pints of Breyers ice cream were on sale for $2, so I got one.
I immediately noticed that the pint was extraordinarily light in my hand. When I ate it later, it was obvious that a lot of air had been whipped into the ice cream. So the next day I weighed a pint of Breyers ice cream and a similar flavor of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The Breyers pint weighed .62 lb., and the Ben & Jerry's pint weighed .95 lb. In other words, a pint of Breyer's Blast ice cream has one-third less ice cream in it than a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. (When the weight of the container is removed, the proportion of air is even greater.) When I saw that Breyers was one-third air, I decided to weigh a pint of their regular ice cream (i.e., not the special "Blast" flavors), and it weighed even less, .59 lb. Then, without weighing them, I hefted a large container of Breyers ice cream and a large container of another brand, and this time the Breyers ice cream didn't feel that much lighter -- so perhaps Breyers is cheapening only their pints and not their larger sizes.
Unilever owns the Breyers brand name. I'm already angry at Unilever for switching to non-recyclable containers for their beverages. And now they are cheapening their ice cream in a way that may not be obvious to consumers. (Since ice cream is sold by volume rather than by weight, there is no indication on the label that it is one-third air.) When the air is factored in, Breyers ice cream actually costs about $4.50 per pint (based on the regular price of $3 per pint), which is almost as expensive as Ben & Jerry's. Is it as good as Ben & Jerry's ice cream? Not in my opinion.
Breyers doesn't even say "ice cream" on the label; the package says "frozen dairy dessert". This seems to suggest that it doesn't meet the USDA definition for ice cream.
I should add that the Breyers "Blast" ice cream did taste good, so in all fairness it can be said that Unilever makes the tastiest air I've ever eaten.
[For those who have read my articles on diabetes, yes, I do eat ice cream. When I do, I displace other carbohydrates in my diet so that my total volume of carbohydrates does not increase. Thus, I might have a dish of ice cream instead of a plate of sushi or a pint of soup. The sushi or soup would be better for me, but no one can live without any treats!]
I immediately noticed that the pint was extraordinarily light in my hand. When I ate it later, it was obvious that a lot of air had been whipped into the ice cream. So the next day I weighed a pint of Breyers ice cream and a similar flavor of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The Breyers pint weighed .62 lb., and the Ben & Jerry's pint weighed .95 lb. In other words, a pint of Breyer's Blast ice cream has one-third less ice cream in it than a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. (When the weight of the container is removed, the proportion of air is even greater.) When I saw that Breyers was one-third air, I decided to weigh a pint of their regular ice cream (i.e., not the special "Blast" flavors), and it weighed even less, .59 lb. Then, without weighing them, I hefted a large container of Breyers ice cream and a large container of another brand, and this time the Breyers ice cream didn't feel that much lighter -- so perhaps Breyers is cheapening only their pints and not their larger sizes.
Unilever owns the Breyers brand name. I'm already angry at Unilever for switching to non-recyclable containers for their beverages. And now they are cheapening their ice cream in a way that may not be obvious to consumers. (Since ice cream is sold by volume rather than by weight, there is no indication on the label that it is one-third air.) When the air is factored in, Breyers ice cream actually costs about $4.50 per pint (based on the regular price of $3 per pint), which is almost as expensive as Ben & Jerry's. Is it as good as Ben & Jerry's ice cream? Not in my opinion.
Breyers doesn't even say "ice cream" on the label; the package says "frozen dairy dessert". This seems to suggest that it doesn't meet the USDA definition for ice cream.
I should add that the Breyers "Blast" ice cream did taste good, so in all fairness it can be said that Unilever makes the tastiest air I've ever eaten.
[For those who have read my articles on diabetes, yes, I do eat ice cream. When I do, I displace other carbohydrates in my diet so that my total volume of carbohydrates does not increase. Thus, I might have a dish of ice cream instead of a plate of sushi or a pint of soup. The sushi or soup would be better for me, but no one can live without any treats!]
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