So many wonderful colors and options overwhelm your senses upon entering Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream that the prospects of choosing just a few flavors could give you a brain freeze. Jeni’s is an artisanal ice cream company known for its unique flavors and high-quality ingredients. All of Jeni’s flavors are made from scratch without synthetic flavoring, dyes or stabilizers.
Since Jeni’s runs on the expensive side for a scoop––approximately 5 dollars for the smallest size––you must choose wisely. To make your decision easier, I have reviewed the most popular flavors to give you an idea of the scoop that is right for you.
Brown Butter Almond Brittle: This ice cream is Jeni’s best-selling flavor. My immediate reaction upon trying the flavor was how overwhelmingly sweet the caramel made the ice cream. This flavor was by far the sweetest of all the other flavors I tried. The brown brittle almonds, however, did add a nice crunch to the ice cream texture. While I was not personally a big fan of the sweetness of the flavor, as I felt like it took away from the caramel, the general consensus among the people I spoke with at the shop was that this flavor was a favorite. I can definitely see how someone who loves caramel would find this flavor amazing.
Brambleberry Crisp: This gorgeous white and magenta marbled ice cream flavor was by far the most visually appealing and beautiful. Similar to the Brown Butter Almond Brittle, Brambleberry Crisp had a very sweet initial taste; however, it was not nearly as strong. Although the brambleberry jam gave the ice cream a pretty pink coloring, I found that I couldn’t taste the jam. I will say that this flavor definitely grew on me, as the vanilla base nicely balanced out the crunchiness of the oats. Overall, this flavor was good, but it wasn’t anything I would order again.
Milkiest Chocolate: Milkiest Chocolate was by far my least favorite flavor, simply because it was plain, and tasted like your average classic chocolate ice cream. Maybe it just felt plain after trying the other unique flavors, but to me the scoop was lacking flavor. To be fair, I do appreciate that Jeni’s offers a plain option to break up so many one-of-a-kind flavors; however, I felt it was lacking the brilliance that corresponds with the high price Jeni’s charges per scoop.
Strawberry Buttermilk: Wow! This flavor was one of the best scoops of ice cream I have ever had. While I am normally not a huge fan of strawberries, I enjoyed the strawberry flavoring––it was definitely on the less sweet side and had a unique tart taste, one that is unlike anything I have ever tried. I think that its unique flavor alone compensates for the high price point. I would recommend this flavor to anyone who enjoys less sweet desserts.
While I enjoyed all of the flavors, Strawberry Buttermilk was my favorite with Bramblerry Crisp coming in a close second. I would recommend the ice creams to anyone who enjoys less-sweet fruit flavors. While I personally found Brown Butter Almond Brittle to be far too sweet, I would recommend the flavor to anyone who has a big sweet tooth, or anyone who loves caramel. Lastly, I recommend to anyone looking for a scoop of chocolate ice cream to explore another ice cream store, as Jeni’s is not worth the premium price.
