Flavor review: Ben&Jerry's Dulce Delish

   My quest for gourmet ice creams brought me once again to the doorstep of Ben&Jerry's wide world of flavors. I have come to terms with the fact that B&J use caramel in every other flavor they produce, you should too because it is really good caramel.

Dulce Delish - Rich Caramel Ice Cream with Dark Caramel Swirls.

   The base: Dulce Delish is a play on words for dulce de leche, a typical move made by B&J to spice up the experience. The caramel base that paved the backdrop for this flavor was deep, rich, dark, and mysterious. It was like a curtain blocking the view of the whole picture. I kept trying to pull it back, but it obstinately refused to move. Thus, I was left with a caramel base that tasted burnt, bordering the precarious line between tasty caramel and creme brulee. I am no advocate of burnt caramel (I've burned caramel, and it ruins the flavor). This turned me off a bit. It was not bad overall, but if it had been a normally cooked caramel base, then the flavor would have been luscious instead of "rich".
   However, a major plus to counteract the sub-par flavor was its extreme creaminess. Caramel, because of how thick and syrupy it becomes when cooked, creates a thicker ice cream than other variations of flavor.

   The swirl: the swirl was better than the ice cream. Though described as "dark" in the description, it did not taste as burnt as the base did. It had dark color, and huge flavor. It tasted tantamount to those chewy, square caramel candies found in individually wrapped plastics in those gold bags in Walmart candy isles.  I've always liked those candies, and this ice cream brought me back to those days of scoffing them down by the handful.

   Not my favorite B&J flavor, but it was not bad. I would have tweaked the taste a bit. When I venture upon Haagen Dazs' version of Dulce de Leche, then I will consume it, and compare the two. Thanks for reading. I will press on with my quest for gourmet ice creams, testing out the flavors of your local market so that you can boldly approach the ice cream isle, and confidently choose an approved flavor.




-Reese O'Shirey Esq.