Friday, September 28, 2007
Review: Häagen-Dazs Caramelized Pear & Toasted Pecan Ice Cream
Back in March I chided (Or would that be mocked?) Häagen-Dazs for producing ice cream based on flavors submitted in a contest without public acknowledgment of the creator. At the time, someone from PR said that only the winning flavor's creator would be compensated - and I'm guessing that credit is part of the compensation. Well, the winning flavor - caramelized pear & toasted pecan is now shipping and there's certainly public acknowledgment for contest winner Leslie Zoerb.
My sample from the PR agency arrived yesterday and I tore into it as quickly as I could get it to thaw a bit from being packed in dry ice. (I used a trick my daughter came up with - microwave the container for 15 to 30 seconds or so to get it a bit soft.) This is a killer flavor, which means congratulations go to both Ms. Zoerb and to the people at the company who were able to translate her idea into a viable commercial ice cream. This is subtle: pear ice cream with pieces of caramelized pear and bits of toasted pecan. The blend is marvelous and, even though I don't normally like nuts in ice cream, they add texture and help balance the other flavors.
Apparently she was trying to make a pear tart when the power went out. Obviously an improviser when times get tough, she went to the gas-powered range, caramelized pieces of pear, and served them with vanilla ice cream and pecans. I did try going to the company link for the "back story" and found what looked like it was supposed to be a short video loop. Only, there didn't seem to be any sound, and all I could see was a picture of some pears, butter, brown sugar, and pecans, followed by the words, "Congrats, Leslie! Thanks for making the world a bit sweeter." OK, so they're clearly not a media company. Who cares? Pass the scoop, please.
My sample from the PR agency arrived yesterday and I tore into it as quickly as I could get it to thaw a bit from being packed in dry ice. (I used a trick my daughter came up with - microwave the container for 15 to 30 seconds or so to get it a bit soft.) This is a killer flavor, which means congratulations go to both Ms. Zoerb and to the people at the company who were able to translate her idea into a viable commercial ice cream. This is subtle: pear ice cream with pieces of caramelized pear and bits of toasted pecan. The blend is marvelous and, even though I don't normally like nuts in ice cream, they add texture and help balance the other flavors.
Apparently she was trying to make a pear tart when the power went out. Obviously an improviser when times get tough, she went to the gas-powered range, caramelized pieces of pear, and served them with vanilla ice cream and pecans. I did try going to the company link for the "back story" and found what looked like it was supposed to be a short video loop. Only, there didn't seem to be any sound, and all I could see was a picture of some pears, butter, brown sugar, and pecans, followed by the words, "Congrats, Leslie! Thanks for making the world a bit sweeter." OK, so they're clearly not a media company. Who cares? Pass the scoop, please.
Labels: caramel, Haagen Dazs, Häagen-Dazs, ice cream, pear, pecan
