A Special Treat: Jeni's Salted Caramel Ice Cream

I think everyone can agree that Mondays are the worst day of the week. It takes us away from our jubilant, relaxing weekends, and thrusts us with a cruel hand back into our workweek. I barely made it through yesterday, so I thought that I deserved a treat.

I went down into Soho to run an errand for my sister. On my way back to the subway, I passed Dean and Delucca, and obviously, I had to stop in. I wanted to pick up some duck fat for an outrageous late brunch that me and my friend Darrell and I are having this weekend, and I knew I could get something indulgent and tasty for my "Case of the Mondays" snack. My eyes locked in on this, and I knew this had to be it:

How lovely is that handwritten flavor label?

I had first heard about Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams through various blogs and had been dying to try it. The focus is on making less sweet ice creams that are super flavorful with her local Ohio fare exotic and exotic ingredients. The flavor list is pretty incredible: Brown Butter Almond Brittle, Pistachio Honey, and Honey Butter Cake just to start. She even lists a special group of flavors designed around Mother's Day and the Royal Wedding; how does one even pull off White Stilton on Toast with Champagne-soaked Bilberry ice cream??? You can order them online in fours and sixes...but I only wanted one! And I don't think I can possibly go through 4 tubs of ice cream...especially if I ended up hating it. 


Which brings me back to to D&D. Even though one tub was pretty damn expensive (11 bucks!!!), I knew I couldn't leave the store without it. All I had to say to myself is: IT'S MONDAY AND YOU NEED IT. I was pretty easy to convince.


I threw it in the freezer as soon as I got home, because I knew the there was some significant melting on my journey. After about 2 hours, it had gotten back on track.

Beautiful, no? It looks so creamy and inviting (it better be for 11 bucks)!


Now the first taste: WHOA! The caramel used to flavor this was taken right to the edge of burnt. Nutty, dark, the tiniest bit sweet. Extremely complex. And this thing was salty as hell, lighting up my tongue.This ice cream sorta intimidated my mouth; it meant business.

I also really liked how clean the finish was. Milky, but not overwhelmingly so. I hate when ice cream is just too rich for you to enjoy. The taste lingers for a while in your mouth, redolent of smoke and cream. So comforting!

Would I get it again? I mean, it was fantastic, but I would regulate this to a once in a while treat. I have an ice cream maker at home, so I can make it whenever I want with high quality ingredients that I can find here. Plus, with the price for just one...I could probably order a 4 pack for my birthday or something, and it would be a lot more cost effective.

With that being said, thanks to Jeni's for a wonderful ice cream experience. I think I'll be treating myself to you in July (my 27th birthday!), and I sure hope you still have that Honey Butter Cake...we have a date.