Van Leeuwen’s Malted Milkshake & Fries ice cream could have been perfect: An honest taste test

You have to respect Van Leeuwen(opens in new tab)daring.For his chain of Brooklyn-based artisanal ice cream, no problem should do it Pushing the boundaries of deliciousness for a classically sweet, simple dessert with nasty flavors and weird mix-ins. The question is, can we?

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you talk to), the answer to this question is usually a tough yes. mustard(opens in new tab), onion(opens in new tab)and Craft Macaroni & CheeseWhether they’re aiming for actual good taste, or virus bait(opens in new tab) It can be argued either way. Nonetheless, Van Leeuwen continues to insist.

Malted milkshakes & fried ice cream made in partnership with the Idaho Potato Commission.(opens in new tab)The flavor will be available at Van Leeuwen’s New York and Los Angeles scoop shops on February 23rd. online(opens in new tab) The first run has already sold out, but a pop is $12.

To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I was excited to try a new ice cream flavor. (My colleague, not so much.) There is real science(opens in new tab) Behind the satisfying, craving combination of crispy, salty fries drenched in a cool, rich, creamy shake. Culver’s Crinkle Cut Fries dipped in malt made with chocolate custard? Midwest essentials. Wendy’s fries with a big frosty? Infallible, soul-affirming saved my life during a hangover. It was genius at condensing the experience into something that could be pinched with a spoon. No more greasy fingers.You can’t go wrong – or at least I didn’t idea you could.

We rated Van Leeuwen’s Malted Milkshake & Fries ice cream based on color, smell, texture, and taste, and gave it the highest score of five potato emojis (🥔) in each category. This is the result of my very official and very scientific test.

colour

Unlike the craft mac n’ cheese flavors some of my coworkers tried years ago, which had an unsettling neon tangerine hue, the Malted Milkshake & Fries look like an old-fashioned pint. I would compare it to the buttered pecan or salted caramel situation.

There was a problematic copy in the pint wrapper that gave me sickness, but no red flags right out of the gate.

Rating: 🥔 🥔 🥔 🥔 🥔 Based on the ice cream itself — pretend not to see the rapper.

odor

Malted Milkshake & French Fries, Another Diversion From Macaroni Cheese Flavor To do It has a faint odor. The best way I can describe it is like instant mashed potatoes with an earthy, subtly caramel-like edge. Anyway, unless you stick your whole face in a pint, you won’t notice.

Rating: 🥔 🥔 🥔 🥔

texture

Van Leeuwen’s “French” ice cream is technically custard because it’s made with milk, cream, eggs and cane sugar. Malted Milkshake & Fries flavors have added butter, powdered sugar, malted barley, wheat flour and Idaho potato flakes.(opens in new tab) And perhaps where that instant potato-like smell comes from.

This is where Van Leeuwen really succeeds. The ice cream itself is decadently thick and creamy, with fries/potato streaks providing a nice textural contrast like soft cakes and crumbly cookies. It was perfectly scoopable after a few minutes on the countertop and didn’t melt too quickly in the bowl.

evaluation: 🥔 🥔 🥔 🥔 🥔

taste

i really wanted to love this. It had so much potential. But it just tastes… off. The best way I can describe it is something like wheat caramel ice cream mixed with stale potatoes that have been sitting in vegetable oil too long, plus a milky, tangy tongue-coating aftertaste that takes too long to dissipate. It’s not overtly aggressive, but it’s pretty weird and almost disappointing. It’s definitely not a fitting ode to its source material. It’s just homogenous weirdness.

I wanted a second opinion, so I asked my fiancé Paul to take a spoonful. He describes it like this:

“It tastes like leftover french fries from wiping down Pizza Pizzazz.”(opens in new tab) Before Cooking Dino Nuggs. It’s metallic, it’s burnt, it’s wet and it’s cold.”

delicious!

Rating: 🥔 🥔 🙁

final thoughts

Van Leeuwen’s creations are flawed, but I’m sure the fries and milkshake flavors are a great combination. can Definitely delicious ice cream. It’s already well on its way if it can be made more faithful by simply swapping out the caramel base for Frosty-inspired chocolate. Here we discard the potato flakes, which are too salty mixed with the base and taste artificially flavored for crunchy potato bits. If so, swirl in extra cooked potato chunks to maintain a nice cake batter-style texture.)

you know what?Ben & Jerry’s settles down by reviving Late Night Snacks(opens in new tab) From the Graveyard of Flavors. Do justice to those who enjoy sweet and salty snacks everywhere.