Why We Ranked This Chocolate Ice Cream As The Worst On Store Shelves

A generous scoop of a chocolate ice cream is an instant mood-booster, but pick the wrong brand and you'll be left feeling short-changed and depressed instead of elated and satisfied. To make the selection process easier, we taste tested several brands of grocery store ice creams to find out which ones are deserving of your attention and which are best left on the shelf. Our findings? Steer clear of Breyers chocolate ice cream; it had an icy, rather than creamy texture, and the flavor was basic and uninspired.

The loser in our list of eight store-bought chocolate ice creams, ranked worst to best, this offering was flat and mediocre. While the other ice creams we sampled (and judged on texture and flavor, including the bitterness of the cocoa) had a velvety consistency and richness, Breyers had a crystallized character and melted quickly in the mouth. Though billed as a chocolate ice cream, the chocolatey flavor itself was subdued and lacking, which was more than disappointing. If this was the only ice cream left on the shelf and you had no other options, we'd advise adding extra chocolate syrup or caramel to turn it into a sundae and elevate its humdrum vibe. Otherwise, grab another brand that has a creamier texture and punchier personality.

The best way to make an ultra-creamy ice cream is to use ingredients with a high fat content, such as heavy cream and full-fat milk. Take a look at the ingredients list on a tub of Breyer's chocolate ice cream and you'll see that it does indeed contain premium ingredients, such as cream and Dutch processed cocoa powder, which has left us stumped regarding its icy consistency. It also contains an additive called tara gum, a powdered stabilizer and thickener that's supposed to emulsify the ingredients and keep them stable. Perhaps our Breyers ice cream was a victim of freezer burn? This unwanted phenomenon occurs when ice cream melts and refreezes, creating big crystals that have a crunchy and grainy mouthfeel. Having said that, even this doesn't account for the ice cream's unimaginative flavor.

A couple of interesting things you might not know about Breyers ice cream is that it's the oldest ice cream company in the country (the first store opened in 1882!) and used to sell its flavors out of a horse drawn wagon. The driver would ring a bell to alert the neighborhood of his presence to generate sales.

The winning brand of ice cream in our ranking was Umpqua. This luscious ice cream had a delectable whipped texture and mousse-like quality that was rich and complex. Moreover, the flavor of the chocolate was the perfect balance of sweetness from the sugar and bitterness from the cocoa.