So apparently there was some sort of schtick on Jimmy Fallon’s late night show about snacking late at night. This led Ben & Jerry’s to create an ice cream flavor around this notion. I have no idea what they were on about originally, but the end result is an ice cream called–wait for it–Late Night Snack. The “macro-ingredient” list is as follows: “Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with a Salty Caramel Swirl & Fudge Covered Potato Chip Clusters.”
So you’ve got their vanilla bean ice cream…which is delicious. The caramel swirl is there and indeed salty. And yes, little tiny spheres of potato chip stuff covered in fudge. And my reaction is…this simply must be some sort of joke that I’m not quite getting. Was the joke in question about how you’ll eat anything if you smoke enough grass or something? Because you know what?
No. Hell no. This stuff is wrong and a singular affront to nature.
[ad#longpost]Only somebody with serious munchies and no taste buds would consider putting a potato taste into ice cream. And here’s the worst part: it’s subtle. It sneaks up on you. It’s not even screaming your mouth “Betcha bite a chip!” or something. It’s just a low undercurrent of repulsive chip-y taste. And don’t get me wrong: I love potato chips. I love ice cream. But these two tastes should never have met.
Another way to conceive of it is this: you know at one point you’ve eaten something and maybe didn’t brush your teeth and then went to go eat something utterly incompatible with the first thing? And the first taste wakes up enough to clash? Yeah. “Forgot to Brush Your Teeth After Eating Potato Chips” Ice Cream. What the world has been clamoring for.
I had a few spoonfuls of this stuff to make sure I was being fair and the more I put in my mouth the harder I had to work to make myself do it. You see, I sometimes have texture issues and ordinarily I don’t like nuts in my desserts. So I wanted to make sure that these globs of chocolate and potato weren’t setting off those alarms. Nope. It’s just disgusting.
I mean…chocolate and potato chips, maybe. Not for me, but you know, maybe for somebody. Somewhere. In some universe. But use that to ruin a perfectly good vanilla and caramel ice cream? That is a criminal offense.
Believe it or not, I went into this thing with an open mind and curiosity. I left it, however, scrambling for something to drink to get the taste out of my mouth. This simply must be a bad joke that because I wasn’t in on it, I foolishly bought a pint. Just stay away.
Now I want to taste it! It’s like those Bertie Bott’s Any Flavor Beans (booger, dirt or band-aid flavors), they’re HORRIBLE, but truly an experience. A few years ago, I got a pack of Jones Soda that was Thanksgiving Dinner themed. The Cranberry Soda was pretty good. The Turkey and the Brussel Sprout Sodas not so much. But I wouldn’t have bought an eight-pack of Cranberry Soda. It was the other, inedible flavors that made it noteworthy!
I agree that it may be interesting to try horrible things. See my video rental choices in the genres of kung fu and horror in the 80s for more information. However, the terrible flavored Bertie beans are those flavors solo…they’re not ruining what would otherwise be a lovely handful of jelly beans. Because yes…a handful of sizzling cinnamon + booger would probably ruin somebody’s day.
If you check it out, please report back and let us know your experience. :-)
COUNTERPOINT: I know more than a few people who do, in fact, put crushed potato chips in their ice cream. It is, evidently, a thing. This particular B&J’s flavor may indeed be objectively awful, but I’d want to run it by someone who actually likes the combination as a control case.
Brian: “Thing” is the best way to describe it. Yick. Thanks for the comment.
Not too far afield — this last Valentine’s Day, I “sculpted” some various hearts and flowers, etc, from white-chocolate (“almond-bark”) coated fritos — because sometimes my wife craves salty as much or more than chocolate-sweet…
And she LOVED it — she said it showed MUCH more forethought and understanding than some tacky box of generic chocolates and some flowers. Although she DID make me swear not to make the stuff more than once a year, let me just say that her feedback/response puts me firmly in the “OH, yes, that’s good, we’re definitely gonna do THAT again” camp.
Are you totally dissing yogurt-covered pretzels and other salty-camouflaged-with-sweet treats too??
No no…I dig yogurt-covered pretzels. It was just the potato flavor that did me in. And if this site should be sufficient evidence to prove that I’ll try damn near anything. Including white chocolate-coated Fritos.
Okay, you know what? Here’s the difference: when I eat a yogurt-covered pretzel, the two tastes seem to go hand-in-hand to me, right? I eat that and I say, “Ah yes, of course. Naturally.” Granted, I then go on to eat about twelve more. Handfuls.
This was just…wrong. Now, as always, these are my tastebuds and I encourage everybody to try stuff for themselves. Unless it’s the Psycho remake. Then, no, I have a moral obligation to warn people.
I can’t believe you would besmirch the good name of chocolate-covered potato chips. Mrs. Vine and I have made them for a few of our common friends, and they can testify to the fact that is it delicious. I implore you try them outside of ice cream.
And I too have texture issues. Can’t eat mushrooms for that reason. Whenever I order nachos at a restaurant, I have to inhale them like I’ve been lost at sea, just to get them in before the chips turn all soggy and weird. In other words, I didn’t move to GA for the boiled peanuts, that’s for sure.
Everything about this ice cream sounds delicious, save for the fact that it’s all in the same container, and has been marinating in itself for weeks before you even open the carton.
I’ve pretty much enjoyed all Ben & Jerry’s flavors(I have my favorites though)& am always up for a new one,But this,with the awful potato taste was by far the worst,and it’s not that I’m against the salty quality,because I love Chubby Hubby for example,I don’t know,it just didn’t work,Ben & Jerry should send this one to their ice cream graveyard & bring back Wavy Gravy :)
I don’t know, it wasn’t that bad. The sweet and salty was good, the chocolate covered chips were good..but only when the chip inside wasn’t soggy. Unfortunately, that is most of the time.
Z: It’s truly a personal thing with me…some people just have weird texture and taste things. Many people have risen to defend this flavor, so I’m sure it will actually sell well. Thanks for the comment. :-)