Thread: Ben & Jerry's getting worse?

  1. #1
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Out of scope
    Posts
    4,079

    Ben & Jerry's getting worse?

    Has anyone tried Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream recently? I just got a small pint for the first time in about 6 months or so and I couldn't help but notice that the taste seems to have changed. Now, to me, it seems to taste more like Breyer's (which, to me, is not a good thing). I know that the current economic situation has yielded a lot of regression in products we know and love, but I certainly hope I'm mistaken in thinking that Ben & Jerry's would have changed their formula. Seems like they dropped some of the cream in favor of water.

    If anyone who has access to the product gets a change, go out and buy a pint... try getting something with vanilla ice cream and let me know what you think.
    Sent from my iPadŽ

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Posts
    4,912
    I wouldn't be surprised. Breyer's definitely changed several years back. Disappointing, really. If you happen to live in the States, try the Archer Farms brand at Target - It's surprisingly good, they just don't have a huge selection of flavors.

    Speaking of Ice Cream - I tried Liquid Nitrogen ice cream at a local place a few weeks ago - unbelievably good!

  3. #3
    Banned ಠ_ಠ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    687
    I love the combination of Liquid Nitrogen and food
    ╔╗╔══╦╗
    ║║║╔╗║║
    ║╚╣╚╝║╚╗
    ╚═╩══╩═╝

  4. #4
    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    3,195
    Try Edy's, they still use full cream.

  5. #5
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    segmentation fault
    Posts
    8,300
    I saw a girl buying a 4oz container of haagen daz the other day. It was the size of a ping-pong ball.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

  6. #6
    Guest Sebastiani's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Waterloo, Texas
    Posts
    5,708
    Quote Originally Posted by SlyMaelstrom View Post
    Has anyone tried Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream recently? I just got a small pint for the first time in about 6 months or so and I couldn't help but notice that the taste seems to have changed. Now, to me, it seems to taste more like Breyer's (which, to me, is not a good thing). I know that the current economic situation has yielded a lot of regression in products we know and love, but I certainly hope I'm mistaken in thinking that Ben & Jerry's would have changed their formula. Seems like they dropped some of the cream in favor of water.

    If anyone who has access to the product gets a change, go out and buy a pint... try getting something with vanilla ice cream and let me know what you think.
    Ben & Jerry's never was any good, IMO. My favorite has always been Häagen-Dazs. Come to think of it, there aren't *any* other ice cream brands here in the US that come even close to it's quality, really.
    Code:
    #include <cmath>
    #include <complex>
    bool euler_flip(bool value)
    {
        return std::pow
        (
            std::complex<float>(std::exp(1.0)), 
            std::complex<float>(0, 1) 
            * std::complex<float>(std::atan(1.0)
            *(1 << (value + 2)))
        ).real() < 0;
    }

  7. #7
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Out of scope
    Posts
    4,079
    Quote Originally Posted by abachler View Post
    Try Edy's, they still use full cream.
    Yep, Edy's is the best... unfortunately, the 7-11 that I was in only sold Vanilla Bean and they wanted $6.50 for the quart. I opted for B&J's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and regretted it, surprisingly.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sebastiani View Post
    Ben & Jerry's never was any good, IMO. My favorite has always been Häagen-Dazs. Come to think of it, there aren't *any* other ice cream brands here in the US that come even close to it's quality, really.
    I can't eat Haagen-Dazs out of the carton because Haagen-Dazs has sales counters and what I get over the counter always tastes better than what's in the carton and when you consider how much they give you in the cup, it's just about the same price, too.
    Last edited by SlyMaelstrom; 07-31-2009 at 08:21 PM.
    Sent from my iPadŽ

  8. #8
    Registered User VirtualAce's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    9,607
    Everyone is changing their recipes to be more 'health' conscious. Like we all dig into a pint of ice cream to be healthy.

  9. #9
    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    3,195
    Quote Originally Posted by Bubba View Post
    Everyone is changing their recipes to be more 'health' conscious. Like we all dig into a pint of ice cream to be healthy.
    Stressing out about what you eat will make you gain weight faster than eating what you want. I think people are too fixated with associating 'scrawny' with 'healthy', they aren't the same thing. Now you probably dont want to t weight 500 lbs unless youa re a serious body builder, but normal middel aged adult are supposed to gain weight, its natural. I wigh 285 lbs adn im 5'9". According to the health department I'm 'Obese', yet my last cardio exam, which included an ultrasound, showed "No buildup of any clinical signifigance", my blood presure is textbook perfect 120/80, and I havent been sick in the last 8 years, but apparently I'm not healthy....

    The only notable medical event was when I passed out from over exertion after helping my dad carry a cast iron stove made in the 1950's up from the basement. That was caused by a drop in blood pressure though.

  10. #10
    Guest Sebastiani's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Waterloo, Texas
    Posts
    5,708
    Quote Originally Posted by abachler View Post
    Stressing out about what you eat will make you gain weight faster than eating what you want. I think people are too fixated with associating 'scrawny' with 'healthy', they aren't the same thing. Now you probably dont want to t weight 500 lbs unless youa re a serious body builder, but normal middel aged adult are supposed to gain weight, its natural. I wigh 285 lbs adn im 5'9". According to the health department I'm 'Obese', yet my last cardio exam, which included an ultrasound, showed "No buildup of any clinical signifigance", my blood presure is textbook perfect 120/80, and I havent been sick in the last 8 years, but apparently I'm not healthy....

    The only notable medical event was when I passed out from over exertion after helping my dad carry a cast iron stove made in the 1950's up from the basement. That was caused by a drop in blood pressure though.
    I don't know. I think people have a tendency to not worry *enough* about what they eat. The body is a machine. Everything you put into it has an impact on it's ability to function properly. It's a sophisticated machine, of course, and it does have the ability to "clean" itself to some degree, but I think that's what people take for granted. I'm 5'10" and have weighed roughly 165 lbs since I was a teenager, but whereas I used to eat like a friggen' horse and not gain a pound, I now eat fairly light and yet gain weight easily if I consume a little more than usual. As a result, 90% of my diet now consists of whole grains, vegetables, fruit, and nuts, and only a small fraction meats, cheeses, and the like, but I still have to watch what I eat at my age (36). One thing I have noticed though is that I don't ever have indigestion, nor do feel sluggish after meals - unlike friends of mine who are much less careful about what they eat. But it all boils down to how far you're willing to do to stay healthy. I probably wouldn't go as far as to take up Jack Lalannes juice-only diet, even though it may be better for me in the long run. I just can't live without Swiss cheese and real butter.
    Code:
    #include <cmath>
    #include <complex>
    bool euler_flip(bool value)
    {
        return std::pow
        (
            std::complex<float>(std::exp(1.0)), 
            std::complex<float>(0, 1) 
            * std::complex<float>(std::atan(1.0)
            *(1 << (value + 2)))
        ).real() < 0;
    }

  11. #11
    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    3,195
    Quote Originally Posted by Sebastiani View Post
    I don't know. I think people have a tendency to not worry *enough* about what they eat. The body is a machine. Everything you put into it has an impact on it's ability to function properly. It's a sophisticated machine, of course, and it does have the ability to "clean" itself to some degree, but I think that's what people take for granted. I'm 5'10" and have weighed roughly 165 lbs since I was a teenager, but whereas I used to eat like a friggen' horse and not gain a pound, I now eat fairly light and yet gain weight easily if I consume a little more than usual. As a result, 90% of my diet now consists of whole grains, vegetables, fruit, and nuts, and only a small fraction meats, cheeses, and the like, but I still have to watch what I eat at my age (36). One thing I have noticed though is that I don't ever have indigestion, nor do feel sluggish after meals - unlike friends of mine who are much less careful about what they eat. But it all boils down to how far you're willing to do to stay healthy. I probably wouldn't go as far as to take up Jack Lalannes juice-only diet, even though it may be better for me in the long run. I just can't live without Swiss cheese and real butter.
    Case in point, you are assuming that because you are skinnier, that you are healthier. A case of porcine influenza would quickly dispel that myth as you teetered on the brink of death, while I just pooped a little more than usual. You might be able to outrun me if we are in the woods and a bear attacks, but as long as we are talking wilderness, a nice long hike through the Alaskan wilderness in January would make you quickly wish you had a nice warm layer of insulating fat. As for life expectancy, my family is all big people, my grandfather passed on at the age of 81 and he weighed 350+ for most of his life. You see, thin may be in, but fat is where its at. Homo sapiens et.al. evolved to gain weight, because it gives several survivla advantages. Cardiovasular problems are not caused by excessive weight, they are caused by lack of physical activity, which also causes weight gain, but the weight gain itself is not a cause, it is merely coincidental. The reason I have no heart problems despite my weight is because I am physically active. My weight is due to a diet rich in protein, fat and carbohydrates. I eat a lot of meat and dairy products, which help to build and repair muscle tissue. My blood pressure is normal because I regularly engage in physical activity. I gain weight because the food I eat is higher in calories than I need, but I need the broad spectrum proteins in that food, so its a necessary evil.
    Last edited by abachler; 08-01-2009 at 01:22 AM.

  12. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    California
    Posts
    3,268
    Case in point, you are assuming that because you are skinnier, that you are healthier
    I don't see where he made this assertion. All he said was, "I don't ever have indigestion, nor do feel sluggish after meals".

    At any rate, it's a proven fact that obesity increases the chances of getting heart disease which is the leading cause of death in the US.

    As for life expectancy, my family is all big people, my grandfather passed on at the age of 81 and he weighed 350+ for most of his life.
    George burns lived to be 100 years old while smoking every day, but I'm not going to claim there's nothing unhealthy about smoking cigars and cigarettes.
    bit∙hub [bit-huhb] n. A source and destination for information.

  13. #13
    Malum in se abachler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Posts
    3,195
    Quote Originally Posted by bithub View Post
    I don't see where he made this assertion. All he said was, "I don't ever have indigestion, nor do feel sluggish after meals".

    At any rate, it's a proven fact that obesity increases the chances of getting heart disease which is the leading cause of death in the US.

    George burns lived to be 100 years old while smoking every day, but I'm not going to claim there's nothing unhealthy about smoking cigars and cigarettes.
    To be fair, he stopped smoking for the last 20-30 years, he just kept the cigar as an affectation. And as I stated, if you look at the research, while heart disease and obesity have an obvious correlation, there is no proof that obesity causes heart disease and not the other way around. Decreased cardiovascular function reduces blood oxygen levels, which would make someone feel more fatigued, which would reduce physical activity, which would lead to obesity.

  14. #14
    The Registered User Aparavoid's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    74
    I only had Ben and Jerrys once. I was on vacation in South Carolina at an aquarium, and that was probably the highlight.

  15. #15
    Officially An Architect brewbuck's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    7,396
    Quote Originally Posted by SlyMaelstrom View Post
    I know that the current economic situation has yielded a lot of regression in products we know and love, but I certainly hope I'm mistaken in thinking that Ben & Jerry's would have changed their formula. Seems like they dropped some of the cream in favor of water.
    What is more likely is that they are whipping a larger quantity of air into the ice cream than they used to. This saves milk while retaining volume. To know for sure, you'd measure the density, but since we have no samples of B&J's before the alleged change...
    Code:
    //try
    //{
    	if (a) do { f( b); } while(1);
    	else   do { f(!b); } while(1);
    //}

Popular pages Recent additions subscribe to a feed

Similar Threads

  1. Initializer lists, better or worse?
    By Ganoosh in forum C++ Programming
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 11-26-2005, 10:01 AM
  2. This day is getting worse
    By RoD in forum A Brief History of Cprogramming.com
    Replies: 14
    Last Post: 03-22-2004, 11:12 AM
  3. Better computer, worse performance
    By jdinger in forum Game Programming
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 07-27-2003, 11:06 AM