Taste test names best ice cream bars

Does this near 100 degree weather have you in the mood for ice cream?

Then you are in luck.  Our partners at Consumer Reports Magazine have just compared store bought ice cream bars, and found some winners and losers.

From Waxy to Delicious

Taste testers evaluated 21 different frozen treats, including bars and sandwiches from Dove, Good Humor, Häagen-Dazs and Klondike.  They did not test any Cincinnati-based brands such as Graeter's or UDF.

Nostalgia-favorite Good Humor bars were the lowest-rated dark chocolate ice cream bars tested. Sensory tasters described the coating as thin, waxy, and crumbly, with ice cream that tasted of artificial-vanilla and a hint of the wooden stick.

Several other dark chocolate bars got sweeter reviews, including Häagen-Dazs and Dove. Both rated excellent. The bars had rich and complex vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate.

But they are expensive, costing about $1.25 a bar. And just like all the ice cream bars, nutritionally they have a lot of fat and calories, so you might want to save them as a splurge.

A Surprise Bargain

For only 50 cents apiece, consider the ice cream sandwiches from Walgreens. That’s right! The drugstore’s “Old Fashioned Ice Cream Sandwich” was the only sandwich tested that wasn’t gummy. It has a soft, cakelike cookie that has a big cocoa flavor.

Consumer Reports says that if you’re looking to satisfy a craving for an icy cold treat with fewer calories and no fat, consider frozen fruit bars.

Testers sized up strawberry bars and rated several highly, including top-rated bars from Whole Foods. They are the 365 Everyday Value and cost 68 cents each.

As always, don't waste your money.

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Don't Waste Your Money is a registered trademark of the EW Scripps Co.

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