WHICH MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAMS ARE CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE?
MINT CHIP ICE CREAMS — CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE®
Information updated January 2024
This is a Reader Requested category >> a curious + health-oriented individual who likes to indulge in mint chocolate chip ice cream asked me which brand is Closest To Homemade. She currently purchases Nestlé’s Edy’s brand, so we’ll look at that first.
NESTLE’S EDY’S/DREYER’S: Nestlé has an East coast/West coast ice cream brand where the Same Product has different branding depending on its geography >> if you’re in the East, it’s Edy’s and, if you’re in the West, it’s Dreyer’s, but the formula and even package design are the same. Dairy, and ice cream in particular because it is frozen, is an expensive + difficult product to transport and the acquisition of regional brands were historically slowly amalgamated into one by many major food companies.
In order to compare the Mint Chip Ice Creams to homemade, here’s a quick look at what’s in homemade Mint Chip Ice Cream >> it’s pretty simple >> Peppermint ice cream with real peppermint and real Chocolate Chips:
PAI PARTNERS EDY’S and DRYER’S MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAMS ARE BANNED AT WHOLE FOODS MARKET: These products contain multiple ingredients which are Not In Kitchen™ including the banned-at-Whole-Foods two Artificial Colors >> Yellow 5 and Blue 1. These colors are what make the ice cream green to differentiate it from plain Chocolate Chip and to connote the mint flavor since there is No real mint in this ice cream. (Source for ingredients: PAI Partners Edy’s and Dreyer’s Web sites 1/24; Source for banned ingredients: Whole Foods Web site 1/24)
If only we could see that making the ice cream Artificially Green is not beneficial in terms of health or cost >> we are Paying for green color to be added into our bodies. Have you ever squirted a bottle of food coloring into your mouth?
It may not be a big thing that there is artificial color in this item alone, but it is the Cumulative effect of all the added colors we may be eating all day, every day.
Not In Kitchen INGREDIENTS: These ice creams also contains Not In Kitchen ingredients including Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Corn Syrup in the ice cream, Added Natural Flavor twice (x2), Two Thickening/Emulsifying Agents >> Guar Gum + Carob Bean Gum. Whey is also not added to Ice Cream when we’re making it at home.
EDY’S/DREYER’S MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM DOES NOT CONTAIN REAL CHOCOLATE CHIPS. In order to legally state “chocolate” as an ingredient, a certain standard of identity must be met and since these ingredients state “Chocolaty Chips” with an ‘ey’, there is a reason >> these are Not Real chocolate chips. If they were real, it would say “Chocolate Chips”, as you will see later in other brands.
Q: Why does PAI Partners say “Chocolate Chip” on the Edy’s and Dreyer’s packages when they are not real chocolate chips?
SIMILAR TO EDY’S and DREYER’S, UNILEVER’S BREYERS MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM (below) DOES NOT CONTAIN REAL CHOCOLATE CHIPS >> it’s called ‘Mint Chocolate Chip’, but on the package front it states “chocolatey chips” with an ‘ey’. (Source for ingredients: Unilever’s Breyers Web site 1/24)
Large food manufacturers, who tend to own category leaders, tend to follow the actions of other key players >> the “If they can have chocolate-flavored chips without it hurting their business then so can we” mentality. This is, of course, driven by financial reasons but inextricably linked to quantitatively tracking consumers’ awareness of and care about such issues.
Q: Why isn’t Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip legally called Mint Chocolatey Chip if the chips are not real chocolate?
Not In Kitchen INGREDIENTS: This Unilever ice cream also contains Not In Kitchen ingredients including the Thickening Agent Tara Gum, Added Natural Flavor and Soy Lecithin as an Emulsifying Agent. According to the Environmental Working Group 1/24, Natural Flavor is the fourth most common ingredient in processed foods.
Q: How can Unilever legally show real mint leaves on the package of their Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip when it does not list real Mint as an ingredient?
Seen below, UNILEVER’S CARBSMART FUDGE BARS CONTAIN TWO CHEMICAL INGREDIENTS WHICH ARE BANNED AT WHOLE FOODS: The irony here is that health-conscious individuals who are seeking lower carbohydrate intake are offered a product which has so many artificial ingredients and more Not In Kitchen ingredients than the basic Breyers offerings.
THEN: Once upon a time, the Breyers ice cream business — started by Mr. William Breyer in the late 1800’s — was all about purity, and the products were all natural and Closest To Homemade.
Here’s a look at two old print ads for Breyers which clearly communicate its core positioning as an all natural ice cream.
THE NEW YORK TIMES WEIGHS IN: The Philly History Web site and an article in The New York Times by Mr. Dan Barry bemoan the deterioration of the Breyers brand:
NOW: Let’s take a close look at these ingredients in the Breyers CarbSmart Fudge bars.
THREE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS in Unilever’s Breyers CarbSmart Bars: Acesulfame Potassium (a.k.a. Ace-K) is the Artificial Sweetener known as a possible cancer-causing agent. Ditto Sucralose and Polydextrose as laboratory creations which are Artificial Sweeteners and confuse our bodies’ delicate chemistry.
Potassium Sorbate in Unilever’s Breyers CarbSmart Bars >> a chemical preservative banned at Whole Foods.
OTHER MINT CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM OFFERINGS WITH INGREDIENTS NOT IN KITCHEN: Here’s a quick snapshot of ingredients which are Not In Kitchen in Ben & Jerry’s Mint Chocolate Cookie owned by Unilever, Talenti Gelato Mediterranean Mint owned by Unilever and Häagen-Dazs Mint Chip owned by Froneri which has no real Mint listed as an ingredient + Not Real chocolate but “Chocolaty chips” with a ‘y’.
Häagen-Dazs Mint Chip from Froneri has no real chocolate and no Mint listed as an ingredient.
Q: How can Froneri legally show a real mint leaf on the package of their Häagen-Dazs Mint Chip when real Mint is not listed as an ingredient?
MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM OFFERINGS: Here are some products which have multiple ingredients Not In Kitchen and so don’t make the Closest To Homemade list. (Sources: Alden’s Web site 1/24; Target Web site 1/24)
LIGHT MINT CHIP ICE CREAM OFFERING: Below is HALO TOP Mint Chip Light Ice Cream with multiple ingredients Not In Kitchen. As a rule, light and reduced fat products in every food + beverage category have more ingredients Not In Kitchen because they require significantly more R+D science-based ingredients to compensate for reduced fat or calories or sugar and still meet consumers’ taste expectations on a level which generates re-purchase. (Source: Wells Halo Top Web site 1/24)
FRIENDLY’S AND BASKIN-ROBBINS MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAMS BOTH HAVE MULTIPLE INGREDIENTS NOT IN KITCHEN AND ARE FAR FROM HOMEMADE™: Seen below left, Friendly’s Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream is banned at Whole Foods because it contains the Artificial Color Blue 1. (Sources for ingredients: Baskin-Robbins Web site 1/24; Stop & Shop Web site 1/24)
Baskin-Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream contains chemicals such as Polysorbate 80.
POLYSORBATE 80 IN BASKIN-ROBBINS: According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Polysorbates have been associated with serious adverse effects, including some deaths, in low birthweight infants intravenously administered a vitamin E preparation containing a mixture of polysorbates 20 and 80.” (Source: National Library of Medicine Toxicology Data Network 2024)
WHOLE FOODS BRAND ICE CREAM COMPARISON: Here’s a snapshot of what’s in Amazon-owned Whole Foods 365 Mint (Chocolate) Chip Ice Creams >> the basic one — below left — and the Organic one — below right. (Source: Amazon Whole Foods Web site 1/24)
PLEASE DON’T CONFUSE THE TWO MINT CHIP OFFERINGS FROM PEAK ROCK CAPITAL’S TURKEY HILL >> the Turkey Hill Choco Mint Chip (below left) is banned at Whole Foods and is Far From Homemade, while the Turkey Hill Simply Natural ice cream (below right) is closer to homemade but switched from Oil of Peppermint in 2021 to Peppermint Oil Flavor in 2022. (Source: Peak Rock Capital Turkey Hill Web site 2/21 and 1/24)
Here are the Not In Kitchen ingredients in three Dairy-Free Mint Chip products:
CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE: Here are three Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Creams which are Closest To Homemade with Real Mint and Real Chocolate >> NYC-based Morgenstern’s Small Batch Mint Chip with Vietnamese Mint; Jeni’s Green Mint Chip with Peppermint Oil whose green color is naturally delivered with Apple, Pumpkin + Spirulina, and Van Leeuwen Mint Chip with Organic Peppermint Extract with Grain Alcohol. Also, consider searching for local ice creams which are often Closest To Homemade and help support local farmers.
Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list
See what’s in other Ice Cream flavors and discover some which are Closest To Homemade®:
Discover more food + beverage products whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.
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In ye good olde days, ice cream was freshly made and sold, each in its own tiny geography:
