15 February, 2009

Stone Ridge Creamery Ice Cream

With regular prices for brand-name ice cream hovering around $6.00 per "container" these days, I hardly ever buy the stuff unless it's on sale - and then I buy the limit and pack the deep freeze so I can go a couple of months between purchases.

I also keep an eye open for lower-priced alternative brands, which is how I found Stone Ridge Creamery ice cream in the case over at Shaw's.

Stone Ridge Creamery is a "private label" ice cream, made by SuperValu, a conglomerate that owns supermarket chains covering every segment of the grocery retail market from "premium" stores like Shaw's in New England and Bristol Farms in California, all the way down the ladder to national no-frills "limited selection" markets like Save-A-Lot. I didn't know that when I picked up a package of their vanilla "light" ice cream and a similar package of their regular chocolate at the local Shaw's. The low price ($2.50) caught my eye, and the well-designed packaging kept my attention. I chose "basic flavors" just to get an idea of what the stuff was like. Only later, after we had tasted the product, did I look closer at the packaging to see who the manufacturer was.

The light vanilla ice cream is pretty decent. It has good body and scoops tightly (I've noticed that some ice milks and light ice creams scoop out in fragile curls.) The ice cream itself is loaded with tiny flecks of genuine vanilla bean just like more expensive premium brands. Although the label claims half the fat and a third the calories of regular ice cream, it has a rich mouthfeel that is nearly indistinguishable from premium ice cream.

Unfortunately, the actual taste of the ice cream doesn't follow through with the same level of quality; the vanilla flavor isn't strong and robust as one would expect, but rather a bit weak and subtle on its own. Although that's a bit disappointing for eating straight up, it might not matter so much if you usually eat your ice cream with syrups or toppings, or as a base for a milkshake - the other flavoring components will make up for it.

The chocolate flavor regular ice cream by Stone Ridge had plenty of flavor but a thinner body. We felt that the light vanilla was actually creamier and smoother than the regular chocolate.

Despite these shortcomings, the family and I were pleased overall with Stone Ridge's two most basic flavors and we would certainly buy them again.

You should be able to find Stone Ridge Creamery ice cream just about anywhere in the US, since it's a SuperValu brand and they operate retail grocery chains across the country. Click here for a list of SuperValu-owned chains - from there you can find short descriptions and capsule histories of the various stores.

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36 comments:

Anonymous said...

My husband just came home with Stone Ridge Creamery Chocolate. I complained because I like the better brands, and knew he was just being cheap. I have to admit, it wasn't awful. I liked the bittersweet flavor, but I didn't think it was particularly creamy. I'll buy it again, as he said it was 2/$6 in a world of $5.99 ice creams... Thanks for your review, it made me feel better! :)

Anonymous said...

I tried the Tin Roof Sundae and Mint Chocolate Chip versions by Stone Ridge Creamery, attracted by the low price and packaging. While the mint chip wasn't as good as say, Breyers, it was still decent. The Tin Roof Sundae however, was very good and highly recommended. I would buy that one again, and I might try some of the other flavors next time.

aol said...

My Wife(82)and I(87)tried Sone Ridge ice cream(pistashio) it was terrific , first time I have had that flavor since I was kid!!!We live in Newark DE.

bigdunks said...

I bought the chocolate chip flavor from Western Supermarket in Mtn. Brook,Alabama. It is very good. I'm sending several friends over to pick some up tonight. Cheryl likes to eat ice cream every night and she is fired up about the new brand. Matt is heading over in the morning to try it out too.

pastol said...

I just tried their Butter Pecan and it is to DIE for. Some of the best I've ever had. My first Stone Ridge, won't be my last.

Anonymous said...

My family have been experimenting with the Stone Ridge flavors at our local Jewel Osco here in Chicago. I'd recommend the java chip and the blueberry cobbler as excellent flavors. Price here is $2.50 per container...a great bargain!

Katheen Sawyer said...

Like other ice cream lovers we decided to try Stone Ridge Creamery Light Churned Butter Pecan.

To our surprise my friend experienced a 3/4" x 1/4" jagged piece of wood scratch his gum. At first we assumed it was a pecan but after double checking it was wood. The ice cream was good but with the possiblity of young grandchildren running into this I'm afraid we will forego buying Stone Ridge for their safety.

Sincerely,
Kathleen Sawyer
Sawyer1616@verizon.net

Unknown said...

This ice cream is awesome! We used to buy Edy's ice cream but we got quite disappointed when we couldn't find our very favorite kind anymore:caramel cups. That's when we started experimenting other brands and we came accross Stone Ridge. We first tried the Caramel cheesecake and then the Triple berries cheesecake... delicious!!!!

Anonymous said...

THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy cow, this ice cream is better than some ice cream parlors!!!

I just had a sugar cone with chocolate almond and peanut butter cup. 1 word, "WOW"

I'm hooked for $2.66 on sale at Jewel grocery.

Unknown said...

I've been boycotting ice cream brands that have been repackaged in less than half-gallon cartons in the industry's nefarious attempt to raise prices by shrinking the package. However, for years I've been trying to find Kemps Brand ice cream made in St. Paul, Mn. Since this grocery conglomerate is HQed in Minneapolis, I thought their ice cream might be made by Kemps. I bought some and I think I hit the jackpot! There goes my boycott.

Anonymous said...

I have not tried Stone Ridge Creamery ice cream, but I LOVE their frozen TART yogurt!!!!! The vanilla flavor has that tangy zip of real yogurt instead of being sickeningly sweet. I'm addicted!

Uncle Beef said...

Eating the Stone Ridge Cookies and Cream as I type.

Not so good. Light, unsatisfying mouth feel, far more watery than creamy.
There are some subtle, yet nasty off flavors going on.
I can detect cardboard and bleach overtones in the finish.

Not recommended.

Unknown said...

PEANUT BUTTER SWIRL!

enough said

Anonymous said...

When I first tried Caramel Waffle Cone I became addicted. However, I have tried it several times since and have not seen any ribbons of caramel in the ice cream...plenty of waffle cone though. Very tasty.

Anonymous said...

I purchased Stone Ridge in St.Louis @ Shop n Save, & the light is as good as it gets. I can have my go to drug of choice & not have to gain a lb.
Although the Mfg. states that the shelf price is $2.80, SnS of course is trying to gradually raise that & presently it's $3.08, what is that all about. On top of it all they say on my receipt, the the suggested retail price is actually $5.38.
Any who, the flavor is amazing, the chocolate content in Moose Tracks is to die for.

Anonymous said...

I love this ice cream!! If all ice cream was the same price, this would be my second choice. Ben and Jerry's is better but at 4x the cost. TRY CARAMEL WAFFLE CONE!!! YUMMY!

Anonymous said...

One of the very nice things about Stone Ridge Creamery is that they call out the allergens at the end of the ingredient list. This is very helpful for those with food allergies in the house. Not many of the national brands do this. The only other brand I can think of that does is Blue Bunny.

Anonymous said...

I would never buy this Ice Cream again. They do have great tasting Ice cream, however the moment you get hooked on a flavor, one of their genius managers or Board of Directors eliminate it. That is what happened with Chocolate Chunk. Why they would they get rid of a popular flavor like that is beyond me, but they did, among other flavos also. I believe the reason is that it was too rich with chunks and maybe cost too much to make. Id rather they raise the price, but they have lost me now.

Anonymous said...

I just bought the Stone Ridge Ice Cream Bars. Seemed like a bargain at $2.29 for ten bars. The ice cream is good but the chocolate coating is terrible. Just gross. I will never buy these again.

pastol said...

Tried the pistachio this week. Won't be buying it again. For one thing, it is too green. I could ignore that, but it is way too green. Also, it tastes kind of like sherbet. It has the texture of ice cream, but tastes like sherbet. Back to the butter pecan. Sorry aol, I must disagree with you on this. If you haven't already, try some Blue Bunny pistachio, much better.

Anonymous said...

I bought the caramel/cheesecake at Acme in NJ......OMG, I think it's much better than a lot of other ice creams out there!!!!!!!

Also picked up the Red Velvet cake and can't wait until I taste that one!

Unknown said...

Wowwwww i was at acme a few months bak and was lookn for ice cream but to no avil nuttn was on sale.... when i ran acrosss Stone ridge i begun caseing tha flavors when....... it caught my eye blueberry cheesecake:) anythang blueberry i will eat...lol then i went to acme yesterday and it was on sale 2for5 had to get it so i broughttha caramel cheesecake and tha double berry cheesecake...... smh toooo gud ! wht i luv bout them is that they hav tha variety of flavors

Nellie said...

O..M..G..!!! You are frickin Genius'!!!! I ASbsolutely LOOOVE Black Raspberry Chip!!! It's the Yummiest and Purple with Chocolate Chips too!

Anonymous said...

I just bought the Rocky Road, and I thought is was pretty decent. What's actually shocking, though, is that it's one of the only rock roads out there that uses mini marshmallows instead of that awful swirl most brands are using.

Anonymous said...

I love me some butter pecan and I have tried the expensive brands and hated it to the point where I totally stopped eating Ice-cream and about 2 years ago I was grocery shopping and I got my kids the usual pop sticks when I saw Stone Ridge and was intrigued, given the fact that I walk pass the ice-cream section every week. I got me some butter pecan, I guess in hopes for redemption. It was amaizing and I get nothing else. Girls nice, I have my bottle of wine and Stone Ridge Butter Pecan, lol. Its creamy deliciously amazing.

Kira said...

Stone Ridge Creamery Double Berry Cheesecake is THE BEST ICE CREAM I EVER ATE! got it at Acme's in Cape May Court House NJ

Anonymous said...

I found it about a year ago at a small country store... I have been buying it every since. It cost $3.99 in Rustburg,VA.

Anonymous said...

Stone Ridge ice cream is the best--Moose Tracks is my favorite--tastes like cream going down--but-- guess what---the Jewel store--only place in our area that you can buy it--is closing--now what---took me a long time to find a brand I really liked-and believe me--I tried them all--very unhappy in Il.

unknown said...

I truly enjoy the Stone Ridge ice cream. My favorite is the peanut butter cup. It's so creamy. If you love peanut butter and chocolate. This flavor is for you. It's very generous with the peanut better cup pieces within the vanilla ice cream and the ribbons of peanut butter and chocolate. It's heavenly. The other flavors that I recommend is Rocky Road and Mint Chocolate Chip. Stone Ridge "Rocks"!

Unknown said...

Thanks for this review. We live in the Bahamas where ice cream costs at least $10 - $12 no matter what so it is really something to get only for special occasions. We just found this brand in the store for $5.29 and had a heart attack at the low price. The taste and consistency was great for the price. We would just die if it was ever 2 for $5. We never see any sales like that but all of our food is imported so it makes it very expensive to go to the food store.

Mary said...

My favorite is the Root Beer Float ice cream. It was so creamy & actually tasted like a rootbeer float much to my surprise and delight,

Carrie said...

Stone Ridge Creamery is the best store brand ice cream we have ever tasted. My entire family is obsessed with it. We have tried all of the flavors, except for the frozen yogurt. They are all delicious, especially mint chocolate chip, coffee, and chocolate fudge brownie. We actually stopped going to the expensive ice cream parlor now that we can buy this for much less money and tastes the same if not better. Try it!!!

Unknown said...

I asked my husband to stop on the way home for Brewers Salted Caramel.He called me from the store saying they didn't have it, but there was a different brand,same flavor. I was hesitant but agreed to try it. WOW! It was better than Breyers,lots of rich caramel and cheaper too. I have a new favorite!

Unknown said...

Salted caramel is awesome. But I want more of the caramel ribbon. I am addicted.

Anonymous said...

Stone Ridge Creamery Rocky Road is the best of any brand by far!

Neely Eldritch said...

Just discovered this brand at Shop n Save here in St Louis. The caramel praline sundae was something like $3 and while they really could've been more generous with the chocolate pralines, it was still amazingly rich and creamy with lots of flavor. What the package called "nutty" flavored ice cream reminded me more of a silky-smooth chocolate chip cookie dough with plenty of caramel swirl. I usually abandon ice cream once all the "stuff" has been picked out, but maybe I just got the dud part of this batch. I'll be going back for the maple caramel next.