March 19, 2012 - Fearlessly Archived - Still a fun read, price & availability may have changed.

Ooh La La

What makes French Vanilla Ice Cream, well, French? It’s not the vanilla variety or the fact that one spoonful and – c’est l’amour (although...). The name actually refers to the classic French way of making ice cream using an egg-custard base. Prior to freezing, egg yolks are cooked with cream, sugar and crushed vanilla pods. The result is rich, silky texture and intense vanilla flavor.

Nous aimons French Vanilla Ice Cream. That’s why we work with a famously colorful West Coast ice-creamery, renowned for being “Best in America,” to make Trader Joe’s French Vanilla Super Premium Ice Cream. They know French egg-custard ice cream craft. And they only produce Super Premium, which means our French Vanilla Ice Cream contains at least 15% butterfat and low – we’re talking around 1% – overrun (in other words, there is hardly any excess air whipped into the finished product to artificially boost its volume profile). When you spoon the cool treat into your mouth, you can truly appreciate the rich, smooth difference. The intense vanilla flavor and luscious, creamy texture also make it a natural à la mode delight. We highly recommend scooping it atop our Journey To the Center of the Cookie for a venture into the realm of bliss. At our price of $3.99 for a quart of French Vanilla Ice Cream – c’est l’amour.

Culinary Curiosity: The phrase à la mode is French for “in the manner (or mode) [of],” referring to the style in which a dish is prepared. The term has been Americanized to mean, “topped with ice cream” – a preferred flavor being French Vanilla, naturally.