Dreyer's Ice Cream..not what it used to be?

[janetofreno]

I wasn't sure where to post this...after all, this used to be a California (more specifically, Oakland) brand but now its everywhere...at least in the west.

Anyway, somewhat surprisingly for one who lives in such a warm place, I rarely eat ice cream. And with the exception of an occasional "cheer up" carton of Cherry Garcia, I rarely buy it for the house. But the other day Dreyer's was on sale, and I thought it would go nicely with all the beautiful berries I had, so I bought a carton of plain vanilla. However, when it came time to eat desert, we were too tired to wash the berries...so just had some ice cream. And I must admit, I was very disappointed...it had a funny taste too it...almost fake or chemical.

Now, the original Dreyer's on College Ave was a favorite stop when I was growing up (especially on Sunday nights post-chinese food..), and the brand holds a special place in my heart. And of course, they invented Rocky Road, which is reason enough to love them. But I was really disappointed by that bowl last night. Was it me, or perhaps just an after-taste from the spicy and garlicky eggplant-potato curry that we had eaten just previously. Hounds, any of you tried a plain bowl of Dreyer's lately?

[Steve Green]

Nestle has owned a controlling interest in Dreyer's since 2002, and IMO quality has declined since then. Although we eat very little ice cream these days, we prefer Ben and Jerry's or Haagen-Dazs for vanilla. B & J, in particular, tastes like the ice cream we grew up with. However, we really like the Dreyer's fruit bars, especially the new pineapple ones.

Tried Breyer's once -- meh.

[enbell]

Gosh Janet, I had the same experience yesterday! I bought some plain vanilla to go with some fresh berries at a BBQ. The vanilla tasted less like vanilla than I remembered/expected and also more gummy and chemical-like if that makes sense. Bummer!

[mrbigshotno.1]

I lived for awhile on L.I. back in the mid '70s and I remember how good Breyer's was, it was still a regional brand back then. The one I enjoyed most I beleive was called "butter almond", man was that good. Since they sold to whoever and went national it's pretty bad.

[anonymouse1935]

If Dreyer's is Breyer's here in the East, it is one of the worst commercial ice creams out there. They are all bad now, both in taste and ounces, but in order of texture (crumbly) and taste (disgusting), Breyer's is the worst quality. Next is Edy's. Turkey Hill is still hanging on, as is Blue Bunny. Haagen Daz is the best, but I don't buy their 14oz. 'pints' anymore.

It only takes 35 minutes to make homemade, so if I gotta have outstanding ice cream, I make my own. David Lebovitz's Vietnamese coffee is easy and excellent.

[jfood]

Dreyer's is Edy's out here A.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I agree with jfood. Dreyer's is Edy's in the East Coast. I like Breyers just fine for me. I have a completely different order of preference order from your list.