Anyone have experience with Schwan's (food truck) [moved from General Topics]

[queensgrt]

I'm seeking information and/or experience on the food quality from Schwan's. I know it's more expensive, but is the quality there? If you're familiar, do you have any favorites or suggestions? I hear their ice cream is very good. Thanks in advance for any information you can share.

[Breezychow]

One happy thing occured from apparent financial problems Schwan was having - they sold their gourmet food line "Impromptu Gourmet". I used to send occasional food gifts from this side company to my parents, even though the ingredient list was sketchy. My parents like the food, & at their age, I figured an occasional treat wasn't a big deal.

Now that "Impromptu Gourmet" has been taken over by a new & more conscientious company, the prices are higher, but I've noticed that the ingredient list for the most if not all dishes contains absolutely no preservatives or unpronouncables. Am thinking of gifting my parents with a year-long meal package for Xmas.

[buttertart]

My MIL lives in a small town in IA and swears by them. She buys some meats, some readymades for our nephew who lives with her, and the pepper bacon, which is phenomenally good. She's semi-homebound at a snappy and still cookin' 88, and they suit her purposes.

[RedTop]

I can't get past the fact that the truck servicing our neighborhood is a rolling wreck. So I've never ordered.

[poofty]

The ice cream is great and the vegetables are good too. I've tried almost everything they have except meats (we raise our own). It tastes good and is convenient but at this time only the ice cream is worth the price to me.

[mrbigshotno.1]

Item # 125, milk chocolate covered ice cream bites, my God are they good!

[sandylc]

ICE CREAM: MILK, CREAM, NONFAT MILK, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, VANILLA EXTRACT, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, GUAR GUM, CALCIUM SULFATE, LOCUST BEAN GUM, CELLULOSE GUM, CARRAGEENAN, ANNATTO (FOR COLOR). COATING: SUGAR, COCONUT OIL, NONFAT MILK, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR, SOYBEAN OIL, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), VANILLIN (AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR). CONTAINS: MILK, SOY MAY CONTAIN TRACE AMOUNTS OF PEANUTS, PECANS, ALMONDS, EGGS, OR WHEAT

These are the ingredients for item #125.

[Cathy]

It. Tastes. Good.

[sandylc]

Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream:

Ingredients: Cream, Skim Milk, Sugar, Egg Yolks, Natural Vanilla

Schwann's Vanilla Ice Cream:

CREAM, BUTTERMILK, MILK, SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, WHEY, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, GUAR GUM, CARRAGEENAN, NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR, CELLULOSE GUM, VANILLIN, ANNATTO (FOR COLOR). CONTAINS: MILK

[aurora50]

Yeah, who cares!!!
What I had was yummy.

[Breezychow]

I looked into their company for food delivery to my elderly parents. No thank you. The chemical content in all of their recipes was abysmal. It's nothing more than highly processed food at high prices. You'll do your wallet & your body better by buying raw ingredients & cooking yourself.

[Cathy]

I used to have them deliver every two weeks and especially craved the beef tips in gravy and the frozen soups. There are always online 'specials' I would try and then order at the regular price.

Then I started seeing amazingly similar items at Costco (the frozen root beer floats two summers ago, as well as the personal pizzas and orange creamsicles) all those items had the same sourcing as the packages in my freezer, so I stopped ordering.

I never took advantage of the 100% satisfied guarantee- there wasn't any item I didn't like that badly. I also liked that I could order online and the order would be left at my door if I wasn't home.

[mateo21]

Only with their ice-cream sandwiches! And they aren't bad.

[MarkG]

the problem is that they are heavy on un healthy items. those un healthy items taste good but arent good for you.

[OldDog]

So, you pick and choose. I see nothing "un healthy" in frozen boccoli, for example. :)

[aurora50]

My sister and I happened upon a Schwan's truck about a month ago in a parking lot. We had never tried their stuff, but had always wanted to. We got two items: their Chicken Cordon Bleu and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream.
The chicken was very tasty, and since we cook all the time, this was a treat, because we didn't have to make something so fancy for ourselves - it was already done.
The ice cream is so delicious and rich, it's like crack!

[pdxgastro]

Wait, so you bought the stuff right off the truck? Is that normal? Like an ice cream man, but for frozen food? And the driver/deliverer was able to handle the sale?

[Ditdah]

While I've never heard of someone walking up to the truck in a parking lot, your ice cream truck analogy is spot on. That's what Schwan's is - home delivery of frozen foods, purchased right from the truck. You don't pre-order, they just show up at your doorstep on the appropriate day and you buy what you want. (You can pre-order on their website now, I think, but it's not necessary unless you want to have something particular and you're worried that they'll be out of stock.)

My father and step-mom buy lots of their food; the driver shows up at the door every Wednesday afternoon and says "Here's what's on sale this week; would you like anything?" They choose what they want, the driver goes to the truck and gets it, and they pay for it right there.

[Cathy]

You can preorder online. I used to and would leave a cooler by my door with a check. It was still frozen when I got home. But if I was home, I could also find out about the specials on the truck...and would buy more than I had ordered...

[aurora50]

Yeah, what happened was, my sister and I visited her credit union, and the truck happened to be parked in the lot, maybe the driver had a quick transaction to make, or someone in the building had ordered something. That's how it happened. Purely by chance.
We asked him what he had, he handed us an order book. We took a quick look, asked him if he had this or that, and he proceeded to pull the items out of different parts of the truck, kind of like an ice cream man. Everything was frozen.
We gave him cash, we don't remember how he actually handled the sale.

[OldDog]

We use a lot of Schwan's products, having been steady customers for more than 6 years. Yes, there are cheaper options out there, but really, how much cheaper when you consider all the factors...no cost for waste on meats, no cost for gas to drive any where to shop, no lost prep time...

We find most Schwan's meats to be totally devoid of inedible bits. Among current favorites are their boneless pork chops, breaded chicken tenders (awesome flavor, very moist,) the thick sliced bacon and natural casing weiners are excellent.

We also like most Schwan's vegetables...again, no waste, and always buy the american cheese, so much better flavor than the standard plastic wrapped stuff.

Yes, the ice cream is very good, too.

ETA ... if you do get a Schwan's item you don't like, give It back to your driver for a refund. And no, I am not a Schwan's employee.

[sandylc]

I did some investigating a number of years ago regarding Schwan's. Their "food" is about as fuel-injected (our family term for full of artificial additives/preservatives/hydrogenated stuff, etc.) as it comes. In a nutshell, their stuff is not food and should not be consumed.