Can we talk about two of my favorite things for a second? No, not Star Wars or Rex Burkhead, but rather I speak of Bananas and Pajamas Ice Cream. We’ve already seen Rita’s Italian Ice and Breyer’s launch Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Creams in recent weeks, and now, it looks like Turkey Hill is getting in on the bandwagon. I consider this only a positive, because thanks to all the potato chips I’ve been eating in recent weeks, I could use some freaking potassium in my life.
One of the things I like about Turkey Hill is that I can consistently buy their ice cream for $2.50 per 1.5 ounce quart. When you’re part of a family which goes through ice cream like it was calorie free, this kind of economic sense just makes sense. But the other thing I love about Turkey Hill is that they devote quit a bit of energy into developing Limited Edition releases that correspond to the seasons.
Taking a look at their 2012 schedule, I noticed one of June’s offerings is ‘Nutty Nanny. A somewhat confusing moniker that shouldn’t be confused with the crazy grandmother from the Beverly Hillbilly’s, it’s actually “banana frozen yogurt with toffee-covered almonds.” Given my love of all things toffee, it was clearly game over when I noticed it at the grocery store the other day.
We’re all food people here so let’s skip to the point and assume the obvious. Banana is one of those tastes (like blueberry) which is exceptionally difficult to authenticate under the guise of “natural and artificial flavors.” It’s not only that it has cloying sense of artificial ripeness that more often than not does an injustice to actual bananas, but there seems to be an almost odor like ability of isoamyl acetate to hang in the roof of your mouth.
Some people find this taste and smell combination to be gag-inducing. Thanks to plenty of Runts as a child, I admit I’m somewhat fond of it.
‘Nutty Nanna’s base is both real and slightly artificial. Real in that you can detect the presence of pureed bananas in the texture of the frozen yogurt, but artificial in the sense that it tastes a lot sweeter and more assertive than any banana I’ve had recently. Given that I ate a banana while also eating this frozen yogurt, I have full authority to claim this. Still, the banana flavor is not distractingly artificial, and thanks to what can only be described as an asteroid field of toffee covered almonds, it can be endured even by the most artificial flavor phobic of ice cream eaters.
This is where the frozen yogurt makes its money. Forget peanuts, the toffee covered almonds have a crunchy and toasted richness that gets an interesting twist from a honey glaze, and given the sheer amount, there’s no way the fat content is as low on this as the container claims. Not that I’m complaining. On its own, the banana flavor is average, run-of-the-mill, and wouldn’t lead me to purchase this flavor again. But given the unique puree banana texture and the contrasting richness and crunchy almonds, you’re really getting one of the more unique frozen yogurt creations out.
I’m impressed. While a big downside is the fast melting process, there havne’t been any ice crystal pop-ups yet, and the texture remains gum-free to my senses. Solid job Turkey Hill. Now all they’ve gotta work on is coming up with some better names.
Turkey Hill Nutty ‘Nanna
- Price: $2.50 (On sale at Weis)
- Rating: 7.5/10
- Chances I’ll Buy Again: 60%
