Consumer group CHOICE taste-tested 25 vanilla ice creams from popular brands, including Bulla, Connoisseur, Haagen-Dazs, Peters and Streets to help you work out the yummiest one to add to your shopping trolley.
"Vanilla ice cream is a staple in most households - it's a great flavour to have on its own or to accompany other desserts. Yet, with so many brands on offer, it can be tricky knowing which vanilla ice cream is best for you," says Editorial Director, Mark Serrels.
"Coles Irresistible Vanilla Bean received first place in our testing with a score of 91%. Our experts praised it for its creamy texture, pleasant vanilla aroma, and smoothness. Close behind was Aldi Indulge Vanilla Bean Gourmet Ice Cream, scoring 89%. It was also praised for its nice vanilla aroma, creaminess, and had a great balance in flavour and fat," says Serrels.
Our experts blind-tasted each vanilla ice cream sample and assessed them based on appearance, aroma, flavour and texture. The CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of the taste test score as rated by our judges, and is recommended by achieving a score of 80% or more.
The top four best vanilla ice creams
1. Coles Irresistible Vanilla Bean
CHOICE Expert Rating: 94%
Price per 100mL: 65 cents
2. Aldi Indulge Vanilla Bean Gourmet Ice Cream
CHOICE Expert Rating: 89%
Price per 100mL: 60 cents
3. Norco Cape Byron Ultimate Vanilla
CHOICE Expert Rating: 85%
Price per 100mL: $1.00
- Woolworths Vanilla Bean Indulgent Ice Cream
CHOICE Expert Rating: 81%
Price per 100mL: 65 cents
Editor's notes:
Vincent Piccolo is an Artisan Gelato Maker and the creative force behind his family's business, Art of Gelato. He has spent his life mastering the multigenerational recipes and techniques of his craft. Today, Vincent creates bespoke gelato products for Sydney's most recognisable venues and has been featured by the Powerhouse Museum in its "Powerhouse Food: Producers" series.
Brigid Treloar has been a freelance food consultant for over 30 years. The author of eight cookbooks, and co-author of three others, she also contributes to newspapers and magazines, reviews restaurants and judges cookery and recipe competitions. Brigid has presented specialist cooking classes around Australia and overseas, and often appears on TV and radio. She's a lecturer at Le Cordon Bleu, consultant with Zest Waterfront Venues, and advises many of Australia's food companies on product and recipe development.
Petra Sugiarto has an academic background in food technology and microbiology and has been working in the food industry for more than 20 years, in particular the dairy industry in various applications including yoghurt, cheese, ice cream/gelato, dairy desserts. For the past 14 years she's been on the judging panels for the DIAA and Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Produce competitions and for the AGDA.
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Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
