May 24, 2006

Brr–It’s Cold in Here, There Must Be Some Buckeye in the Atmosphere

Filed under: Snacks, Eclectic, American, Outside NYC — Nosher @ 5:25 am

aglapintsfxOhio isn’t the state that first springs to mind when someone says, “ice cream”–Vermont has that honor locked up these days, now that Ben & Jerry have become international celebrities. But if B&J have any hope of establishing serious staying power, they should take a lesson or two from Cincinnati’s Aglamesis Brothers and their (nearly) century-old creamery. Since 1908, the company has been making ice cream and chocolate candies from all natural ingredients, and recently, they’ve started exporting their goodies out of the Buckeye State.

We first heard about Aglamesis purely by chance, when an Ohioan reader sent us a photograph of a pint container of Aglamesis Brothers’ ice cream, along with a swooning article written about their products. So we took the bait and sent an e-mail to Aglamesis, expressing our interest in sampling their ice cream. One week later, a package arrived at the NoshPad–courtesy of Aglamesis Bros.–containing six pints of ice cream and a pound of their Deluxe Assorted Chocolates. chocolateboxfxWe were impressed right away with the way the box was packed: inside a cardboard box sat a disposable styrofoam cooler filled with dry ice, newspaper, and of course, the ice cream and chocolates. Even though the package was shipped Fed Ex Ground, we suspect it would have survived a few more days without refrigeration before the ice cream melted–score one for quality packing. Immediately after transferring all of the containers to the freezer, we telephoned Lady Film Editor and Chopper to invite them over for a light dinner and a very big dessert.

Just as we had with our Capogiro shipment, we planned out our tasting and borrowed a tactic I use when running wine tastings: placing lighter flavors earlier in the line-up leaves palates less fatigued and more sensitive towards the end, when the richest flavors appear. HungryMan took excellent notes, and what follows here is a summary of these, in the order in which the flavors were sampled:

  • Raspberry Ice– We loved the bits of berry seeds in this, as well as the strong taste of real raspberries, and the distinct lack of acidity. This was definitely an ice, and not a sorbet, as it was thick, almost rustic in its texture. It might go well with a lime slice.
  • French Vanilla– This was very smooth and perhaps a little bit too sweet, flavored with vanilla extract and not real beans (we couldn’t spot any vanilla seeds here). This wasn’t aglascoopingfxanyone’s favorite, even though it was decent.
  • Chocolate Chip– Wow. Excellent quality chocolate in this. Maybe even a bit too much emphasis on the chocolate, as the vanilla flavors of the ice cream got completely lost. A little chunky, as well.
  • Butter Pecan– Gorgeous brown sugar flavors. Real pecan halves studded the mixture, which was a real treat. The saltiness of the pecans was also lovely. Two of us liked this best.
  • Black Raspberry Chip– Yes, fruit ice cream with chocolate chips. The strength of the berry flavor worked very well with the competing chocolate taste here, as opposed to the less-complex Chocolate Chip. The taste was also reminscent of a chocolate covered cherry or a liqueur-filled chocolate bottle. This was my clear favorite (and I ate the rest of the pint the next day).
  • Dutch Chocolate– Lady Film Editor’s favorite. The cocoa taste was intense and just sweet enough to kill the natural bitterness of the cocoa. We suspect the cocoa was Dutch-process. Lush and very rich. Paired very well with the Raspberry Ice.
  • Our overall impressions of the ice cream were very good, with a few flavors clearly finishing the night as standouts. Everyone also enjoyed the chocolates, which broke open with a satisfying ’snap’ that is the hallmark of fresh chocolate. HungryMan and I were especially smitten with the dark chocolates in the assortment and were very happy to discover that Aglamesis offers several all-dark packages. We also really love Aglamesis Bros.’ commitment to using all natural ingredients, even though the description of ‘calf gelatin’ was a little too explicit (and also a warning sign to vegetarians). But at the same time, there is something really refreshing about seeing a product that isn’t afraid to disclose all of its contents completely. I also fell completely head over heels with the stylized, late-Victorian style packaging on the ice cream. I’d buy a pint of this ice cream just to stare at the container, and truth be told, both HungryMan and I opened the freezer several times to take a peek at the lovely pink pints inside, during the very short time the ice cream sat in our freezer.

    If you’re in the mood for a regional specialty that you can’t buy in a supermarket in this area, Aglamesis Brothers sells 6 pints of its ice cream for $75 (including shipping and packaging) on their website. You’ll need to order in groups of three pints, so a 6-pint order could contain 2 flavors, including some very tasty-sounding seasonal flavors such as banana chocolate chip and coconut. Chocolates run about $16 per pound, with an extra $8 for shipping. We’ve really warmed to the idea of sending people ice cream in the mail instead of flowers–the prices are pretty comparable, and frozen treats make a very big impression. Plus, unless you’re going to be in Cincinnati, how else are you going to get your hands one one of those stunning pink pints?

    Aglamesis Brothers, Oakley Square, Cincinnati, Ohio, 513-531-5196

    3 Comments »

    1. Ohio has another great ice cream producer, Graeter’s, which I have personally ordered from. You can order online from their site at http://www.graeters.com/

      Their offerings are seasonal (for example, peppermint candy ice cream, and pumpkin ice cream around Thanksgiving/Christmas), so it’s worth it to check back often.

      Comment by Nicholas Paldino — May 24, 2006 @ 11:26 am

    2. Nicholas, great comment. We read about the Graeters vs. Aglamesis Bros. debate a few weeks ago and both said how much we’d love to do a little comparison tasting– both companies seem to inspire pretty ardent loyalty. Thanks for the link!

      Comment by Nosher — May 24, 2006 @ 1:49 pm

    3. Hailing from NE Ohio, I am very partial to Handel’s ice cream, it’s insanely good with an INSANE amount of butterfat. http://www.handelsicecream.com Also, Harry London’s chocolates are very good. (Oprah loves their pretzel joys) Trivia tidbit, the buckeye is not only our state tree, but also our state confection. It’s a peanutbutter cream dipped in chocolate to resemble the buckeye. My aunt’s are better than anyones.

      Comment by Cat — June 20, 2006 @ 11:57 am

    RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

    Leave a comment.

    You must be logged in to post a comment.

    Powered by WordPress