Top 8: Get the scoop on the best of shop-bought ice-creams this summer
Why should we confine ourselves to hot days? They are adventurous there with flavours such as liquorice, and Bragarefur, where your three choices of sweets and fruits (berries are popular) will be blended to order with vanilla soft serve.
For this week's Top 8 supermarket shopping expedition, I enlisted the help of the seven- and 12-year-olds to choose from the shelves. They and their three-year-old brother, along with an eight-year-old cousin, were happy to taste them all.
We often make our own ice cream at home, typically using a custard base, adding seasonal fruits — blackcurrants, sieved raspberries, roasted rhubarb — or by blending cream and sugar with fresh strawberries or gooseberries.
Use within 24 hours, as the ice cream can harden so much that it separates when defrosting. Manufacturers solve this problem by adding skimmed milk powder, which adds shelf life and stability, while maintaining a consistent texture.
When buying tubs of ice cream, it is important to buy them last in the supermarket, use a chill bag, and get them home before they start to thaw.
Scúp roasted banana gelato 476ml €6.95
Scúp roasted banana gelato 476ml. €6.95 Food pics: Chani Anderson
Whole milk, fresh cream, and sugar make a very good, creamy ice cream with a roasted banana (a decent 8.7% which shows in the naturally fruity flavour), with extra natural banana flavouring.
It also contains skimmed milk powder. Made in Wexford.
Score: 9.75
Murphy's 500ml €10 (€20/litre)
Murphy's 500ml €10 (€20/litre)
Fresh milk and cream, organic sugar, free range eggs blend with a decent portion of 100% Valrhona cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, natural locust bean and carrageenan to stabilise.
It's unusual not to find skimmed milk powder and other stabilisers, and it shows in the natural taste and texture.
One described (and all agreed) it was like eating a deliciously rich, frozen hot chocolate. See murphysicecream.ie for outlets.
Score: 10
M&S Collection Colombian coffee ice cream 500ml €6.50 (€13/litre)
M&S Collection Colombian coffee ice cream 500ml €6.50 (€13/litre)
From the West Country in England, fresh milk, cream, sugar, and dried skimmed milk deliver a sophisticated flavour of freshly made, lively coffee to make an ideal finish to a meal when you fancy coffee, but it's too late to drink a cup.
Nicely creamy too. One of the adults' favourites.
Score: 9
Moo'd mint choc chip gelato 460ml €5 (€10.86/litre)
Moo'd mint choc chip gelato 460ml €5 (€10.86/litre)
This was chosen as a favourite by the seven-year-old. We were surprised she liked the fresh flavour of mint so much.
A generous amount of good-quality dark chocolate chips, skimmed milk (not dried) and a decent 24% cream, stabilised by guar gum, xanthan gum and carrageenan for a smooth texture.
A lovely finish to a meal, like After 8 chocolates with ice cream. Made in Cavan.
Score: 8.75
Dunnes Simply Better butterscotch ice cream 550ml €5.99 (€10.89/litre)
Dunnes Simply Better butterscotch ice cream 550ml €5.99 (€10.89/litre)
Tasters immediately liked the slightly burned toffee style of this ice cream.
Older tasters remember it as a taste of the butterscotch bars they enjoyed on the way home from school.
The smooth, creamy texture and taste result from milk, cream and sugar with a hint of saltiness. Produced in Northern Ireland.
Score: 8.5
The Good Dairy Company Kinder Moo ice cream 650ml €8 (€12.30/litre)
The Good Dairy Company Kinder Moo ice cream 650ml €8 (€12.30/litre)
A strong Kinder Bueno flavour was loved by children familiar with the bars.
A lovely creamy texture from fresh milk and cream comes from the Good family farm in Nohoval, Kinsale, as well as skimmed milk powder in its base.
Different packaging is due soon, when it will be stocked in SuperValu, alongside its current range.
We bought in Bradleys, Cork, also available now in the Good Dairy Kinsale shop.
Score: 8
Lidl Gelatelli peanut butter crunch 500ml €3.25 (€6.50/litre)
Lidl Gelatelli peanut butter crunch 500ml €3.25 (€6.50/litre)
A flavour new to us, 5% whole peanuts are caramelised for a good crunchy contrast to the creamy texture made from cream, skimmed milk and traditional egg yolk.
The sweetness of the ice cream, which has a hint of salt, contrasts interestingly with the addition of more peanut butter throughout. Tasters loved it.
Score: 8
Mullin's Belgian Chocolate Chip ice cream 900ml €5.95 (€6.61/litre)
Mullin's Belgian Chocolate Chip ice cream 900ml €5.95 (€6.61/litre)
A chocolate sauce ripples through a creamy chocolate ice cream.
While the chocolate is not as pure or intense as our top marker, it still made for a delicious mouthful for the kids.
Skimmed milk, cream, and egg are used, and a hint of vanilla is added to enhance the richness.
Score: 7.75
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Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Top 8: Get the scoop on the best of shop-bought ice-creams this summer
In Iceland, where my son and his family live, ice cream shops often have long queues in winter, when the days are short and cold. Why should we confine ourselves to hot days? They are adventurous there with flavours such as liquorice, and Bragarefur, where your three choices of sweets and fruits (berries are popular) will be blended to order with vanilla soft serve. For this week's Top 8 supermarket shopping expedition, I enlisted the help of the seven- and 12-year-olds to choose from the shelves. They and their three-year-old brother, along with an eight-year-old cousin, were happy to taste them all. We often make our own ice cream at home, typically using a custard base, adding seasonal fruits — blackcurrants, sieved raspberries, roasted rhubarb — or by blending cream and sugar with fresh strawberries or gooseberries. Use within 24 hours, as the ice cream can harden so much that it separates when defrosting. Manufacturers solve this problem by adding skimmed milk powder, which adds shelf life and stability, while maintaining a consistent texture. When buying tubs of ice cream, it is important to buy them last in the supermarket, use a chill bag, and get them home before they start to thaw. Scúp roasted banana gelato 476ml €6.95 Scúp roasted banana gelato 476ml. €6.95 Food pics: Chani Anderson Whole milk, fresh cream, and sugar make a very good, creamy ice cream with a roasted banana (a decent 8.7% which shows in the naturally fruity flavour), with extra natural banana flavouring. It also contains skimmed milk powder. Made in Wexford. Score: 9.75 Murphy's 500ml €10 (€20/litre) Murphy's 500ml €10 (€20/litre) Fresh milk and cream, organic sugar, free range eggs blend with a decent portion of 100% Valrhona cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, natural locust bean and carrageenan to stabilise. It's unusual not to find skimmed milk powder and other stabilisers, and it shows in the natural taste and texture. One described (and all agreed) it was like eating a deliciously rich, frozen hot chocolate. See for outlets. Score: 10 M&S Collection Colombian coffee ice cream 500ml €6.50 (€13/litre) M&S Collection Colombian coffee ice cream 500ml €6.50 (€13/litre) From the West Country in England, fresh milk, cream, sugar, and dried skimmed milk deliver a sophisticated flavour of freshly made, lively coffee to make an ideal finish to a meal when you fancy coffee, but it's too late to drink a cup. Nicely creamy too. One of the adults' favourites. Score: 9 Moo'd mint choc chip gelato 460ml €5 (€10.86/litre) Moo'd mint choc chip gelato 460ml €5 (€10.86/litre) This was chosen as a favourite by the seven-year-old. We were surprised she liked the fresh flavour of mint so much. A generous amount of good-quality dark chocolate chips, skimmed milk (not dried) and a decent 24% cream, stabilised by guar gum, xanthan gum and carrageenan for a smooth texture. A lovely finish to a meal, like After 8 chocolates with ice cream. Made in Cavan. Score: 8.75 Dunnes Simply Better butterscotch ice cream 550ml €5.99 (€10.89/litre) Dunnes Simply Better butterscotch ice cream 550ml €5.99 (€10.89/litre) Tasters immediately liked the slightly burned toffee style of this ice cream. Older tasters remember it as a taste of the butterscotch bars they enjoyed on the way home from school. The smooth, creamy texture and taste result from milk, cream and sugar with a hint of saltiness. Produced in Northern Ireland. Score: 8.5 The Good Dairy Company Kinder Moo ice cream 650ml €8 (€12.30/litre) The Good Dairy Company Kinder Moo ice cream 650ml €8 (€12.30/litre) A strong Kinder Bueno flavour was loved by children familiar with the bars. A lovely creamy texture from fresh milk and cream comes from the Good family farm in Nohoval, Kinsale, as well as skimmed milk powder in its base. Different packaging is due soon, when it will be stocked in SuperValu, alongside its current range. We bought in Bradleys, Cork, also available now in the Good Dairy Kinsale shop. Score: 8 Lidl Gelatelli peanut butter crunch 500ml €3.25 (€6.50/litre) Lidl Gelatelli peanut butter crunch 500ml €3.25 (€6.50/litre) A flavour new to us, 5% whole peanuts are caramelised for a good crunchy contrast to the creamy texture made from cream, skimmed milk and traditional egg yolk. The sweetness of the ice cream, which has a hint of salt, contrasts interestingly with the addition of more peanut butter throughout. Tasters loved it. Score: 8 Mullin's Belgian Chocolate Chip ice cream 900ml €5.95 (€6.61/litre) Mullin's Belgian Chocolate Chip ice cream 900ml €5.95 (€6.61/litre) A chocolate sauce ripples through a creamy chocolate ice cream. While the chocolate is not as pure or intense as our top marker, it still made for a delicious mouthful for the kids. Skimmed milk, cream, and egg are used, and a hint of vanilla is added to enhance the richness. Score: 7.75
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
I transformed my dark and gloomy kitchen for just £150 using B&Q bargains with NO experience
A SAVVY woman has revealed that she saved herself thousands of pounds by transforming her kitchen all by herself. Natalie Stainthorpe, a dental nurse from Middlesbrough, estimated that it would cost her £3,000 to rip out her 4 Natalie wanted to transform her dark and gloomy kitchen without spending thousands Credit: Jam Press/@everythingnatalie_ 4 The dental nurse decided to do it herself with the help of TikTok tutorials Credit: Jam Press/@everythingnatalie_ 4 she spent less than the £250 budget she set herself Credit: Jam Press/@everythingnatalie_ After moving into her new home, the 34-year-old was desperate to add some light to the dark and gloomy kitchen without it costing a fortune. The kitchen had barely any natural light as an extension had been built and the dark wood furnishings didn't help either. Armed with TikTok tutorials and a dream, she set out to 'I just couldn't stand how dark and gloomy it felt – I wanted a fresh, light space where I'd actually enjoy cooking and spending time with my family,' she told What's The Jam. READ MORE HOME TRANSFORMATIONS 'The kitchen before was in good condition, but needed a little bit of TLC and I had a vision for the room. 'We did a rough estimate of how much it would cost to completely replace the kitchen from a family friend and we were looking at quite a lot of money - around £2,000 to £3,000 - which was money we didn't have. 'I decided that I was going to do a budget-friendly makeover instead.' She decided not to get new units and opted for a few tins of paint and rolls of vinyl. Most read in Fabulous Natalie roped in her partner and sister to help freshen up the cupboards, wrap the worktops and breathe new life into the handles. She bagged cupboard paint for under £15 a tin, snapped up bargain vinyl from B&Q and picked up all her decorating bits from B&M to keep costs down. Tradesmen quoted me £2.5K to wrap my kitchen cupboards so I did it myself for £62 instead and it looks so good The makeover took around a month, squeezed in between shifts and weekends, but the results speak for themselves – the once gloomy kitchen now bright, airy and looking brand new. Natalie said: 'Our original budget was £250 – I didn't want to spend more than that, so to come so far under budget was amazing. 'It was quite a dark room – dark floors, worktops and cupboards and I really wanted to lighten the space up as because of the extension on the back we don't get that much natural light. 'We found the vinyl easy on the straight parts of the worktops, around the sink was a bit fiddly, we watched a few tutorials on YouTube on how to do it around the sink to try and minimise any mistakes. 'My partner Chris actually did most of the sink area as I ran out of patience with it. We repurposed the handles that were already on the units as to replace 14 handles in matte black was quite expensive. 'We gave them a light sand and then we sprayed them with Rust-Oleum black matte spray paint and then sealed with a matte sealant spray. 'We got all our painting supplies from B&M to keep the costs down and budget-friendly – they sell such an amazing range of painting and decorating tools to help with projects like this. 4 Natalie shared her tips for other DIY novices Credit: Jam Press/@everythingnatalie_ 'I spent some time researching how to vinyl worktops watching videos on YouTube and TikTok. 'I also got lots of tips from my friend who has done lots of vinyling to change up her rental home.' Natalie, who documented her journey on TikTok, says the whole project took around three to four weeks to complete as she picked it up on days off and weekends. She said: 'It definitely wasn't a quick transformation but that was fine with us, we loved seeing it slowly come together. 'The hardest part for me was probably the vinyling, simply because it took more brain power than the rest, and a lot of patience - something I'm known to not have a lot of. 'We didn't encounter any mistakes, we just took our time with the project - apart from when I spilt paint on my hob. 'If I was to start this project again, I wouldn't change anything – I love how we took our time and worked together to get our final look in here. Rome wasn't built in a day and sometimes time and money restrict a quick transformation. 'I'm all for realistic budget makeovers and those take time. 'The difference it's made is amazing, it's now light and airy, it's really brightened up the room, I'm still obsessed with it now two months down the line.' 'We've had such an amazing reaction to our makeover, my friends and family said it looks like a brand new kitchen and it's had such a good response both on my Instagram and TikTok. Eight Easy DIY Tips & Tricks The ultimate guide for homeowners and renters: DIY expert's Save time and money with this easy DIY tiling hack to transform a room in under an hour Avoid these five mistakes in your next DIY project Transform your kitchen with this Noisy neighbours? Here's DIY expert shared her favourite strategy for painting around glass without tape If you want to give your kitchen a fresh look, here's Five tricks to 'My advice would be to take your time, it's okay if you don't get a transformation like this done in a day like you can sometimes see on social media. 'My second piece of advice to make sure the longevity of your makeover is prep, prep, prep. 'Spend time prepping your units and surfaces for painting, you'll thank yourself later. 'It just goes to show, you don't always need a big budget – sometimes a bit of patience and a few clever tricks can completely change your home.'
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Protesters slam Cork greenway route: 'It feels like they are trying to bulldoze my village'
A woman who lived in constant fear when she lived in an earthquake zone in the US says plans to route a major Cork greenway through her family's land have triggered the same deep-rooted anxiety. 'I lived on a fault-line in California, and the anxiety of that is equivalent to the anxiety we're feeling over this greenway plan and the impact it could have on our family's land,' Megan Sheehan said. She was speaking as she joined a protest last night by several people impacted by the 300m-wide emerging preferred route corridor (EPRC) for the vast Cork to Kinsale greenway outside the last of three public information events on the scheme, which will accept online submissions until August 15 at The preferred route runs through her father-in-law's dairy farm, and over a site where she and her husband have lodged a planning application for a home. 'This is my father-in-law's land. They are the third generation to put blood, sweat, and tears into this farm. If it splits the farm, it will affect their livelihood,' she said. Local residents and school children protest against council plans to extend the greenway through Monkstown. Picture: Chani Anderson 'And we want to build our home here, but there has been no real consultation about the route — it's just awful. "I am not opposed to a greenway, but they are going about this the wrong way. It feels like they are trying to bulldoze my village They want to connect Cork and Kinsale, that's their goal, but the human cost of that isn't being weighted as heavily 'This route plan only makes sense on a map. If you actually walked it, no way in heck would you think it could work.' She said the vast investment required for the greenway should be spent first repairing and maintaining roads in the area. 'I do believe in greenways, but we need roads that don't melt or wash away in floods,' she said. Her neighbour, Rob Power, said seeing his house and garden fall within the preferred route 'didn't feel great'. 'I have two young daughters and this greenway could be 100m from our back garden, and I would have security concerns around that,' he said. 'This is being sold as a benefit to tourism but, if you look at what's there between Ballinhassig and Riverstick, there is very little of tourist value in it. It just looks like lazy design. Plans were approved last year for a 400m stretch of greenway and public realm upgrades in Monkstown, which includes the removal of the village island and the creation of a new car access and boat trailer park between the greenway and the Sand Quay. Picture: Chani Anderson 'My brother-in-law's farm is next door to me, and there is potential that his farm could be split in half. 'The council can't give us costings either. To bring the 175-year-old viaduct up to standard, through surveying it, scaffolding, addressing the condition of the stone and steel — sure, that would swallow money. 'And they want to open Goggins Hill tunnel, that's an 820m-long curved tunnel. I'd have concerns about the safety of that too.' Noreen Ring said aside from security, safety, and privacy concerns, people are worried about the disruption to nature and wildlife, to farmers' ability to farm effectively, and about potential compulsory purchase orders (CPOs). 'More worrying than anything is the lack of trust and transparency in this whole process,' she said. 'There is supposed to have been a landowner's consultation prior to this step in the process that they are currently in. However, landowners had nobody call to their door to be consulted with in any way. 'We are still finding out about impacted people who have received no letter. We have been doing everything we can to advise people of the greenway and about the final consultation, going door to door with flyers, putting them in shops, post offices etc. Whilst we are not against greenways being built, our challenge is that it is predominantly being planned on private land, as opposed to on State land, and they can't tell us why they won't build it on State-owned land A spokesman for Cork County Council said the non-statutory consultation underway on the preferred route at the moment is an attempt by the council to make people aware of their draft plans for the greenway. 'But we need people to respond. We need people to write in, to make submissions, and let us know what they're feeling. If they don't like it, to perhaps set out alternatives, and if there is something we are not aware of, please tell us — we will do our best to find a solution,' he said. Deputy Michael Collins TD with Noreen and Patrick Ring, who are protesting against Cork County Council plans for the Cork to Kinsale greenway at the Viaduct in Cork. Picture: David Creedon The council will seek to avoid severing farms but, where it may be unavoidable, it will look at accommodation works, he said. 'We need to do this right, and we want to bring the public with us. We are not trying to hide anything, but we do need people to engage with us, and to give us their reactions, solutions or alternatives.' Monkstown Meanwhile, in Cork Harbour, residents in Monkstown have vowed to fight to save their cherished "village island" which is slated for removal under contentious council plans for a stretch of greenway and active travel infrastructure. Plans were approved last year for a 400m stretch of greenway and public realm upgrades in the village, which includes the removal of the village island and the creation of a new car access and boat trailer park between the greenway and the Sand Quay. The scheme will form part of the larger Lee to Sea greenway route, but residents say the council hasn't listened to their concerns, or properly considered their compromise suggestion. Among those to express concern about the plans was the acting principal of Scoil Barra Naofa, who said the village island is the only safe collection and drop-off point for buses for the school. 'It provides a safety refuge for parents and children waiting, dropping, and collecting. It is also a safe route for children to walk and cycle to and from school,' she said. Monkstown's 'village island', where the proposed extension of the greenway is planned to run, prompting concern among local residents. Picture: Chani Anderson 'Moving the island would result in bringing a busy carriageway closer to our pupils while they walk and cycle to school and attend school tours and matches. This would be quite concerning for us as a school, as we feel it would be a serious health and safety risk The Monkstown TidyTowns committee says its alternative proposal would give the council all it requires, without removing the island. 'It also retains the current levels of safety for children and the community at large by separating the R610 from the village as it is,' spokesman Gary Duffy said. The council spokesman said the scheme has secured planning and is on a funding pathway for delivery, but added that he would be willing to meet those who still have concerns.
