Friday, July 25, 2014

Glace Vanille 101

It's that time of year when we Must eat ice cream.
As soon as I got my walking sticks/becquille, I was outta here.
Off to get some ice cream.
Chapon on 69, rue du Bac has esquimaux popsicles covered in their own chocolat noir.
I was after a good old fashioned cone. Chapon has an interesting square scoop by the way.
A few doors down at Le Gâteau et du Pain they now have ice cream!
Unfortunately they were not open ;(
Not far off is traditional Le Bac à Glaces so this is a good route to take if you're researching ice cream.
When Louise of Raids Patisserie announced a vanilla ice cream tasting I was in. We were to bring 2 small pots of any of the following brands:
Berthillon, Pascal Le Glacier, Raimo, Pozzetto, Martine Lambert, Le Bac à glaces, Sébastien Dégardin, Liberté / Benoît Castel, Hugo & Victor, Christian Constant, Glazed, La Tropicale.
Living round the corner from Berthillon I knew my assignment, but they do not provide lids for their cups so I went big. A big block of vanille. I prayed it wouldn’t melt in the steamy heat wave we're having .
There were 7 of us and 10 different vanilla ice creams to taste. !
No double dipping allowed. We went through hundreds of little spoons.
Rules must be followed at Louise's
First of all SILENCE. We need to concentrate - no chatter among participants. 
We are to judge aroma, mouth feel, consistency, appearance, whatever we deem important.
*= scandalous **= not so scandalous ***= pas mal or good ****= very good indeed *****=heaven on earth and the best of the bunch.
On my left, Julie, a perfume aficionado surely has good taste buds but who can read her fine French handwriting ? On my right, Miguel from Mexique, a baker at Frederic Lalos is also writing in French. Hmmm...
My notes/scrawl tell the tale. Louise will post the final results in detail soon. I can tell you the WINNER was Crème Glacee Absolu Vanille of Le Gateau et la Pain! 89, rue du Bac 75007
I picked up little meringues at Berthillon and brought along  some vanille de Madagascar to sniff. The meringues dipped in the melting vanilla ice cream was definitely 'heaven on earth'.
Is there anything better than melted vanilla ice cream soup? Not in my book. YUM
Our team leader, Louise lapping up vanilla soup.

38 comments:

  1. Reading your post reminded me of the times, many years ago when my mother would make ice cream . Finally it would set and be ready to eat .

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    Replies
    1. that must have been so exciting.
      Nothing like home-made ice cream!!!

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  2. Great opening sketch and photos of the ice cream shops.
    I don't know what it is about European ice cream - gelato - but it looks so much better than here :)
    Louise by the wide open window is a great shot.

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    Replies
    1. I agree about ice cream over here...and there are so many different people making it.
      Nearly every patisserie makes their own which is lovely.
      Another reason to try and taste!

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  3. Le Gateau et du Pain don't seem to understand the concept of pricing. Their large pots cost more than their small pots, relatively speaking.

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    Replies
    1. It's true they are a bit of a mystery altogether..
      But their products are superb and sublime so one must forgive them for this.
      Far above the maddening crowd.

      Delete
  4. Marilyn6:44 AM

    GORGEOUS !
    simply gorgeous! I want right now Paris ice cream!
    Love all that you share.

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  5. I am so picky about ice cream! I'll have to do my own taste test of at least the top three. Want to join me? My personal favorite (at this time) is gelato d'Alberto up on rue Moufftarde.

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    Replies
    1. YES PLEASE!!
      I Never even tasted gelato d'Alberto up on rue Moufftarde!!
      I feel I should run right over there now!!!

      Delete
    2. Yes, you should!! Really yummy, but, of course, aren't they all?

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  6. Carol, the vanilla ice cream tasting session looks absolutely delightful. It seems as if there was just enough variety to make it interesting, but not so many as to make the judging impossible.

    Your watercolor at the top is fabulous!

    Have just added ice cream/gelato to today's agenda. I don't even need to write it down, as it's a gorgeous summer day here ... perfect for a scoop or two. xo

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  7. Alaina9:14 AM

    Ah, you were in my old nabe. When I lived there in the late 70's, i lived at 31 R. De Beaune, Metro Bac. There were no ice cream parlors then, but hat shops (where you could watch them making hats in the window) and book shops and of course antique shops. Thanks for the memories.

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    Replies
    1. It's all gentrified now Alaina
      Very top drawer real-estate.
      High-end patisseries galore and chocolate shops

      Delete
  8. Bonnie L9:30 AM

    Oh my goodness, what a TREAT! Vanilla can be so hard to get right. Right now we are spending weekends at our summer place in Vermont where the farmer's markets are exploding with seasonal berries! Have made batches of strawberry ice cream. Just started with the cherries - my own version of Cherry Garcia ala Ben & Jerry's (we are in VT after all!). David Lebovitz has a great ice cream recipe book "The Perfect Scoop" and "Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream" is pretty great, too! I would chuck it all to be eating ice cream in Paris, tho'! Enjoy!

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    1. YUM I'm coming to VT a toute suite!!

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  9. lovely to read your post about glaces. This weekend, we'll be eating home-made Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, made with fresh mint from our local farmers market, using David Lebovitz's recipe. Amazing stuff--the fragrance will make you swoon before you even taste it!

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    Replies
    1. Oh do send some to me!!
      Nothing like choc mint ice cream!!
      They don't have that flavor here at all. :(

      Delete
  10. Anonymous9:33 AM

    YUM -- a scoop of coffee and a scoop of chocolate from Berthillon is a favorite combination. Is the woman wearing flip flops in front of Chapon French? Are women in Paris wearing them like they do here in the US? I can't imagine........

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    Replies
    1. HAVAIANAS are in all the shops because of the world cup but this is the first I've seen them in the street. I would be inclined to say no she is not French...

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  11. Bonjour chère amie
    Hummmm j'adore les glaces et tous les parfums ! Je fais moi-même mes glaces et mes amis adorent venir les déguster ! Je t'invite quand tu veux ! En ce moment j'expose mes peintures à la Galerie Foyer des Campagnes à Gassin dans le Var. Tu es la bienvenue... Je suis présente et serais heureuse de faire ta connaissance.
    J'adore ton aquarelle qui me donne l'eau à la bouche ! Une aquarelle aux couleurs sucrées...
    Gros gros bisous

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  12. Well, now that's my kind of research! This post reminded me a bit of my Cork Popper posts -- except we're doing wine! I think at our next CP we should do both! Tremendously fun -- and what's not to love about ice cream!

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  13. How wonderful are these photos! Now THAT is a seriously tough assignment I would have loved to be a part of. You ladies really know how to have delicious fun. I've been dipping into Kawartha Dairy Salted Caramel over here. It's quite difficult to find as it is so popular. The dairy uses fresh cream and fat content in their ice creams can sometimes be up to 45 percent daily value per serving. I still don't care....yummy yummy in my tummy.

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    Replies
    1. What's fat content?
      No one has heard of that here?
      Percentages? Are you kidding me?

      Delete
  14. wonderful fresh post; tasty and delightful :)
    I personally love the (well marketed) AMORINO - I also adore the whole atmosphere and they really do the BESTEST (!) espresso....
    Me too, je suis amoureuse de ton dessin - ça fait envie!
    bisous doux, Kiki

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    Replies
    1. I'm a big fan of Amorino too but for the tasting it's too 'industrial'
      These were meant to be 'artesanal'...small makers though I wonder about Berthillon..

      Delete
  15. EVERYBODY LOVES ICE CREAM...... :)))))

    http://www.funnycoco.com/c/10721/because+everybody+loves+icecream

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  16. Love that watercolor! Temps here are so high all of a sudden - it's been uncharacteristically benign this year- that I doubt I could get ice cream from the store to the house without souping it. Last night I had mascarpone-with-salted-caramel-ribbon-and-pistachios ice cream and licked up every last drop!

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  17. Double berry strawberry is calling my name!

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  18. come visit us in San Diego and we can have Graeter's ice cream imported from Cincinnati, still made in small batches by the "french pot" method. Glad you're getting back in the swing!

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  19. The only flavor ice cream I eat is Berthillon la glace aux abricots! It's been that way since 1986 and I adore it!

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  20. coffee and chocolate ice cream

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  21. Rosemary F2:26 AM

    Interesting. Shouldn't it have been a blind tasting, like with wine?! I'm surprised Berthillon didn't win, I think they're the best.

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    1. Impossible to do a blind tasting as they are usually done since the ice creams all came in identifying cups. Too hot to switch cups!

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  22. In my ice cream bowl this week, I've been enjoying Caramel Macadamia Crunch Frozen Yogurt from a Southern Oregon Dairy - Umpqua! Miam, Miam! Next time you are putting a tasting party together of Parisien delights, please call me - I would love to participate! Terrific idea to utilize the soupy vanilla ice cream with the meringues!

    Your aquarelles of the ice cream cups are so colorful! I must try to paint them, too!

    Mary in Oregon

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  23. Looks so good. I love ice cream but only handmade, organic no additives, and vanilla. And have it once a month as a treat. Great post!

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