These 3 Vanilla Ice Creams With Higher-Quality Ingredients Than Häagen-Dazs

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Vanilla ice cream is simple. While having a hundred different wild flavors all laid out in front of you might be a dream for some, people who love vanilla know that getting it done right is hard because vanilla's simplicity is also its trap. Without brownie chunks, swirls of fruit, gummy bears, cookie dough, caramel, or Flamin' Hot Cheetos to distract the palate, it leaves nothing to hide behind. You can taste every single thing that goes into it, meaning that the quality of those few, essential ingredients becomes all that matters.

Since the 1960s, Häagen-Dazs has been a solid favorite among those who appreciate vanilla's charms. Founded in the Bronx by two Polish immigrants, this premium ice cream company started with just 3 flavors (vanilla was one of them), and a dedication to using only the best ingredients. And to this day, the list of what goes into their classic Vanilla Bean ice cream is short and sweet: cream, milk, eggs, cane sugar, vanilla, and nothing more. Häagen-Dazs commands the freezer aisle at your local grocery store, and is consistently one of the top-selling brands in the entire country. And yet, if you're willing to shop around (and maybe spend a little bit more), there are actually a couple other brands out there — Van Leeuwen, Jeni's, and Straus Organic — with vanilla ice creams that have even better ingredients.  

Those who don't understand vanilla think that vanilla is boring. What they don't get is that vanilla is just guileless — and Van Leeuwen capitalizes on that by using milk, cream, egg yolks, and cane sugar as a canvas for showcasing the soft, floral flavor of their cold-ground, whole Tahitian vanilla beans. Van Leeuwen also adds just a touch of salt to the final mix which sharpens every flavor even further.

If you're looking for something slightly more complex, Jeni's Ice Creams has a Honey Vanilla Bean flavor that is remarkably layered for having such a short ingredient list. Jeni's uses vanilla beans from three different growing regions — Indonesia, Tahiti, and Madagascar — in order to dial in a flavor that captures the best notes of each. Instead of yolks, there's tapioca syrup as a thickener (which is good news for anyone who doesn't eat eggs). And for that final lace of sweetness, Jeni's adds honey from a single producer: Deer Creek Honey, from Ohio.

Finally, if brevity is what you're after, then Straus Family Creamery Organic Vanilla Bean might be perfect for you. It contains nothing but the barest minimum ingredients, all of them certified organic. The milk and cream are sourced from nearby family farms. There are no gums or thickeners at all, and the ice cream is processed with more cream and less air, making for a rich, smooth ice cream that you can feel good about eating.