We Tried The New Ranch-Flavored Ice Cream, And Instantly Regretted It
As a society, we love a good crossover event and that includes crossover foods. We've had the cronut, the sushi burrito, and the ramen burger. But now, the most ambitious crossover since the Avengers movies has come: Ranch flavored ice cream.
This ice cream is brought to us by a partnership between dressing company Hidden Valley and ice cream company Van Leeuwen. Van Leeuwen started as an ice cream truck in 2008 but has since expanded to national production. They pride themselves on quality ingredients that work in harmony together. The jury is still out on that last part.
Ranch and ice cream may seem like an odd flavor combination, and it absolutely is. But we can almost see where the companies were coming from. Ranch is the most popular dressing in the United States. People put ranch dressing on everything, including their salads, pizza, and sandwiches. So why not ice cream? After all, ice cream as a concept is pretty universally beloved. Yes, it is an unusual pairing, which the companies admit in the press release. Yet, something about this odd Frankenstein creation has our interests piqued. So after some searching, we finally got our hands on a pint of Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream to try. Here's our thoughts:
What is in it
First, we needed to know what we were signing ourselves up for. A quick look at the ingredients gives you a clear view that this ice cream is exactly what it claims to be. It starts out with the relatively unassuming ice cream base of cream, milk, cane sugar, and egg yolks. Then comes the buttermilk, which is the base of ranch dressing. Okay. A little bit of tang could be nice in ice cream. Then comes the onion powder, garlic powder, spices, and salt. There it is — a full-blown ranch-flavored ice cream.
Based on the ingredients in Hidden Valley Ranch Salad Dressing, they basically just left out the oil, vinegar, and all the additives that come in the bottled dressing. We are glad to see Van Leeuwen is sticking to its ideals of simple, quality ingredients. At least we know they did not just throw straight-up ranch dressing into the ice cream base. There was more thought put into it.
Where and how to buy it
Here is the catch with this ice cream. This specific flavor is only available for a limited time, specifically from March 20th through May 28th. While Van Leeuwen ice cream is sold nationally at different retailers, as well as on the company's website and in its own stores, this ice cream is only available at Walmart. Not all Walmarts, either. 3500 Walmarts across the country will be carrying this ice cream on its shelves. Be forewarned, though: This is a hot item. We tried multiple times to find a Walmart that was not sold out, so we recommend checking the product availability via Walmart's website.
If you do find it, one pint will cost you $4.98. This is the same price as other Van Leeuwen products at the store. So at least we know we are not paying more for this experiment.
Why it exists
You may be asking, why? Why is ranch ice cream even a thing? The answer lies with the company Van Leeuwen. This is not the first time Van Leeuwen has made some questionable yet popular novelty flavors. Previously they partnered with mustard brand Grey Poupon for some mustard-paired flavors. They have also come out with pizza ice cream, as well as Mac n' Cheese themed ice cream.
Even the company's less outrageous flavors are still experimental, such as Sweet Maple Cornbread and Blood Orange Chocolate Chip, both of which are among the limited spring flavors available. If we asked the company why, we are sure they would simply respond with, "Because we can."
Social media reaction
Social media is instantly drawn to things that are unusual, food-related, or potentially gross. This has all of that in one pint. So unsurprisingly this ranch ice cream concoction is blowing up on social media. People on Twitter are rushing out to buy pints, while others are lamenting that they are not available near them. One commenter literally did not believe that it was real until people continued to get excited for it to hit the shelves.
Of course, videos of people trying this ice cream are all over TikTok and Instagram. Arguably, while we all know this ice cream is purely for funsies, releasing ranch flavored ice cream has been one of the company's great marketing ploys. In addition to boosting sales, they now have the product plastered all over social media, spreading the good (or questionable) word about Van Lueween ice cream. Well played!
Nutrition
No one expects ice cream to be a healthy food, but we had to wonder how ranch ice cream stacks up against other ice cream flavors. As it turns out, not too shabby. Per serving, which is 2/3 of a cup of ice cream, Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream has 260 calories, 21 grams of sugar, 18 grams of fat, as well as some calcium and Vitamin D. These levels all pretty much line up with other Van Leeuwen ice cream flavors, with just some mild variation.
The surprising thing about this is, in some ways, this makes it healthier than the same amount of ranch dressing. Ranch dressing has 130 calories per 2 tablespoons. Two-thirds of a cup of ranch would be around 10 tablespoons, or 650 calories, and 65 grams of fat — though it does have far less sugar. So ranch ice cream is not looking so bad now. Plus, as Van Leeuwen says, "Happiness is healthiness."
How to eat it
We're onto our next point, which is, how are you supposed to eat it? There are no rules when it comes to food. We firmly believe everything should be enjoyed the way you want to. That being said, ranch ice cream finds itself straddling two flavor worlds. As ice cream, we were tempted to pair it with sweet toppings such as chocolate syrup and whipped cream. We do not recommend this approach. The ranch spiced flavor is simply too strong to meld with this.
Others tried going the savory route of chicken wings, which seemed to be a better match. However, when we tried it with carrot sticks, we found it to be too sweet. But it still worked better than traditional sundae toppings. Really, though, we recommend trying it on its own for the first few bites before adding accouterments.
What it tastes and smells like
The first thing you notice when opening the pint is that it smells exactly like ranch dressing. Still, however, the taste of this ice cream is a bit sneaky. When it first hits your tongue, the first taste is of sweet, creamy ice cream. You only get a hint of the ranch. However, within moments the ranch flavor comes from behind and really hits you. At this point, you have the two competing flavors of sweet and savory.
The buttermilk does not come through as much as we would have thought. Instead, the milk is quite mellow. This is perhaps why the ranch spices are so present because there is no tang from the buttermilk to balance them out. Instead, it tastes like powerfully sweet milk mixed with dill, garlic, and onion. We also can not emphasize enough how the flavor lingers on your tongue, like soap leftover on a dish.
Final verdict
Van Leeuwen makes some amazing flavors of ice cream, but this is not one of them. You're going to want to trust us, because no matter how bad you think this is, it is worse. As a novelty flavor, it does exactly what it is supposed to do, though. It got people to buy the new flavor and post about it on social media. But at what cost? This corporate concoction of product placement is an abomination.
One bite is more than enough. It is too sweet to pair with typical ranch savory options and too herby to be enjoyed independently. To be perfectly honest, the ranch aftertaste threw us for a loop. And that flavor stayed in our mouth for a while. If you are a devoted ranch aficionado with $5 to burn, go for it. But might we recommend picking up literally any other flavor of ice cream? We think you will be happier.