Waitrose Malted Milk and Marmalade Ice Cream product review

Heads up Ice Cream fans! It’s a brand new flavour from Fat Duck chef Heston Blumenthal in his Waitrose range: Malted Milk and Marmalade Ice Cream.

Did you ever try the Heston from Waitrose Salted Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream? We really liked it (it was great in Heston’s Grilled Pineapple Sundae recipe).

Waitrose had a really big push to promote Heston’s Popcorn flavour recently, with a couple of unique Heston Blumenthal recipes that used it (including this Cranchan Sundae recipe) and the following slick advert:

So it’s utterly bewildering that they’ve just discontinued the flavour. In its place we’ve got this, Heston’s Malted Milk and Marmalade ice cream flavour.

Product: Heston from Waitrose Malted Milk and Marmalade Ice Cream

Price: £4.49 (500ml)

Availability: Good

THE PRODUCT

Products in the Heston from Waitrose ice cream range (all one of them) have switched from the previous stingy 300ml plastic pot to a bigger (and pricier) 500ml tub.

It’s the same size as a Häagen Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s, but the tub itself is thin and flimsy. It’s easy to crease that glossy black surface. Basically it feels cheap. You get better quality packaging at Lidl.

Opening the Heston from Waitrose Malted Milk & Marmalade ice cream is even more disappointing, a bland expanse of plain white. Where are my shreds of marmalade and my flecks of malt??!

VERDICT

 Hands up who likes marmalade? We find it quite bitter, definitely an acquired taste.

Ok, those with their hands up: keep your hand up if you like the taste of really burnt toast. You know, the stuff that’s been blackened like charcoal.

Well that’s basically what this ice cream tastes like, burnt toast and bitter marmalade. It’s like a badly made knock-off of a splendid flavour they serve at the marvellous Ginger’s Comfort Emporium.

Heston has proved in the past that weird-sounding, breakfast-themed ice creams can actually be quite delicious. I thought this’d be along those breakfasty lines, maybe like Hawksmoor’s majestic Cornflake ice cream.

It’s a shame. We’ve been pretty impressed with the Heston from Waitrose range lately. The Beetroot Spelt Risotto is better than the one you can make at home, the Chicken Liver Parfait is a gorgeously rich variation on his famous Meat Fruit and the sauces and stocks are pricey but unbeatable. Even last year’s Heston from Waitrose Christmas pudding ice cream flavour was much tastier than we expected.

If Heston and Waitrose had bothered to come up with some recipes in time for release this might’ve been more bearable – at least some other ingredients would help mask the flavour. As it is the revolting Malted Milk and Marmalade ice cream is one Heston from Waitrose flavour that we hope will be discontinued very soon.

FURTHER READING

Kid Style Junkie – Missing Heston’s Salted Caramel Popcorn Ice cream flavour? Try making this recipe from those unpleasant chaps who run The Icecreamists

Gingers Comfort Emporium – If you want a proper Marmalade on Toast flavour ice cream, or loads of other delicious and innovative ice cream flavours, check out Claire Kelsey’s multi-award winning ice creams. She’s got a book out too, Melt.

ChinChin Labs – Our favourite thing in London and the best ice cream in Britain. Worth making a special journey for. 49-50, Camden Lock Place, Eel Town, NW18AF. Go.

Olive Magazine – If you want a comforting breakfast-flavoured treat here’s the (improved) recipe for Hawksmoor’s Cornflake Ice Cream

Michelin Microwave – the final word in reviews of Heston Blumenthal branded foods, and many other celebrity endorsed products too. Utterly hilarious and well worth reading.

Have you tried this ice cream, and did you love it or hate it? What innovative or unusual flavours of ice cream do you like, and have you tried the amazing stuff they serve at Gingers, or made anything from her recipe book Melt? Let us know in the comments section.