Looks like Oprah Winfrey knows her ice cream.

        Back in May, on her TV talk show before millions of viewers, the host announced Graeter's “was the best ice cream I have ever tasted.” Seems the Chicago-based star discovered Graeter's last year when a friend gave her a gift pack, and she was hooked. (Reportedly, her favorite flavor is butter pecan.)

        Ms. Winfrey's endorsement didn't surprise many local folks, who've been eating Graeter's since they were old enough to hold a spoon or lick a cone. But these ice cream lovers might be a tad biased toward the hometown brand.

        So what is the best premium ice cream?

        This was an ideal issue to be settled in a blind tasting, and our seven-member Taste Team was ready and willing. July is National Ice Cream Month, after all.

        While the team was hungry to sample ice cream sprinkled with chocolate chips, we decided it would be too easy to spot Graeter's big, chewy chips. There will always be arguments about who makes the best double-chocolate chip or tutti-frutti cookie dough flavors, but we thought the question to answer first and foremost was, “Who makes the best vanilla and chocolate?”

        For the test, we sampled eight brands of premium — higher priced — vanilla ice cream and seven brands of premium chocolate. To add expertise to our tasting panel, we asked Pam Sturkey, pastry chef and co-owner of Sturkey's in Wyoming and Encore Cafe in West Chester, to join the testing.

TOP THREE

The Taste Team rated premium vanilla and chocolate ice cream on a 1-to-10 scale on taste, texture and appearance. Here are the top three in each category with average scores in parentheses. Vanilla     1. Ben & Jerry's “World's Best Vanilla” (6.9)     2. (Tie) United Dairy Farmers “Homemade” (6.7)     Kroger Private Selection “Countrymade” (6.7) Chocolate     1. Graeter's (7.0)     2. Haagen-Dazs (6.4)     3. United Dairy Farmers “Homemade” (6.2)

ONLINE POLL

We asked readers to name their favorite Graeter's ice cream flavor, and out of the 3,573 online votes cast at Cincinnati.Com between Friday and Tuesday morning, the top five flavors all contain those big, chewy chocolate chips. Black raspberry chip won, with 22 percent (781 votes). Double-chocolate chip finished second (336 votes), followed closely by mint chocolate chip (318). Chocolate chip (254) and mocha chocolate chip (225) rounded out the top five.     Complete poll results.

        Ms. Winfrey might have chimed in with one of her best, “You go, girls!” when she heard the results of our chocolate ice cream taste test. Graeter's handily won this flavor division, followed by Haagen-Dazs and another Tristate favorite, United Dairy Farmers “Homemade” brand.

        The Taste Team raved over the rich flavor and dense, smooth texture of the Graeter's chocolate.

        Graeter's didn't win the vanilla taste test, but finished a strong fourth. National brand Ben & Jerry's “World's Best Vanilla” won this division, earning praise for its “balanced” flavor and “creamy” texture.

        Two Cincinnati-based brands — UDF “Homemade” and Kroger Private Selection “Countrymade” Vanilla — tied for second, which was perhaps the biggest surprise of the taste test. The UDF and Kroger brands cost 15.6 cents and 7.8 cents per ounce, respectively — the least expensive ice creams in our test.

        At 24.7 cents per ounce, Graeter's was the most expensive brand sampled.

Ice cream ratings

        The Taste Team rated the following ice cream on a 1 to 10 scale (1=poor; 10=excellent) on taste, texture and appearance.
Vanilla
       1. Ben & Jerry's World's Best Vanilla
       Average score: 6.9.
       Cost per ounce: 21.8 cents ($3.49/pint).
       Comments: Smooth and creamy. Good vanilla flavor. Firm but creamy.

       2. (Tie) United Dairy Farmers “Homemade”
       Average score: 6.7.
       Cost per ounce: 15.6 cents ($2.49/pint).
       Comments: Good old-fashioned flavor. Strong vanilla. Dense, slightly custardy.

       Kroger Private Selection “Countrymade”
       Average score: 6.7.
       Cost per ounce: 7.8 cents ($4.99/half gallon) Best Buy.
       Comments: Creamy, silky. Dense. Tastes like real vanilla.

       4. Graeter's
       Average score: 6.5.
       Cost per ounce: 24.7 cents ($3.95/pint).
       Comments: Natural vanilla flavor. Not too sweet. Flecks of vanilla bean.

TASTE TEAM

• Debora Morgan-Ademuyewo works in quality assurance for a Woodlawn company. At home in Springdale, she likes to host brunch parties for friends and cook African, Chinese and Mexican dishes for her husband and two children.     • Women's educator at AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati, Debbie Burstion loves to cook greens, mac & cheese and other soul food for friends at home in Evanston.     • Josh Knepfle cooks at home in Covedale for his wife. He is a computer consultant in Mount Auburn.     • An associate professor of musicology at the University of Cincinnati, Westwood resident Bruce McClung enjoys baking pies and trying recipes from his mother's cookbook.     • Sandra Rhoads works as a microbiologist for a hospital. At home in Montgomery, she likes to experiment cooking new dishes and is an avid home brewer.     • Tim Rodenberg, a resident of Miami Township, is sheriff of Clermont County. He does most of the cooking at home and loves to grill out year-round.     • A native of Cleveland, guest taste team member and pastry chef Pam Sturkey is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. She and husband, Paul, opened Sturkey's Restaurant in Wyoming in 1998 and Encore Cafe in West Chester Township in 2000. Her Chocolate Bailey's Cheesecake Cake was named “Best Restaurant Dessert” by USA Today in 1999. She loves chocolate.     The Food section wants you — or at least your taste buds. Tell us briefly why you're qualified to serve on our new Taste Team. Send postcard or e-mail and include your neighborhood and phone number. Send to: Taste Team, the Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202, or cmartin@enquirer.com. Deadline: Aug. 14.

       5. Hagan-Daz
       Average score: 6.2.
       Cost per ounce: 22.4 cents ($3.59/pint).
       Comments: Egg flavor overwhelms vanilla. Creamy, satiny. Needs more vanilla.

       6. Edy's Dreamery
       Average score: 6.1.
       Cost per ounce: 19.9 cents ($3.19/pint).
       Comments: Fake vanilla flavor. Creamy. Good, soft consistency.
       
       7. Pierre's “Vanilla Thriller” Frozen Custard
       Average score: 5.8.
       Cost per ounce: 16.2 cents ($2.59/pint).
       Comments: Smooth and creamy. Bland. Bright, golden color.

       8. Aglamesis Bros.
       Average score: 4.8.
       Cost per ounce: 23.8 cents ($3.80/pint).
       Comments: Icy texture. Weak vanilla flavor. Too sweet.

Chocolate
       1. Graeter's
       Average score: 7.0.
       Cost per ounce: 24.7 cents ($3.95/pint).
       Comments: Excellent chocolate flavor. Nice and creamy. Complex notes of cocoa, chocolate, even fudge.

       2. Hagan-Daz
       Average score: 6.4.
       Cost per ounce: 22.4 cents ($3.59/pint).
       Comments: Rich and creamy. Good balance between chocolate and cream. Soft texture.

       3. United Dairy Farmers “Homemade”
       Average score: 6.2.
       Cost per ounce: 15.6 cents ($2.49/pint) Best Buy.
       Comments: Nice balance of sweetness and chocolate. Rich chocolate flavor. Creamy.

       4. Pierre's Frozen Custard
       Average score: 5.9.
       Cost per ounce: 16.2 cents ($2.59/pint).
       Comments: Slightly grainy texture. Light chocolate flavor. Pale light color.

       5. Kroger Private Selection
       Average score: 5.3.
       Cost per ounce: 7.8 cents ($4.99/half gallon).
       Comments: Flat flavor. Powdery, gritty. Chalky.

       6. Godiva Belgian Dark
       Average score: 5.2.
       Cost per ounce: 21.2 cents ($3.39/pint).
       Comments: Bitter. Intense flavor. Cakey.

       7. Aglamesis Bros.
       Average score: 4.4.
       Cost per ounce: 23.8 cents ($3.80/pint).
       Comments: Artificial-tasting. Grainy. Bland.

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