To kick things off here on whatscookin.biz, I will doing a short review of the Mint Cookies and Cream ice cream from Archer Farms. It may surprise you to find out that Archer Farms is actually the predecessor of Target’s “Good & Gather” store brand. Yes, it’s true! You can verify it for yourself on Target’s “Owned Brands” webpage. Oddly enough, it’s been over a year since that press release, but Archer Farms branded pizzas, ice creams, and other products still line the shelves at Target. Sensing this wasn’t quite the whole story, I began to dig around for Target’s SEC filings to find more information. According to this search in the SEC’s EDGAR system, the Archer Farms brand has been around since 2016, while Good & Gather isn’t even mentioned until 2020! I guess they still have some ways to go.

Anyways, the ice cream itself had a few interesting characteristics. The first is the eye-catching “20g protein” on the front and top label. This definitely seems to be a selling point of the ice cream. Of the ones I surveyed, the Archer Farm’s Mint Cookies and Cream certainly does clock in at the top in terms of protein, and way at the top in protein/calorie ratio. Check out these figures (listed per pint)!

As you can see, the Archer Farms ice cream blows the others out of the water in terms of nutrition. The likely culprit behind these differences is the primary ingredient: skim milk in the Archer Farms ice cream, cream in the others. But does their ingredient choice lead to sacrifices in the flavor category? We’ll get to that in a bit. There are other so-called “ice creams” on the market (more like ice skim milks!) such as Halo Top that appear to be comparable to the Archer Farms ice cream here. Let’s take a look at what you see on first opening the pint. Unfortunately I couldn’t help but take a few bites first, but here’s a picture.

Here we have a problem, indicative of problems to come. The astute reader will notice the gap between the ice cream and pint container. Heck, you don’t have to be the brightest crayon in the box to notice that gap, it’s huge! The ice cream itself is nearly rock hard, despite an internal temperature of 14°F (-10°C). According to the International Ice Cream Association via the International Dairy Foods Association, ice cream is “easy to dip” between 6°F and 10°F, which is also the ideal serving range. Even on the warmer side, this ice cream is tough as a pickup truck! My personal theory is that the hardness of the ice cream is also causing it to form this gap, as it is not malleable enough to form to the container. One can clearly feel the crystallization of the fat globules in the milk along with a distinct lack of richness. Some would consider this a plus, but not me. I say: go big or go home.

If your experience is like mine, you’ll be eating this ice cream in shavings reminiscent of those from a rolled ice cream shop. If you like Girl Scout “Thin Mint” cookies or the similar Keebler “Grasshoppers,” you’ll like this ice cream. The taste is nearly the same. Upon reflection, this is not at all surprising. They’re all mint and chocolate flavored, after all. Though it has a couple rough edges, I would rate this ice cream as “Just OK.” It’s not going to become my go-to choice, but I wouldn’t mind getting it again.