Childhood Favorites: Umpqua Ice Cream

Umpqua Ice Cream

A new store came to Salt Lake City recently.  Some were excited at the promise of co-op low prices.  I, on the other hand, left my cheapness at the side.  Nostalgia was what had me on this one.  Dreams of Tillamook cheese and Umpqua ice cream was where my mind had floated off to.  I'm sure you've heard of Tillamook cheese.  If you haven't, I feel for you.  You have missed out on life.  But I don't expect you to have heard of Umpqua Dairy.

Umpqua Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I've mentioned before that I used to have a habit of eating entire cartons of ice cream (the 1.75 qt size) in one sitting.  I can't really explain that ability except that maybe if you tried this ice cream you'd do the same.  That, and I firmly believe ice cream has a special ability to melt and find any open space that normal non-melty food couldn't.

My two drugs of choice were Umpqua's Peanut Butter Chocolate and their Ol' South Fudge Pie.  I ventured to this new store to see if in fact, I was still addicted.

Deliciously salty chocolate peanut butter ice cream

Verdict?  Yeah, I think I pretty much still am.  The ice cream was delicious as remembered.  Creamy and smooth intermingled with smooth salty ribbons of peanut butter and medium hard pieces of peanut butter chips.  Why is this so freaking delicious?  Personally, I'm a sucker for just about anything containing a combination of peanut butter and chocolate.  At the Serious Eats office, we were pretty much always in agreement that if you added salt to something sweet it was a winner.

If you're not fond of the harder bits, allow the ice cream to soften for a bit before serving.  I found if you let it roll around in your mouth for a an extra moment, the ribbons of peanut butter would melt in your mouth.

This carton was gone in less than a week.  Consumed pretty much by me.  The husband never had a chance.

Check out some of Umpqua's other addicting flavors here.