For basics such as fresh milk, pasta and paper towels, switching brands might not seem like that big a deal – chances are you won’t even notice the difference.

And some supermarket-branded products are actually pretty good: check out the cheaper supermarket home-brand products that outperform big-name brands in our tests.

When it comes to indulgences like ice cream, though, we tend to stick firmly to our favourite brands and wouldn’t dream of giving them up in favour of supermarket cheapies.

It’s totally understandable: the price might be right, but will the flavour be? Is lower quality the trade-off for a lower price?

In pursuit of an answer, we put long-time Australian favourite, the classic vanilla Streets Cornetto, up against Aldi’s copycat version, Monarc Crowns.

Is the bargain product’s taste as tempting as its price? Or has the Cornetto persisted for 65 years for good reason?

ÌÇÐÄVlog staff selflessly scoffed both ice creams in one sitting to give you the answer.

How we compared Cornettos and Crowns

Here’s what we did:

To ensure there was no bias, we tasked our volunteers with a blind taste test, which means they couldn’t tell which ice cream was which.

Testers were asked to taste each ice cream and tell us what they thought of it. We also asked them which one they thought was the real Cornetto Classico, and which one they liked most.

And the winner is…

Here’s the scoop: Aldi Crowns were the crowd favourite, and not just by a little bit.

Every single taste tester preferred the Aldi ice cream, and every single taste tester was absolutely convinced that it was the Streets Cornetto Classico.

That’s right: the Aldi dupes were so good that they duped everyone.

Had they known the price of each ice cream, our testers might have found the Crowns even sweeter. They cost just $3.69 for a pack of four – that’s 92 cents each.

Not only were the Cornettos less popular with our taste testers, they’re also likely to be less popular with anyone on a budget: they cost a huge $2.25 each – more than twice as much as the Crowns!

What people said about Aldi Crowns:

• The ice cream has more flavour and feels creamier
• More nuts and chocolate on top
• The cone is crispier and stayed crisp all the way to the bottom
• The ice cream tastes more like vanilla and is a lot denser
• Nice chocolate, especially at the bottom
• More chocolate at the bottom

What people said about Streets Cornetto Classico:

• The cone is OK but nothing special
• Cone waffle tastes stale
• The ice cream is a bit icy and not very creamy
• The wafer was crispy at the start but soggy by the time I got to the bottom
• The ice cream doesn’t taste ‘real’ – it’s less dense and seems like it has more air in it
• The flavours taste ‘cheaper’ 

When is ice cream not ice cream?

While it might sound nitpicky, sometimes what we think of as ice cream isn’t technically ice cream at all.

To be sold as ‘ice cream’, a product needs to contain at least 10% milk fat and 16.8% food solids.Ìý

There are plenty of products in the freezer aisle that don’t meet these requirements and so aren’t actually ice cream (according to the letter of the law).Ìý

If you look closely, some products might not actually have the word “ice cream” on the label at all – they might be called “vanilla classic”, “creamy vanilla flavoured”, “original” or something along these lines.Ìý

While Cornetto Classico packaging references “fresh milk and cream”, the nutrition panel is a little more specific about what’s actually in the pack: “Vanilla flavoured frozen dairy dessert”.Ìý

The ice cream in Crowns is the real deal, though. The packaging says it “includes 10% milk fat minimum”.

The post Cornetto vs Crowns taste test: Does the Aldi dupe taste as good as the original?  appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

On this page:

• What we tested
• Homemade vs store-bought: The ingredients
• Can you tell the difference between homemade and store-bought?
• Which ice cream tasted the best?
• Would you make your own ice cream?
• Reasons why you might make your own ice cream
• Our homemade ice cream recipe

But recently the planets aligned and two complementary tests occurred at the same time: vanilla ice cream and home ice cream makers.Ìý

Since we like to put our money where our mouths are, we decided it’d be interesting to see how ice cream from a shop compared with ice cream made in our kitchen lab.Ìý

(Okay, okay: we really just wanted to eat ice cream. For science, though. Our intentions were good.)

We had so many questions. Would anyone be able to tell the difference? Which one would taste better? Would anyone be inspired to make their own ice cream at home? Would there be leftovers we could binge on afterwards? (That last one was mostly me, and the answer was no – as if there’s ever any ice cream left behind!)

Here’s the scoop on what happened.

What we tested

A total of 17 ÌÇÐÄVlog staff volunteered as taste testers. (Yes, we expected more too!)

Here’s what we fed them:

• Store-bought: Coles Irresistible Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (which topped our vanilla ice cream review).
• Homemade: Ice cream made in the Cuisinart The Cool Scoop machine, using a recipe from ÌÇÐÄVlog kitchen expert Fiona Mair. (See below for the recipe.)

Participants tasted each sample blind (meaning they didn’t know which was which), then we asked them to guess which was the homemade ice cream and which one they liked the most.

We also grilled them about their reasons for choosing the ones they did – there’s no such thing as a free lunch, right?

Homemade vs store-bought: The ingredients

Let’s take a look inside the bowl before we delve into the taste test results.

Homemade ice cream is beautifully simple, made from just a few, whole food ingredients.Ìý

Read the ingredients list on most supermarket ice creams, however, and you’ll have to trawl through a long list of ³¾³Ü±ô³Ù¾±²õ²â±ô±ô²¹²ú¾±³¦Ìýterms that don’t sound much like food: “reconstituted buttermilk and/or reconstituted skim milk”, “milk solids non-fat”, “guar gum”, “dextrose monohydrate”, “carrageenan” and even “processed Eucheuma seaweed”.Ìý

Four ice creams we tested even contain gelatine derived from beef – so if you’re vegetarian, make sure you read the label first.Ìý

Here’s how the ingredients in our two samples stack up:

Can you tell the difference between homemade and store-bought?

Now we know what’s in them, let’s get to the most important part: how did they taste?

It seems there was a clear difference between the two ice creams: almost all taste testers correctly guessed which was the homemade ice cream. Only two out of 17 people thought the Coles ice cream tasted homemade.Ìý

How could they tell which was homemade?

• Colour: Our testers said that the homemade sample’s colour had a more ivory or yellow tone than the store-bought ice cream.Ìý
• Texture: Most people said the homemade ice cream seemed softer and fluffier, and it melted a little faster than the supermarket sample.Ìý
• Flavour: Our testers found the homemade sample’s flavour was more subtle – which was considered a good or bad thing depending on the person. Some people preferred the stronger flavour of the shop-bought ice cream, while others liked the more restrained sweetness and vanilla flavour of the homemade version.

Which ice cream tasted the best?

Despite most people correctly identifying the homemade sample, that didn’t mean it was everybody’s favourite. The results were pretty evenly split: 

• Nine people preferred the Coles ice cream
• Eight people preferred the homemade ice cream

So there you have it: most people can tell the difference between homemade and store-bought, but homemade isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea. Bear that in mind if you’re thinking of whipping up a batch for your next dinner party.Ìý

Would you make your own ice cream?

Despite many of our testers loving the homemade ice cream, plenty also said they’d be unlikely to make their own ice cream at home.

“Who can be bothered?” says Andy, also citing kitchen space as another reason he wouldn’t.Ìý

“It’s time consuming and I’d become impatient,” says Erin.Ìý

“We have made it in the past, but it was too much trouble,” Scott says. “We don’t eat enough to make it worthwhile.”

“I don’t eat it enough so the effort wouldn’t be worth the payoff,” says Liam. “Also, I live with family who would take it without asking!”

Reasons why you might make your own ice cream

There are plenty of options at the supermarket, so why would anyone go to the trouble of making it themselves? 

• Fun: Craving wasabi and ginger ice cream? You won’t find it in the shops, but you can create it at home. You’re only limited by your imagination (and whether anyone will actually eat your concoctions).Ìý
• Control over the ingredients: DIYing your ice cream allows you to leave out any ingredients you’re not keen on consuming. You can make allergy-friendly or vegan ice cream and you can also make it additive-free, and even dial down the sugar or use alternative sweeteners. (That means you can eat more of it, right?)
• Use up produce: Strawberry plants going bananas? Gone troppo buying mangos? There’s only so much jam and chutney one person can make – but you can get the most out of the bounty by whipping up your own flavoured ice cream.
• Satisfaction: There’s a certain type of home chef who just gets a thrill out of making something from scratch. You can serve it up at your next dinner party and casually drop into the conversation that you made it from scratch, then sit back and bask in the praise.Ìý

Our homemade ice cream recipe

Our expert kitchen tester Fiona Mair uses this recipe to test ice cream makers in our lab.Ìý

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups full cream milk
• 1 ½ cups thickened cream
• 4 egg yolks
• ¾ cup caster sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped 

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, gently heat the cream, milk, vanilla pod and seeds until very hot, but not boiling. Reduce temperature and simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally.Ìý
2. Place egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, whisk on high speed until thickened (approximately 2 minutes).
3. Gradually stir in 1 cup of the heated cream and milk to the egg and sugar. Mix until combined.
4. Pour egg and milk mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly until thickened but not boiling. Mixture should be steaming.Ìý
5. The custard is ready when it coats the back of the wooden spoon, and the custard stays separated when you run your finger along the back of the spoon. The temperature should reach 82–85°C.
6. Pour custard into a glass bowl, cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the custard. Place in the fridge until the custard temperature reaches 3–4°C – usually overnight.
7. Pour into the prepared ice cream maker and process according to the ice cream manufacturer’s instructions. Process until mixture reaches a consistency of soft serve and increases in volume. A perfect churning consistency temperature should be less than 4°C.
8. Place ice cream into a container and place in a freezer with a stable temperature of -18°C (±2°C).Ìý

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On this page:

• Is yoghurt good for you?
• Is coconut yoghurt good for you?
• Is Greek yoghurt healthy?
• Yoghurt glossary
• Does all yoghurt have probiotics?

We look beyond the hype and show you how to pick the nutritious from the simply delicious.

Is yoghurt good for you?

The answer is sometimes yes, sometimes no.Ìý

At its simplest, yoghurt contains milk and live cultures (bacteria) that cause the milk to ferment, creating a distinctive sour taste. But modern commercial yoghurts can have extra ingredients such as sugar, cream, thickeners, gums, starches and flavours.

So how do you choose a healthy yoghurt from the plethora of products in the supermarket chiller? Here’s what you need to consider.

Added sugar

“The healthiest yoghurt choice is low- or no-fat plain yoghurt,” says Kate Gudorf, an accredited practising dietitian and spokesperson for the .Ìý

If you’re buying flavoured yoghurt, Gudorf recommends trying to find one with less than 12g of sugars per 100g.Ìý

“Natural or plain yoghurt has around 6g of sugars per 100g due to the naturally occurring carbohydrate lactose. Anything above 6g will be added sugar, generally in the form of fruit puree, juice concentrates and sugar,” she says.

And if you want to sweeten it yourself, simply add some chopped fresh fruit.

Calcium

Calcium is a major health drawcard, but there are wide variations in calcium levels in different yoghurt products. “This often comes down to the difference in processing methods,” says Gudorf, “as some manufacturers add extra milk solids, which add calcium. Others, such as strained Greek yoghurt, remove liquid whey, which reduces calcium levels.”

In order to make a “good source of calcium” claim, a serving of yoghurt must contain at least 200mg – 25% of the recommended dietary intake (RDI).

Serving size

°Õ³ó±ðÌý say a serve of yoghurt is ¾ cup or 200g. If you want a yoghurt to eat on the go, look for a pot that’s 200g or less. A “between meals” snack should have no more than 600kJ.

Product format

• Breakfast yoghurts – Packaged breakfast yoghurt pots with muesli are an easy option, but the convenience can come at the cost of huge sugar levels.
• Dessert disguised as yoghurt – Sugary dessert products can appear on the shelves alongside healthier offerings for children. As most products aimed at kids have classic pester-power characteristics – bright packaging splashed with recognisable cartoon characters or cutesy images – it’s very easy for any harried parent to grab a package your child likes the look of without checking the ingredients and sugar levels. A product that has the word “dessert” on the packaging should ring alarm bells.
• “Squeezy” yoghurt pouches – Aimed at babies and kids, these portable yoghurts are convenient and popular. Many also contain a worthwhile amount of calcium and minimal added sugars, so are a good choice when it comes to packaged snacks for children. But if you’re after great nutrition at a fraction of the cost, and want to avoid unnecessary added sugars, additives and excessive packaging, it’s hard to beat regular natural yoghurt for kids.

Is coconut yoghurt good for you?

The passion for all things coconut (for example, coconut oil and coconut water) extends to the yoghurt aisle.Ìý

It’s dairy-free, so suitable for vegans and people with milk allergies or intolerances. But just like coconut oil, coconut yoghurt is a high-kilojoule, high-saturated-fat choice. It also contains negligible calcium and is lower in protein than other types of yoghurt.

Is Greek yoghurt healthy?

Greek yoghurt is generally considered to be highly nutritious, helped in part by its association with the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet.

Traditionally it was made by straining out the liquid whey, which concentrated its protein (and therefore its overall nutrient) content. The resulting thick and creamy product is often higher in fat and protein than other natural yoghurts.

But in fact there’s no requirement in Australia for Greek-style yoghurt to be made in a certain way or contain particular ingredients. And in our review of 22 Greek yoghurts, the amounts of beneficial (and less desirable) nutrients varied widely.

Yoghurt glossary

Biodynamic

An ethical-ecological approach to agriculture that focuses on the relationship of soil, plants and animals. Like organic, it emphasises sustainability and does not involve chemicals in production.

Frozen yoghurt

Frozen yoghurt is often marketed as a low-fat, low-kilojoule, high-calcium healthy treat. It may be based on the concept of yoghurt, and have a similar sour and tangy flavour, but frozen yoghurt tends to be high in added sugar and is best treated as a milk-based dessert.

Greek-style

Not strained and often containing thickeners such as cream, milk solids, gelatine and gums, which are added to create a creamy texture.

Kefir

Traditionally made by adding fermented kefir grains to room-temperature milk. Commercial powdered kefir starters are often used these days.

Lactose-free yoghurt

Made by adding an enzyme during processing that breaks down the lactose into simple sugars, it’s safe for those who are intolerant to lactose.

Natural or plain yoghurt

Yoghurt without flavouring or added sugar.

Pot set

Milk and live cultures are added straight to the pot, which, makers claim, means thickeners such as gelatine need not be added.

Skyr yoghurt

Skyr, or Icelandic-style, yoghurt claims to be lower in fat and higher in protein than regular yoghurt.

Strained

When liquid whey is strained out after yoghurt sets, this concentrates the protein content. Products that make claims about their high protein content, such as well known brand Chobani, are often strained, as is traditional Greek yoghurt.

Does all yoghurt have probiotics?

Probiotics – “friendly” bacteria that can help restore the balance of microflora in the gut – are sometimes added to yoghurt, often for the purpose of marketing differentiation. But while some products specify the genus and/or species (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidus and Lactobacillus casei, for example), most don’t list how much, so you have no idea how much – or how little – bacteria is in them.

“The trouble with probiotics is there are many factors that affect whether the bacteria survives,” says Gudorf. “For those products that do list the number of probiotic cultures on the packaging, that number reflects the amount of bacteria added at the time of production. But bacteria can be affected by storage, air, light and moisture, and there is no guarantee that the bacteria survives in the yoghurt to colonise the gut.”

If conditions are right and the bacteria survives, you’d need to eat 100 million colony-forming units (CFU) regularly every day to increase the activity of good bacteria. And, says Gudorf, probiotics by themselves are not enough to increase the activity of good bacteria. You should also eat 10g per day of prebiotics, which are non-digestible carbohydrates that act as food for the good bacteria.

“Don’t eat yoghurt just to get probiotics,” advises Gudorf. “If you’re concerned about gut health see a dietitian who specialises in this field who can set up a diet plan and direct you to the correct bacteria strain.”

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