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What’s with all the weird ice-cream flavours this year? It feels as if supermarkets and independent companies are vying to make the most novel alternatives to a good old scoop of vanilla. But which are actually worth having? I tried 99 varieties of ice-cream tubs and ranked them from sickeningly sweet to dinner party-worthy.
99. Paxo sage and onion stuffing, Anya Hindmarch
(One scoop £4.50 or 500ml tub £16, The Ice Cream Project, London)
Anya Hindmarch’s Ice Cream Project has become a yearly summer fixture, in which the fashion designer collaborates with well-known brands to create nostalgic novelty flavours (at designer prices) for which customers queue round the block. This year the flavours skew toward roast dinners, and include Oxo (which I couldn’t try, being vegetarian) and Paxo. It tastes exactly like the stuffing … which isn’t really what I want from an ice-cream. Taste 1/10, Value 1/10, Originality 7/10
98. High protein chocolate brownie, Oppo
(240ml, £3.50, Ocado)
A disgraceful, claggy, protein bar-flavoured excuse for an ice-cream. Taste 1/10, Value 5/10, Originality 4/10
97. Crunchie, Cadbury
(425ml, £4.02, Asda)
Sickly sweet; very, very orange in colour, with a weird, foamy, almost mousse-like texture. Taste 3/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
96. Hobnobs, McVitie’s
(500ml, £4, Iceland)
Grainy and overly sweet. Hobnob fans should stay away and avoid disappointment. Taste 3/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
95. Caramelised biscuit swirl, Oppo
(475ml, £5.40, Ocado)
This sickly-sweet ice-cream demonstrates exactly why “low-calorie” ice-cream shouldn’t be a thing. Taste 3/10, Value 5/10, Originality 3/10
94. Jacob’s Mini Cheddars, Anya Hindmarch
(One scoop £4.50 or 500ml tub £16, The Ice Cream Project, London)
Cheese ice-cream apparently has a long history in the UK, but this version doesn’t do that history any justice. Slightly coarse texture and familiar Mini Cheddars flavour. Taste 3/10, Value 1/10, Originality 7/10
93. Amarena cherry cheesecake, Hackney Gelato
(460ml, £5.75, Waitrose)
I wanted more cheesiness from this one, too, and a less synthetic cherry flavour. Taste 3/10, Value 5/10, Originality 3/10
92. Cherry and mascarpone gelato, Crosta & Mollica
(450ml, £4.60, Waitrose)
Soft-serve style, prettily swirled in its recyclable box, underdelivers on flavour. Taste 4/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
91. Cornish sea salted caramel brittle, No 1 Waitrose
(480ml, £4.50, Waitrose)
Unlike most salted caramel treats, this was actually well salted, and the brittle was nice and crunchy – even if salted caramel ice-cream feels a bit old hat these days. Taste 4/10, Value 6/10, Originality 1/10
90. Strawberry cheesecake, Häagen-Dazs
(460ml, £5.75, Tesco)
Overly sweet and artificial-tasting. Taste 4/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
89. Milk chocolate digestives, McVitie’s
(500ml, £4, Iceland)
If you’re going to put biscuit pieces in an ice-cream, you need to find a way to stop them going soft. Nobody wants soggy biscuits! Taste 4/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
88. Peanut butter and milk chocolate, Reese’s
(460ml, £5.50, Iceland)
I love Reese’s peanut butter cups, so I had high hopes. But though it had a satisfying crackly chocolate swirl, it was slightly cloying and gritty overall. Taste 5/10, Value 4/10, Originality 2/10
87. Protein speculoos, Jude’s
(460ml, £5, Ocado)
This vegan, high-protein ice-cream is another soggy biscuit offender, and leaves an almost yeasty aftertaste. Avoid. Taste 2/10, Value 5/10, Originality 4/10
86. Colombian coffee, M&S collection
(500ml, £4.50, Ocado)
The crushed-up coffee beans create a sandy texture which I didn’t love. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 1/10
85. Green Giant sweetcorn, Anya Hindmarch
(One scoop £4.50 or 500ml tub £16, The Ice Cream Project, London)
It’s a bold move to put chunks of sweetcorn in an ice-cream, and I’m not sure it pays off. Taste 4/10, Value 1/10, Originality 7/10
84. Walker’s shortbread, Anya Hindmarch
(One scoop £4.50, 500ml tub £16, The Ice Cream Project, London)
The texture was a bit too hard. The sweet-salty flavour was perfectly nice, though. Taste 4/10, Value 1/10, Originality 7/10
83. Oreo
(425ml, £3.50, Iceland)
Spongey texture; slightly nothing-y flavour. Taste 4/10, Value 6/10, Originality 2/10
82. Tunnock’s caramel wafers, Anya Hindmarch
(One scoop £4.50, 500ml tub £16, The Ice Cream Project, London)
Way too sweet! Taste 4/10, Value 1/10, Originality 7/10
81. Macadamia nut brittle, Häagen-Dazs
(460ml, £5.75, Ocado)
Another one that is far too sickly sweet. There was a slight saltiness for balance, but not enough. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
80. Nutella
(470ml, £5.50, Iceland)
It’s fun that this one looks exactly like a jar of Nutella, and you have to break through a layer of Nutella spread to get to the ice-cream. Fans of the spread will love it; it was a bit too intense for me. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
79. Soy Joy cookie dough, M&S
(320ml, £4, Ocado)
This soy ice-cream did not, sadly, bring me joy. It’s cloying and artificial-tasting – there are far better vegan ice-creams out there. Taste 3/10, Value 5/10, Originality 4/10
77-73. Capri-Sun orange / Müller Corner strawberry / McVitie’s ginger nuts / Yazoo chocolate milk / Illy coffee, Anya Hindmarch
(one scoop £4.50 or 500ml tub £16, The Ice Cream Project, London)
These all tasted exactly like the products they’re based on. Taste 5/10, Value 1/10, Originality 7/10
72. Piña colada, Soleya
(500ml, £9.50, selected UK stores)
There is no alcohol in this rather insipid vegan ice-cream, which is more of a sorbet. Taste 3/10, Value 4/10, Originality 6/10
71-70. Chocolate salted caramel / Caramel pecan praline, Booja Booja
(465ml, £5.65, Booja Booja)
Both of these vegan chocolate ice-creams have an intense chocolatey flavour. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 3/10
69. Biscoff, Lotus
(425ml, £2.50, Iceland)
Anyone who has enjoyed spooning Biscoff spread directly into their mouth will be in heaven. Taste 6/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
68. Blueberry and lemon curd, Yeo Valley
(480ml, £4.75, Ocado)
Very strong lemon curd flavour, with chunks of fresh blueberry. This isn’t a flavour combination I love, but I can appreciate that it’s a very good ice-cream. Taste 6/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
67. Kikkoman soy sauce, Anya Hindmarch
(one scoop £4.50 or 500ml tub £16, The Ice Cream Project, London)
I loved the salty first spoonful of this – but any more than that becomes overwhelming. Taste 5/10, Value 1/10, Originality 7/10
66. Rhubarb and custard, Waitrose
(480ml, £3.50, Waitrose)
Pure nostalgia! Taste 3/10, Value 7/10, Originality 4/10
65. Lurpak salted butter, Anya Hindmarch
(one scoop £4.50 or 500ml tub £16, The Ice Cream Project, London)
Lovely and creamy, but could have been saltier. Taste 6/10, Value 1/10, Originality 7/10
64. Vanilla and black cardamom, Moonji
(100ml, £3.49, selected UK stores and online)
I wanted more cardamom from this plant-based ice-cream. Taste 5/10, Value 3/10, Originality 6/10
63. Millionaires shortbread with cornish clotted cream, Kelly’s
(425ml, £4, Iceland)
Crunchy chunks of chocolate and biscuit, a very rich caramel sauce – delicious. Taste 7/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
62. Honeycomb and chocolate, Jude’s
(460ml, £5.75, Ocado)
This is a much nicer version of the flavours in the Crunchie ice-cream. Taste 6/10, Value 5/10, Originality 3/10
61. Roasted strawberries, Brickell’s
(475ml, £7.50, selected UK stores and online)
Delicious real strawberry flavour – but the grainiest tub I tried. Taste 5/10, Value 4/10, Originality 5/10
60. Trifle Twirl, M&S
(500ml, £4.50, Ocado)
A fun, Ben & Jerry’s-style loaded ice-cream (I haven’t included any Ben & Jerry’s tubs in this list because their flavours are all now mainstream). The sponge chunks are a bit too chewy. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 4/10
59. Heather honey, M&S
(500ml, £5, Ocado)
A really yummy, subtle, honey-flavoured ice-cream. Taste 7/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
58. Aunt Bessie’s yorkshire pudding, Anya Hindmarch
(one scoop £4.50 or 500ml tub £16, The Ice Cream Project, London)
This tastes more like pancakes with syrup than yorkshire puddings – but not in a bad way. Taste 7/10, Value 1/10, Originality 7/10
57. Lemon curd, Norfolk County Dairy
(500ml, £8.15, selected UK stores)
A very subtle lemon flavour; I wasn’t getting curd specifically. Taste 5/10, Value 4/10, Originality 6/10
56. Rockiest road, Jefferson’s
(370ml, £8.50, selected UK stores)
Ben & Jerry’s phish food on steroids. Taste 7/10, Value 3/10, Originality 5/10
55. Baileys vanilla, Carte D’Or
(825ml, £4.50, Ocado)
Baileys lovers will enjoy – does exactly what it says on the tub. Taste 4/10, Value 8/10, Originality 3/10
54. Cornish honeycomb crunch, Kelly’s
(950ml, £4, Iceland)
There were nice crunchy bits of honeycomb on top, but it needed more throughout. Taste 5/10, Value 9/10, Originality 1/10
53. Raspberry cheesecake with Cornish clotted cream, Kelly’s
(425ml, £4, Iceland)
Way more delicious than I was expecting – the raspberry sauce is genuinely great. Taste 8/10, Value 5/10, Originality 2/10
52. Golden syrup, Lyle’s
(500ml, £4.75, Iceland)
Incredibly sweet – but how could it not be? Taste 6/10, Value 5/10, Originality 4/10
51. Mango sticky rice, Araw
(475ml, £8, available for UK delivery)
I wanted to love this vegan ice-cream, but the rice was still hard and the whole thing a bit underwhelming. Taste 3/10, Value 3/10, Originality 9/10
50. Sicilian lemon and limoncello, Tesco
(480ml, £3.50, Tesco)
Inoffensive, but not tart enough. Taste 4/10, Value 5/10, Originality 6/10
49-45. Ottolenghi strawberries and cream with sumac / roasted pistachio and sour cherry / salted malted chocolate / coffee and cardamom / Madagascan vanilla and miso caramel, Waitrose
(480ml tub, £6, Waitrose)
I wanted more from all of these! More sumac, more sourness, more malt flavour … Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 6/10
44. Dubai chocolate, Mister Twist
(120ml, £5.50, selected UK stores)
A fun, crunchy take on a trendy flavour. Taste 7/10, Value 2/10, Originality 7/10
43-40. Stem ginger and marmalade / Mini egg / Gingerbread / Cinnamon, Simply Ice Cream
(500ml, £6.50, available for UK delivery)
All of these flavours from independent ice-cream maker Simply Ice Cream were lovely – but none of them blew my socks off. Taste 6/10, Value 5/10, Originality 5/10
39. Matcha, Häagen-Dazs
(460ml, £6, Waitrose)
It’s easy to write off matcha as a zeitgeisty flavour, but in an ice-cream it’s undeniably refreshing. Taste 6/10, Value 5/10, Originality 6/10
38. Irish coffee, Simply Ice Cream
(500ml, £6.50, available for UK delivery)
I don’t love Irish coffees – but I was impressed by how much this tasted like one. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 7/10
37. Cinnamon bun, Waitrose
(480ml, £3.50, Waitrose)
Way too few chunks of bun – this felt like a missed opportunity! Artificial-tasting. Taste 4/10, Value 7/10, Originality 6/10
36. Peach melba, Waitrose
(480ml, £3.50, Waitrose)
This nails the flavour of tinned peaches with sugary raspberry sauce. Taste 5/10, Value 7/10, Originality 5/10
35-33. Basque cheesecake/ Earl grey malted crumble/ Ube halaya, Araw
(475ml, £8, available for UK delivery)
These felt like underwhelming representations of the unusual flavours they promised. Taste 5/10, Value 3/10, Originality 9/10
32. Caramelised biscuit, Asda
(425ml, £2.75, Asda)
Layered with biscuit sauce, this might be even tastier than the official Lotus one. Taste 6/10, Value 7/10, Originality 4/10
31. Flat white, M&S
(500ml, £4.50, Ocado)
More like an instant coffee than an espresso-based drink. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 7/10
30. Raspberry pavlova, Asda
(900ml, £2.67 Asda)
If you’re going to sell something as pavlova-flavoured, I think there should be more meringue chunks, but it’s cheap and relatively tasty. Taste 3/10, Value 9/10, Originality 5/10
29. Tiramisu, Häagen-Dazs
(420ml, £5.75, Tesco)
It is my firm belief that no tiramisu-flavoured thing (and there are an increasing number of them) will ever be as good as actual tiramisu. This didn’t prove me wrong. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 7/10
28. Sicilian lemon meringue, Asda
(500ml, £3.27, Asda)
There were chunks of meringue throughout, and a lemon curd ripple – not bad. Taste 5/10, Value 6/10, Originality 6/10
27. Mango lassi, Moonji
(100ml, £3.49, selected UK stores and online)
I was impressed that this vegan sorbet actually tasted like lassi, rather than just mango. Taste 7/10, Value 3/10, Originality 8/10
26. Stem ginger, Salcombe Dairy
(500ml, £6, Ocado)
A creamy, gingery delight. Taste 9/10, Value 5/10, Originality 4/10
25. Matcha green tea, Jude’s
(460ml, £5.75, Sainsbury’s)
Slightly milder, and better, in my opinion, than Häagen-Dazs’s version. Taste 7/10, Value 5/10, Originality 6/10
24. Fig leaf and currant jam, Milktooth Gelato
(500ml, £9.50, selected UK stores)
Earthy, interesting flavour – but some of the bits of currant were hard and gritty. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 8/10
23. Coconut kefir frozen yogurt, Waitrose
(480ml, £3.50, Waitrose)
There’s a lot going on here! Fresh, acidic, a bit sun-creamy – it wasn’t as luxurious as I wanted it to be. Taste 5/10, Value 7/10, Originality 6/10
22. Tofu apricot ponzu, Clingy Wrap
(350ml, £8, selected UK stores)
This vegan ice-cream had a slightly strange texture but a lovely apricot flavour. Taste 4/10, Value 4/10, Originality 10/10
21. Toscano olive oil, M&S
(500ml, £4.50, Ocado)
I loved the idea of this, but the flavour reminded me too much of margarine. Taste 5/10, Value 5/10, Originality 8/10
20. Lemon meringue gelato, Aldi
(480ml, £2.49, Aldi)
Layered, lemony soft serve. Taste 6/10, Value 6/10, Originality 6/10
19. Marmite on toast, Big Kid
(300ml, £8, selected UK stores and online)
Bizarre, but somehow actually not terrible. Taste 5/10, Value 4/10, Originality 10/10
18. Blueberry lavender jam, meringue swirl, Bears
(450ml, £11.50, selected UK stores)
I don’t love lavender so this wasn’t for me – but I could appreciate its creamy delicateness. Taste 6/10, Value 4/10, Originality 9/10
17. Strawberry kefir frozen yoghurt, M&S
(500ml, £3.75, Ocado)
Refreshingly tangy! Taste 6/10, Value 6/10, Originality 7/10
16. Tiramisu gelato, Aldi
(480ml, £2.49, Aldi)
This layered soft-serve is closer to a real tiramisu (I’d still rather have the dessert). 6/10, Value 6/10, Originality 7/10
15-12. Chinese jasmine tea / Hongkongues milk tea / Shizuoka matcha / Black sesame, La Barceloneta
(162ml, £4.50, selected UK stores)
These east Asian-inspired tubs are absolutely stunning. Well-balanced, exciting and delicious. Taste 9/10, Value 3/10, Originality 8/10
11. Iced coffee, Sainsbury’s
(480ml, £3.50, Sainsbury’s)
This actually tastes like drinking an iced latte – and it’s great value for money. Taste 7/10, Value 6/10, Originality 7/10
10. Not fried chicken, Life Raft
(71g, £4, Iceland)
OK, I know this doesn’t exactly count as an ice-cream tub, but I couldn’t ignore this ice-cream shaped to look like a chicken drumstick – complete with a chocolate pretzel “bone” inside. And it’s not all about looks – the waffle-flavoured ice-cream and crushed cornflakes coating make for a genuinely delicious treat. Taste 9/10, Value 1/10, Originality 10/10
9. Flat white coffee, Jude’s
(460ml, £5.75, Ocado)
Properly strong espresso flavour! Taste 8/10, Value 5/10, Originality 7/10
8. Chocolate Guinness cake, Jude’s
(460ml, £5.85, Waitrose)
Delicious, rich – just on the edge of being overwhelming. Taste 7/10, Value 5/10, Originality 8/10
7-5. Toasted rice / Pineapple jam mezcal / Peach mascarpone, Clingy Wrap
(350ml, £8, selected UK stores)
I loved this small independent company’s fun, exciting ice-creams: the toasted rice one has an almost cereal milk flavour, the mezcal one is surprising but not overpowering, and the flavours of real fruit shine through. Taste 7/10, Value 4/10, Originality 9/10
4. Kalamasi gochujang sorbet, Araw
(475ml, £8, available for UK delivery)
Zingy and fresh! Taste 7/10, Value 3/10, Originality 10/10
3. Brown bread, Simply Ice Cream
(500ml, £6.50, available for UK delivery)
For me, this was a great balance of unusual flavour and well-balanced, creamy ice-cream. Taste 8/10, Value 5/10, Originality 8/10
2. Miso banana butterscotch / Cinnamon sponge, Bramley apple jazz, cream cheese frosting, Bears
(450ml, £11.50, selected UK stores)
I’ve only just discovered the Kent-based Bears ice-cream and I’m going to be putting everyone I know on to it – both of these flavours were fruity, creamy and delicious. The banana one reminded me of my grandma’s banana bread recipe. Taste 9/10, Value 4/10, Originality 9/10
1. Brown butter popcorn, Bears
(450ml, £11.50, selected UK stores)
Right on the edge of being too salty, this ice-cream is a perfect balance of savoury, sweet, rich and creamy. I’ll be traversing corner shops and delis to track it down again. 10/10, Value 4/10, Originality 9/10
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