Oppo Mint choc swirl

I finally got back to a Waitrose this week and after much digging around in the back of the freezer I grabbed the one and only mint choc swirl Oppo ice cream they had left - it must be a popular flavour! 

I've previously reviewed the salted caramel Oppo ice cream here and really enjoyed it despite the fact it's a healthy, low calorie, guilt free version. A little 

bit of info before Oppo use natural ingredients and sweeteners and each tub use a different one. The mint choc swirl uses erythritol, stevia, spirulina 'commonly used in food supplements, spirulina is a blue-green plant grown in the south-China sea' (which will explain the colour achieved despite no added nasties but more of that later) and apple extract. The ice cream itself is made using virgin coconut oil and the choc swirl is Peruvian cacao, cocoa powder, blossom honey and vanilla extract. There are a few stabilisers added but even they're not your typical scarily named mysteries - Guar gum, Carrageenan and Locust bean gum. I've added the ingredients to my review as I did find it hard to believe they use health food ingredients that I don't normally find very tasty and made something I eat through choice - not to fit in a diet! 

Anyway on to the good stuff. The ice cream was alarmingly green! This might (and is a total guess so I could be completely off the mark here) be why Spirulina is used - to colour the mint ice cream without any added colourings. On first taste I was also suprised by how strong the mint flavour was, the strength is normally something I'd associate with some clever chemicals added in, it was really that minty! I don't mind mint, it's not particularly a flavour I look for but it was beautifully fresh and cooling with the cold ice cream and was perfect for a warm night like last night. 

As before the ice cream itself was thick and creamy, it did melt down pretty quickly which I'm not normally too keen on but that could have been because last night was quite warm. After a few mouthfuls I realised (idiot!) this is a bit different to other chocolate mint ice creams, in that it's a mint ice cream with a chocolate/cacao swirl instead of a chocolate ice cream with mint. The swirl soon appeared on my spoon and it was delicious, nice and rich and just as strong in flavour as the mint, it easily matched up and held its own against the strong mint. 

I really, really enjoyed this flavour, the next time I fancy a change from the usual chocolate brownie/cookie dough/fudge ice creams, I would definitely buy this again - especially as the mint Ben & Jerrys was a seasonal tub. I think the fact it's healthier is just an added bonus. 

Rating 7/10 

Oppo salted caramel with lucuma ice cream

I've been using Ocado for a while now, I keep telling everyone it's because I'm saving money and it's easier to buy just what I need but really it's because they have all the goodies nowhere else does, like this Oppo ice cream.

There are three versions available at the moment - this salted caramel, a vanilla and a chocolate and mint one. All three are marketed as a healthier version of ice cream made with whole milk, coconut oil and natural sweeteners rather than added sugar, so they aren't an ice cream alternative they actually are real ice cream. 

The salted caramel flavour I chose is sweetened with Lucuma and natural fruit extracts. Lucuma fruit according to the tub is Peruvian, known as 'gold of the Incas', has a golden flesh and a naturally rich and creamy caramel taste. See! Not only is this better for you than the normal stuff you learn something too! 

Being that it's a health food - if ice cream could ever be called that, it was more expensive. I paid £4.39 on a special offer, normal price is £5.49 which does seem steep but it's only been recently I've noticed luxury ice cream being under £5 in the supermarkets anyway. 

The ice cream is plain looking, slightly creamy coloured and didn't look as if it had been in the freezer at all. Sometimes frozen yogurts/low fat/sugar filled stuff gets that horrible frost all over it but  not here. 

The ice cream is extremely thick, I thought maybe after a while out of the freezer it would thin out a little but it didn't at all. It's still very scoop-able but it stayed thick and creamy till the last bite. 

I really liked the flavour, it's a subtle caramel which is to be expected as it's only natural flavourings used but it is there. The taste couldn't be mistaken for vanilla but it's not an instant caramel as soon as it hits your tounge, it kind of appeared slowly, halfway through each mouthful and hung around for a while making me want more! I couldn't taste any salt but the caramel didn't need it anyway it was nice enough alone.

As for the sweeteners used and the other health stuff, I couldn't taste any coconut at all which I was pleased about, I don't mind the stuff but I'd have bought a coconut flavour if that's what I was after. It didn't taste sugar free at all, if anything it was thicker and creamier than most other ice creams I've tried recently and I wonder if that is to do with the sweeteners chosen. This felt in texture, like a luxurious, top end ice cream but I suppose it is for the prices charged! 

Rating 8/10 

I've already put one of the other versions in my shopping basket (while they're still on offer), and I suprised myself with the rating I gave it. It's not one of my favourites, I like my additions like chocolate, cookie dough and other weird things too much, but considering this is a healthier version - and let's be honest they're usually complete crap, I thought this was really nice.