Australian Hiker

Rating

Campers Pantry Ice Cream Review

Campers Pantry is an Australian owned company that freeze-dried food manufacturer based in Launceston Tasmania. I’ve been a big fan since we came across them just after starting Australian Hiker in 2016. For me it’s about the fact Campers Pantry is willing to take a risk and produce meal/snack options that aren’t just a repeat of what’s already on the market. One of the newer releases, a range of freeze dried ice creams, is a great example.

Now don’t get me wrong, you aren’t going to have frozen ice cream on the trail unless you’re packing a freezer unit but what you do get is the taste of ice cream. There are three favours in the range:

• Single Malt Whisky
• Decadent Chocolate Gelato
• Cradle Mountain Pepperberry and Leatherwood Honey

As you can see they don’t stick with the basic flavours! The ice cream base comes from the Van Diemens Land Creamery which does some pretty unique flavours – we talk about the taste testing below.

The as-purchased package weighs around 58 grams which includes 50 grams of product – consistent with what is identified as one serve on the nutrition panel and providing around 253 calories. When you open up the packets the ice cream has the texture of small slabs of honeycomb.

We tried three different ways of eating this ice cream with different results:

1. The first was just eating small pieces and while it was tasty, for me it wasn’t anything special
2. The second was rehydrating the mixture with a small amount of water – this turned it into what can best be described as melted ice cream or custard. It tasted like melted ice cream; real melted ice cream!
3. The third was just letting a piece melt in my mouth. This is where the best result comes from, at least in our opinion. It was really easy to eat and taste wise, eating it this way I found I hoovered through the remainder of the packets pretty easily.

The only thing we didn’t try was adding it to one of the desserts but I would think that this would also work equally well.

Price wise this product is being sold as a ‘6-pack’ for AUD $48.82 RRP rather than individual packs which works out as $8.95 per packet. Not cheap by any means but what it does provide is ‘comfort food taste’ that only ice cream can deliver, and its pretty close to real ice cream.

So overall what did we think? Is this going to come with us on our overnight hikes? I’m a bit off a sweet tooth and once I discovered the trick of just letting it dissolve in my mouth, I made short work of two out of the three packets. The size and weight of these packets is pretty small and light so on those rare hikes where I do pack desserts, I will add these to the mix. If you are a dessert fan, then these icecreams are well worthy trying.

Taste Test

He Said

• Single Malt Whisky Ice Cream
  • My favourite but had you asked me when I first tasted this just prior to public release I would have said that the Pepperberry and Leatherwood Honey was my first choice. I found the whisky cut some of the sweetness. This was the creamiest of the three varieties
• Cradle Mountain Pepperberry and Leatherwood Honey
  • My second choice and a bit of a unique flavour. The native pepperberry balanced out the sweetness of the honey but this didn’t have the creaminess of the whisky flavour
• Decadent Chocolate Gelato
  • While I will happily eat chocolate ice cream, its not my first choice and even though I liked this option, I would always opt for the two other varieties first

She Said

• Decadent Chocolate Gelato
  • It’s well known that chocolate solves every problem so I usually gravitate in that direction. This chocolate version didn’t disappoint and was easily my favourite. The flavour is full without being overpowering
• Single Malt Whisky Ice Cream
  • Next on my list of favourites was the whisky flavour. This one has hints of vanilla and to me doesn’t taste like whisky. So if you’re not a whisky fan fear not, you can still enjoy this one
• Cradle Mountain Pepperberry and Leatherwood Honey
  • This ice cream came last for me. While is a good peppery taste, it was a bit too subtle for me.

We Like

• Great tasting. This is as close as you’ll get to real ice cream without a freezer. It just has that comfort food quality that only ice cream delivers
• Very lightweight dessert option
• Loads of calories to satisfy hungry hikers
• Compact packaging which won’t take up much space in your pack
• While it doesn’t have a use by date, it should last provided the packaging stays intact
• Easy to eat whichever way you choose

We Don't Like

• Its sweet so there’s a limit to how much you can eat in one go

Best Uses

• For those nights when you need a bit of comfort food

Buy One

You can purchase the Campers Pantry Ice Cream from Campers Pantry

Disclosure: Some of the above links are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

PLEASE NOTE: As a special offer Campers Pantry is offering a 15% discount on meal purchases (information correct as at 17 September 2023). This discount will be applied at the checkout when you make your purchase via the above link

Other Versions

Campers Pantry has a full range of outdoor food from snacks to meals to desserts

Investment

AUD $44.82 RRP (for a 6 pack of one flavour)

Campers Pantry Single Malt Whisky Ice Cream

Campers Pantry Decadent Chocolate Gelato

Campers Pantry Ice Cream nutrition list (Pepperberry and Leatherwood Honey variety)

Campers Pantry ice cream out of the packet

Campers Pantry ice cream rehydrated

Disclaimer

This review was done with product provided by Campers Pantry

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