Tropical treat wave: Mango sorbet put to test

Published 5:00 am Tuesday, May 31, 2011

When ice cream is too decadent and fruit too virtuous for your summer sweet tooth, mango sorbet delivers an elegant, tropical treat that’s fat- and dairy-free without losing any of the fun.

We put four brands to a blind taste test. It turns out there is impressive diversity.

Haagen-Dazs’ mango sorbet was the favorite, despite its initially off-putting color: a grainy pink-orange reminiscent of orange sherbet. The flavors were strong and vibrant, and tasters picked up hints of other tropical fruits, including passion fruit, banana and papaya. The all-natural sorbet, creamy and light, is sweetened with lemon juice, pumpkin juice and carrot juice concentrates.

At $4.49 a pint, Haagen-Dazs also was the priciest offering. But rated a close second was the generic Safeway Select ($2.50), which impressed tasters with its bright mango color and subtle sweetness. Safeway Select’s was the only sample with corn syrup.

Ciao Bella was the only brand that listed mangoes first in its list of ingredients (the others listed water or sugar first), but the powerful sweetness of the thick, squash-colored sorbet, made with organic evaporated cane juice, turned off some tasters. Trader Joe’s pale yellow sorbet tasted as unripe as it looked to some testers, though others hailed it as the freshest and most natural tasting of all.

The rankings

Here is what the taste panel found, rated on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 9 (highest). Prices may vary by location.

1. Haagen-Dazs

Rating: 7.4; $4.49 for 14 ounces, 32 cents per ounce

Nutrition per serving: 150 calories, 38 carbs

Comments: “Looks like orange sherbet.” “Good sharp taste.” “A bit too sweet.” “Tangy, tropical fruit flavors, more like passion fruit.” “Light banana-ish flavor.” “Smells a bit of papaya.”

2. Safeway Select

Rating: 7.1; $2.50 for 16 ounces, 16 cents per ounce

Nutrition per serving: 120 calories, 32 carbs

Comments: “Best color, bright and springy.” “Tart and sweet without being too sweet.” “Appealing.” “Not a rich mango flavor.” “Clean taste.”

3. Ciao Bella

Rating: 5.9; $3.99 for 16 ounces, 25 cents per ounce

Nutrition per serving: 120 calories, 29 carbs

Comments: “Dark orange, looks like butternut squash.” “Sweet and syrupy.” “Thick like ice cream.” “More like apricot than mango.” “Bitter aftertaste.”

4. Trader Joe’s

Rating: 5; $3.99 for 32 ounces, 12.5 cents per ounce

Nutrition per serving: 100 calories, 25 carbs

Comments: “Pale yellow color.” “Tastes as pale as it looks.” “Dry and icy.” “Tastes like an under-ripe mango.” “Freshest taste.” “The most natural mango flavor.”