This is no longer Benedick's but TransCold Distribution Ltd, which stores and distributes to restaurants and grocery stores select ice cream brands, including the excellent Sara's Ice Cream, one of increasingly few local sources of black licorice ice cream and the maker whose name and logo are featured on the sign on the distributorship's door.
If the place located on Manitoba Avenue about two blocks from Superstore on Marine Drive looks like a warehouse or storage facility, that's because it is, as Jaime Gifford, the cheerful Celt owner/operator informed me. He also told me that Canada strangely outlawed the harmless ingredient once used to give black licorice ice cream its famous tar-like appearance. Further hard questions for the Harper government next election. In the meantime, where was my 1.5-litre bucket of the stuff, which I had arranged to pick up by email via the Sara website Contact Us link? There it was - right behind the cold counter as arranged along with another of chocolate, each for $8.50, which we decided to sample. In for a penny, in for a pound.
The result? A taste test of Sara's chocolate ice cream versus Safeway's by our resident chocolate expert revealed Sara as the clear winner. 'An extra hint of fudge in her recipe put it over the top,' he said, 'no contest.' There you have it.
The black licorice confection - more a pale grey licorice thanks to Harper - improved the longer it was frozen as per Sara's instructions. Nice, creamy texture - not too sweet - firms up nicely with freezing. The trick is to keep it in the freezer long enough without frequent visitors testing to see if it's 'done.'
Interestingly, I find that those who so often make faces at my 'boiled tires' are somehow unable to resist 'just a taste ... perhaps a small scoop,' thereby depleting my already very limited supply. I don't hold it against them, however, as it may lead to increased supply, competition and availability.
Hint: I can think of no reason why Superstore shouldn't provide Sara's black licorice scream at the same competitive price. read more