OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The pears have been caramelized, the coconut has been shredded, the waffles have been toasted -- and the results are in. The winning flavor of Scoop: The Haagen-Dazs Flavor Search and the next limited edition flavor to be added to the Haagen-Dazs ice cream lineup is Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan, created by Leslie Zoerb of Buffalo, N.Y. To celebrate Leslie and her new flavor, along with her irresistible creation of Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan, New York's Mayor Bloomberg proclaimed today, September 21, 2007, "The Big Apple" be named "The Big Pear."
Haagen-Dazs ice cream received 5,000 entries from all over the U.S., but it was Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan that caught the eye of the judges, one of which was television show host, cookbook author and executive chef of Gourmet magazine Sara Moulton. Unable to bake a birthday pear tart due to a winter storm power outage, Leslie created a luscious impromptu dessert to use her quickly melting Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean ice cream. Taking advantage of her gas stove, she caramelized pears in butter, sugar and rum and added toasted pecans for a crunchy surprise. Leslie was flown to Gourmet's headquarters in New York City to launch the new flavor with Sara Moulton.
"This contest has been a very sweet success," said Haagen-Dazs brand manager, Josh Gellert. "The winning flavor of last year's contest, Sticky Toffee Pudding, was so popular that we have just moved it from a limited edition flavor to a full-time favorite in the Haagen-Dazs ice cream line."
Entries were received from contestants across the country vying to become the next mouth-watering Haagen-Dazs ice cream flavor, and those were narrowed down to three finalists. America had the opportunity to weigh in on the decision, voicing their opinions on both the selection of the final three and the winner online and at taste-tests at select Haagen-Dazs(R) Shops.
The two other semi-finalists were Christine Hanusi from Ewing, N.J., who created Blueberry Belgian Waffle from a love of Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Bean ice cream atop fluffy waffles, and Ken Wan from Lafayette, Calif., who channeled his obsession of coconut ice cream and chocolate to inspire his flavor, Coco y Cacao.
"It was a tough decision -- we were awed by all the delicious entries," said Sara Moulton, executive chef of Gourmet magazine. "But the sweet intense pear ice cream, with morsels of caramelized pear and crunchy toasted pecan pieces bursting with caramel and fruit flavors, made it hard to resist."
Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan is available nationwide at all major and local Haagen-Dazs retailers. Along with the honor of becoming the newest member to the ice cream line-up, this winning limited edition flavor will also be promoted in the October issue of Gourmet magazine.
For full details on Scoop: The Haagen-Dazs Flavor Search, visit http://haagen-dazs.com/Scoop.
About Haagen-Dazs
Crafted in 1961 by Reuben Mattus in his family's dairy, Haagen-Dazs is the original superpremium ice cream. True to tradition, we are committed to using only the purest ingredients in crafting the world's finest ice cream. Truly made like no other, today Haagen-Dazs ice cream offers a full range of products from ice cream to sorbet, frozen yogurt and frozen snacks in more than 65 flavors. Haagen-Dazs products are available around the globe for ice cream lovers to enjoy. For more information, please visit http://www.haagen-dazs.com/.
About Gourmet
Gourmet, The Magazine of Good Living, celebrates the pleasures of dining, entertaining and travel with an affluent and active audience of nearly 5.5 million passionate readers each month. Now in its 65th year, Gourmet presents authentic and unique epicurean experiences from around the globe, ranging from the everyday to the extraordinary, through award-winning journalism and photography by acclaimed writers and photographers.
About Sara Moulton
Sara Moulton is currently executive chef at Gourmet magazine, food editor for Good Morning America and host of the Food Network's Sara's Secrets. She is also the author of two cookbooks, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals and Sara Moulton Cooks at Home. Sara graduated from the Culinary Institute of America at the top of her class in 1977, and worked in restaurants in the United States and France for seven years before joining the magazine. More information about Sara can be found at http://www.saramoulton.com/.
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