The 3D fruit ice creams are taking over TikTok (and your local dairies’ freezers). Capsule’s Vivien did a little taste test to see if it lives up to the expectations.
The internet is going CRAAAZY over TikTok’s viral fruit-shaped ice cream, but is it actually THAT good?
The ice cream has already been a global social media sensation for months, and for China and the US, it’s been years. And guess what, it’s finally in New Zealand!
It gained so much popularity that one Christchurch dairy owner says he sold $20,000 worth of the ice creams on the first day it hit their freezers, according to 1News.
What is the 3D fruit ice cream?
If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what these are (like myself, who had no idea what these adorable little popsicles were until Capsule’s Alice told me about them), the fruit ice creams are exactly what they sound.
It’s fruit ice cream that’s meant to resemble the taste of the fruit (revolutionary!), but the cute design is meant to make eating the sweet treat an even more enjoyable experience.
Individually packed in a dome-shaped cover, the ice cream is coated with white chocolate to help preserve the shape of the fruit.
There are two brands in New Zealand: One is what netizens call “the OG”. The OG uses New Zealand dairy which means it’s creamier, and would taste less artificial, according to Kiwi food influencers Foodies Table.
The thing is though, it’s HARD to find in West Auckland.
Then there’s the other one, called Fruitae, and is easier to find in your local dairies. TikTok users call it the “knockoff” to the OG, but it’s still gotten some pretty good reviews.
So in true (and very serious) investigative journalism, I just needed to find the truth – is it really as good as the internet claims it to be?
Exactly as I expected, Fruitae was much easier to find. I got mine at Express Mart at New Lynn for $5.99 each.
I bought all four flavours: mango, lemon, peach and strawberry.
Mango – 9/10
The internet is very torn on Fruitae’s mango flavour – it seems people either hate it or love it. Me? I loved it, BUT I can taste artificial sweetener in it. Don’t get me wrong, I can still taste the mango flavour, but it’s just not what a real sweet mango would taste like. For context, I grew up in Cebu, Philippines, which is known for its sweet mangoes. So you could say I’m a bit of a mango snob – ask any of my friends. I was spoilt with countless of sweet mangoes! But growing up in the Philippines also meant our dairy products aren’t as a good as New Zealand’s – the literal land of milk and honey. So nostalgia has played a role in my rating, because that’s exactly how a mango ice cream would taste in the in the Philippines. I also wouldn’t call it a sorbet, it was quite creamy and not refreshing.
Peach – 6/10
Look, the whole point of the fruit ice cream is for it to taste like the fruit. The peach was a bit of a disappointment because influencers looked like they really enjoyed it! But guys, it did not taste like peach. Instead, it was giving… vanilla. A realllly creamy vanilla. If I was out here rating it as a vanilla ice cream, it’d be a 10/10!
Lemon – 5/10
I’d say the texture is if sorbet and ice cream had a baby. The lemon flavour was refreshing and creamy at the same time. But admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of sour desserts. Sour soups though, yes, I’m all in! But a sour ice cream? Naaah, so it’s more on the low end for me. But it does taste like a lemon dessert – I’ll give you that. So if that’s for you, could be worth a go. Like my parter, who loves anything sour, and loves lemons, gave this a 7/10. “It tastes like lemon, it’s not too sweet and it’s like a creamy sorbet!”
Strawberry – 10/10
This seems to be the crowd favourite and I GET WHY. The strawberry flavour is DIVINE. It goes so well with the white chocolate, and it’s so silky that it just melts in your mouth. Again though, it is quite artificial and it will have little to no real strawberry in it. But hey, it’s still hella delicious.
Did I enjoy them? Yes, they are a cute take on fruit ice creams! But would I buy these again? Probably not. For $6 a pop, I’m not sure if it’s worth it.
What I would LOVE to try though are the OG ones to see if they’re any better. (I saw its peach flavour actually had some peach jam inside!)
So I guess the hunt continues…
