The summer mindset comes with a new ice cream flavor for everyone, moving away from creamy chocolate to bright and fruity palettes. And what better to taste on a hot summer day than the classic summertime flavor, strawberry? This flavor on its own may seem like a sunny-season cop out, but we found a dessert with an interesting twist: mochi. 

Zoya Hasan, 9: The first time I tried mochi, I didn’t like it because the outside was hard, icy and chewy, and the inside was like biting into a block of ice. But I must say the strawberry mochi caught me off guard in a good way; the outside shell was covered in rice flour, it was chewy and slightly icy, and sweet, but tasteless with no flavor, I didn’t know how I felt about it at first, but when I took another bite, the creamy, light-weight filling stole my heart. In my opinion, the texture is something you adjust to. After a bite or two, you start to enjoy the combination of the shell and the scrumptious filling. 

I loved that the treat tasted like a real strawberry! It didn’t seem artificial at all— The authenticity was refreshing to my taste buds. However, I don’t think this treat would be my go-to because I feel like there are better options out there in terms of both texture and flavor. Still the filling was absolutely mouthwatering and I wouldn’t at all mind eating this dessert. If you’re thinking about trying something new or you just like strawberry flavor like Sophie, I’d recommend you try this. If you’re picky about textures, though, stay away. Overall, I give this treat an 8/10 because even though it’s not my go-to, I know if I was having the midnight munchies, I would want this sweet, mouthwatering delight in my fridge. 

Sophie McCarthy, 9: I’ve seen mochi before and I’ve always wanted to try it. I would beg my mom to buy it for me at the grocery store — that chewy dough with cold, creamy filling looked delicious — but that didn’t happen. And strawberry mochi? It makes this summer treat even more enticing because  I’m a major strawberry ice cream lover. The second we walked into Target, I bolted to the freezers and took that mochi off the shelf. 

Let’s just say trying it was an interesting experience. The texture of the dough was different than I expected. It was gummy-like, chewy and stretchy with a powder coating on the outside. The texture is a quality of this dessert that you either love or hate — even so, it was like biting into a soft, fluffy pillow. But the dough didn’t have much taste, and since the entire dessert was covered in it, it made it slightly difficult to not notice the lack of sweetness. However, the unflavored dough allowed the strawberry ice cream inside to shine through. I don’t mess around when it comes to ice cream, especially strawberry, so when I say that this ice cream was absolutely mouthwatering, I don’t mean it lightly. Creamy, cold and oh-so delicious, the strawberry flavor was not too strong and perfectly authentic. Although the ice cream filling was utterly impeccable, the dough was a miss for me. Overall, I would give this a 7/10, despite the dough, because I would eat the entire package just for that ice cream.

Ben and Jerry’s is the ice cream of champions. If Jimmy Fallon has a flavor, it has to be good, right? We were lucky enough to find this new, ready-for-summer dessert in the freezer aisle: raspberry cheesecake. I recommend you grab your wallet and car keys right now because you will be wanting this within the next ten minutes. 

Hasan: Hot take… I don’t like cheesecake that much — it’s too thick and fluffy and you can barely taste any flavor until you get to the bottom of the cheesecake crust — but boy, oh boy, this ice cream might have turned me into a cheesecake lover. I loved how the classic graham cracker crust was featured as a crumble topping, when we opened the carton,  was magical. And that’s when I realized she was the one; it was love at first sight. With each bite, we got a crunch, paired with a cherry-sweet, fruity twist along with a creamy base. This is going in my summer ice cream stash. 

I definitely recommend getting this ice cream if you like cheesecake, but I also recommend getting this ice cream if you don’t, because it’s not at all overly thick, fluffy and heavy like regular cheesecake. Ever since I ate that ice cream, I’ve been remembering its mildly fruity and creamy aftertaste. I expected the raspberry to be too dominating and heavy, but it was berry-licious and perfectly paired with the crumbles on top and the raspberry-filled, creamy delight on the bottom that doesn’t fail you. I recommend this to you even if you don’t like raspberries because the combination of the base and cracker compliment each other well with its authentic raspberry and even chunks of fruit. This ice cream is a solid 9/10 for me. 

McCarthy: Cheesecake. Rich, luscious, sweet. It makes the perfect dessert. Paired with tart, crisp raspberries, these two things create an even better result: raspberry cheesecake. Now, on its own, that dessert is a flawless mashup. Before finding this heavenly frozen treat, I didn’t think summer could get any better. Oh, how naive I was. Ben and Jerry’s somehow fulfilled all my summer wishes with… are you ready… raspberry cheesecake ice cream. I won’t wait any longer to start praising the blessing Ben and Jerry’s has given me with this flavor. On the first  bite, there was no doubt in my mind what the flavor was supposed to be. And even better, there was a sweet surprise inside with the crunchy bits of graham cracker coating the top of the ice cream. 

The otherworldly combination of velvety ice cream and crispy graham cracker pieces with raspberry swirl made this dessert impossible to put down. The flavors of both cheesecake and raspberry did not once outshine each other, creating a harmonious balance. Although the graham cracker crumble was only on top, graham cracker chunks were still swirled throughout to ensure that every bite had a bit of everything. With all of that in mind, I think it’s pretty obvious what my rating is… a 10/10! In my eyes, this dessert breaks the scale because I’m about to go eat a scoop right now.

A summer without popsicles is like a summer without a nice swim in the pool. That would be depressing, wouldn’t it? Popsicles are an unbeatable summer treat — without them, the warm months just aren’t the same. We made sure that this frozen treat climbed to the top of our taste test list. Even though the grape was an interesting choice, it was reminiscent of summer nonetheless.  

Hasan: Full disclosure, I’m not a grape person. I don’t mean to promote the Grape-Haters Club, but I knew when we got the popsicles that I wasn’t going to enjoy the artificial taste. But I had to try it for the minority of grape lovers worldwide. I have to say, when I initially tried the popsicle, I couldn’t tell if I liked it or not. But after a couple of licks, the flavor started to grow on me and I actually thought that I really, really, really… hated it. I started to remember the medicine you’d get as a kid when you got a bad cold, the type of cold which you never know if your snot is dripping out your nose or not. You can taste the sour yet subtly bitter taste of the artificial grape flavor. It’s a questionable flavor but a nostalgic one. For this reason, I give the grape popsicle a 5/10 — I love popsicles, but I’d give this one to my sister if I didn’t want it.

McCarthy: Grape is a touchy flavor for a lot of people, and I am not ashamed to be a part of that group. It’s very easy for grape-flavored sweets to taste like medicine. The flavor brings back memories of Halloween, pouring out all of your candy and feeling the disappointment of seeing  “grape” in big bold letters on the package of your favorite sweet. However, grape-flavored treats can be good on special occasions. And this may have been one of those. If you want to get a popsicle with a more natural fruit flavor, I would buy the Outshine fruit bars. Grape popsicles aren’t something I typically reach for — if you didn’t pick up on my aversion to the flavor earlier —  but that made these even more fun to try. 

Outshine doesn’t shy away from natural ingredients, which is why I loved how real the grape tasted. It was a sharp contrast to the candy on Halloween and I wasn’t mad about it. The grape flavor was strong and had a kick of sweetness, making this summer specialty even more mouthwatering. If you are among the group of people who love grape-flavored things, I would 100% recommend this! For me, I cannot overcome my childhood dislike, but this was a lot better than I thought it would be. I give it a 6/10, because I may not go out of my way to buy this, but I never turn down a popsicle. 

It’s finally that time of the year where we get to relax, have an excuse to wear sunglasses and eat watermelon. Being watermelon lovers, we couldn’t pass up this scrumptious opportunity to have our two favorite summer delights come together: watermelon and popsicles.

Hasan: Watermelons are the most iconic and classic summer fruit and one of my favorite fruits to have in the summer. So, of course, when I saw watermelon popsicles, I knew I had to try them. Pairing the best summer fruit with a refreshing, cold popsicle —what could go wrong with this dynamic duo? As a watermelon fan, I was disappointed when I didn’t get the authentic taste of watermelon in the popsicle. It felt very artificial and it almost tasted like watermelon gum you get at Walmart but cold. These popsicles are a 6/10 for me, and that’s me being generous. 

McCarthy: I’m a watermelon lover through and through. If I had to choose between a watermelon and an H in Honors English, I would choose the watermelon. How could we pass up the opportunity to try a watermelon popsicle? It’s a mix of the two most iconic summer treats,  and in the back of the popsicle freezer, we found the perfect contender: Jonny Pop’s watermelon flavor. These were the perfect-looking popsicles, even better than I had imagined. It looked like I had just cut a slice of watermelon, and even though we aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, this one gets bonus points. 

The taste is the real deciding factor,  and I loved the taste. The flavor was incredibly strong and there was no mistaking that it was supposed to be a watermelon. It might be too bold and sweet for some buyers, but a great thing about these is that they are organic.  You don’t have to feel too bad about eating the whole pack since they’re basically fruit — at least that’s what I’m telling myself. They do have a slightly artificial taste that deducts some points, but they’re a treat I would definitely purchase again. Overall, this treat gets a 7.5/10 from me, because what’s summer without watermelon?

Ben and Cherry’s ice cream is a dessert that will get you in a cherry-full mood with its cherry-sweetness. But, cherry puns aside, we had to try another fruit flavored frozen treat from a classic ice cream brand like Ben and Jerry’s, especially named after the one and only Jerry Garcia. To every Dead Head out there, hopefully we did this flavor justice. 

Hasan: I cherry-ish this ice cream… Do you get it? Anyways, jokes aside, I loved this cherry ice cream! It wasn’t too fruity or artificial but rather subtle, and you can taste the creaminess of the ice cream and the chunks of chocolate in the ice cream. This is the best cherry-flavored anything I’ve ever tried. I was questioning this ice cream because many times, cherry-flavored desserts are either overpowering or underwhelming. Still, the Cherry Garcia did not fail to deliver: the cherry essence was subtle and authentic,  and the ice cream delivered some chunky, chocolate goodness. This flavor is very underrated and I recommend it if you like berries; however, if you don’t like the combo of slight chocolate with fruit, I wouldn’t try this.  For me, this cherry-licious delight gets a 9/10 for its refreshing  flavor that will cure all of your frozen fruit-flavored cravings.

McCarthy: Zoya took the best cherry pun I have, so we’ll start strong with how much I love cherries — the tart and slightly sweet fruit brings me back to the summers my family spent in Wisconsin, eating a whole tub of cherries and seeing who could win the Cherry Pit spit outside of the market. Ben and Jerry’s had already gained me as a loyal customer with their Raspberry Cheesecake ice cream, so I had a lot of excitement for this ice cream flavor. I was expecting to open the container and see pink ice cream, but I was surprised to see chocolate and cherry chunks swirled throughout. Chocolate and cherry is an incredible combination, but the chocolate in this ice cream was masked slightly by the overwhelming maraschino cherry flavor. The cherry flavor was very forward at first but got more pleasing as I ate it. The ice cream has the overwhelmingly sweet flavor of maraschino cherries rather than natural tart ones. You’ll love this frozen dessert if you always steal cherries from other people’s ice cream sundaes. If not, I might buy the raspberry cheesecake ice cream instead. Even if I wasn’t the biggest fan of the flavor at first, Ben and Jerry’s never fails to make a thick, creamy ice cream that leaves me wanting more, so, I think this treat deserves a solid 6.5/10. 

This was the perfect way to kick off summer and the perfect way to stock up our freezers with way more frozen treats  than we need. Each one of these unique frozen treats will keep you cool in the heat and content with every bite. Summer isn’t summer without a delicious bite of ice cream or a melting-in-the-sun popsicle, and these fruit-flavored frozen desserts will be the perfect treat for your summer stash. So, you should have been in your car yesterday to buy these icy delicacies. We mean it. You won’t be disappointed.