Abstract:
This report provides an overview of ice cream shops in Toronto through a narrow and highly-biased sample. Three shops are visited, sampling a total of 6 flavours. Flavour, texture and pricing of each shop are compared. Finally, the report concludes that a bigger and more diverse sample is required for a better understanding of the ice cream scene in Toronto.
Introduction:
Ice cream is a popular dessert enjoyed throughout the year, although it has been observed that there is a positive correlation between the ingestion of ice cream and higher temperature. While it provides an overall positive effect on participants in terms of taste and mood, more data and insight is required in order to understand how this is achieved and which factors may affect this. The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the ice cream scene in Toronto through analyzing ice creams’ specific characteristics, such as flavour, texture and pricing, alongside temperature and weather to see how these factors affect participants’ mood and overall experience.
Method:
The study involves 2 participants; 3 ice cream shops are visited, with a total of 6 flavours analyzed. Temperatures were observed, as well as the pricing of each shop.
April 24th: 93A Ossington Street, Toronto, 10 degrees Celsius, 60% chance of precipitation. Store 1 was visited approximately at 3:00pm. Flavours Mud and Matcha-genmaicha Tiramisu were tasted on regular cones. The price of a single scoop was $6.24.
May 1st: 499 Richmond Street West, Toronto, 10 degrees Celsius, 30% chance of precipitation. Store 2 was visited approximately at 5:00pm. Flavours Seasonal Cheesecake (believed to be Guava Cheesecake) and Supercrema Hazelnut Chocolate were tasted on waffle cones. The price of a single scoop plus waffle cone was $8.81.
May 16th: 250 Queens Quay West, Toronto, 24 degrees Celsius, 40% chance of precipitation. Store 3 was visited approximately at 5:00pm. Flavours Tiramisu and Turkish Coffee were tasted on waffle cones. The price of a single scoop plus waffle cone was $9.54.
May 30th: 93A Ossington Street, Toronto, 20 degrees Celsius, 0% chance of precipitation. Store 1 was visited again approximately at 9:00pm. Flavour Matcha-genmaicha Tiramisu was tasted on regular cones. The price of this particular flavour was $7.39.
Discussion:
Each shop’s ice cream will be compared based on their texture, flavour and pricing. Remarks will also be made about the weather.
Texture:
In terms of texture, Shop 1’s ice cream had a softer and smoother texture, where licking was possible. On the other hand, the ice creams from Shop 2 and Shop 3 were harder and had to be bitten into. The various flavours from the shops also had different textures: Shop 2’s Seasonal Cheesecake had graham cookie bits, and Shop 3’s Tiramisu had ladyfinger bits and cocoa powder. These extra textures made the flavours unique and memorable. Since Shop 1 was visited in pretty cool weather and the second visit was around the same as the visits to the other shops, we can conclude that temperature did not affect the texture of the ice creams.
Flavour:
Flavour-wise, participants remarked that Shop 1 had the best flavour: both Mud and Matcha-genmaicha Tiramisu were rich and complex, with layers of different tastes detected from each bite/lick. However, Shop 1’s ice cream was tasted on a regular cone, whereas Shop 2 and 3’s were consumed on a waffle cone. Shop 2’s waffle cone can be detected from a far distance, making it highly enticing and mouth-watering. Shop 3’s Turkish Coffee had a strong coffee taste.
Pricing:
In regards to pricing, the shops are priced similarly, with single scoops ranging from $5 to $7, with Shop 3 being the most expensive at $7.75. It is important to note that Shop 2 and 3 were tasted on waffle cones. Waffle cones are more expensive, ranging from an additional $1 to $2, putting the total spent at these shops higher than Shop 1. However, Shop 1 also charges an additional $0.50 to $1 for certain flavours.
Lastly, most of the visits to these shops were made on rainy days, slightly affecting the overall mood of the participants. Future taste testing should be commenced on non-rainy days to eliminate this variable.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the participants expressed that more ice cream shops needs to be visited in order to better understand the Toronto ice cream scene, but overall they enjoyed Store 1 the most.
The ice cream shops:
Shop 1: Bang Bang Ice Cream & Bakery
Shop 2: Scooped By Demetres
Shop 3: Ice Creamonology
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