I am not a fan of ice cream, but perhaps I have never had the "good stuff."

In addition to some of the premium brands you mentioned, are there other even higher-end labels? And what is it, experientially, I should be looking for? What are the signs, good and bad, in the ingredients list of proper ice cream?

Best ice cream i ever had was at an Amish auction where they were making 2 gallon batches as fast as they could. Unpasteurized eggs and cream FTW.

Best meal I ever had was in an Amish farmyard during a bicycle event. Chicken and biscuit with fruit salad, followed by iced cream made in a churn run by some boys up by the house. On Amish home-baked peach pie.

I still felt a rush when I wrote those lines, and its been 5 years.

My opinion: low end ice cream usually has more sugar. It makes it taste good superficially but it wears on me after awhile. I like it creamy/fatty and I think that is harder to make? (never made ice cream myself)

I look for the fewest ingredients. If I see preservatives or coloring I generally don't buy it. Haagen Daaz is one of the few national brands that is really good about that. Jeni's is really good IMO

I learned a lot about ice cream by watching this expert talk through the pros and cons of different ice creams: https://youtu.be/lma9TNjj_O8

She is the founder of Jeni’s, which is probably the highest-end ice cream I’ve come across.

Jeni's is great! The dark chocolate and peanut butter flavor are awesome.

oh that could 100% be it I love the chunky stuff. But hands down the store by my house that makes there own a league of its own compared to even like the fanciest gelato at whole foods