The Problem With This Trader Joe's Pistachio Treat, According To Customers

Most people enjoy the taste of pistachios, but pistachio-flavored products don't always live up to the hype. A perfect case-in-point is Trader Joe's Italian Pistachio & Fior di Latte Gelato Style Frozen Dessert, which customers have recently taken to Reddit to complain about. The post itself is actually pretty positive, but the comment section was a mixed bag. "I thought it was ... ok," said one comment. "Too airy and whipped for me. Kind of like frozen Cool Whip." While that doesn't sound terrible, gelato is supposed to be thicker than ice cream, so it's odd to see something so far off from what's being advertised. 

Granted, it's a "gelato style frozen dessert" and not actual gelato, but the fine print is cold comfort when customers are expecting one thing and tasting another. It's the same kind of problem frozen dairy desserts like Breyer's have, which masquerade as ice cream while actually being slightly different. Some people enjoy the artificial taste of these imposters, and more power to them. After all, food scientists have designed these sweet treats using state-of-the-art technology to please your taste buds at levels previous generations could only dream of. That didn't stop the haters from piling on, though. 

"I didn't like it," said another Redditor. "Was too aerated and the pistachio flavor wasn't strong enough for my taste." As you can see, the texture is what people have an issue with most. The comparison to whipped cream came up again and again as a detractor. Although this is a complaint, plenty of people still like it.

If all we did here was emphasize Trader Joe's pistachio gelato's shortcomings, we'd be doing the dessert a disservice. A quick scan through that same Reddit post will show as many commenters talking about how much they love the item as hate it. "I LOVE THIS," read one comment. "It's so smooth and creamy like a cloud." Another chimed in, saying, "I didn't even know what fior di latte was when I first got this and now it's all I want."

Is the pistachio gelato as divisive as Trader Joe's affogato dessert? Hard to say, but one commenter had the creative impulse to create their own variation when they said, "It is so ridiculously good. Makes an amazing affogato!" We haven't tried it ourselves, but we'd be lying if we said we weren't curious.

So, the dessert is a love it or hate it situation, but why is the texture like that in the first place? The food scientists who created it may have thought it would taste better. It could also be a form of shrinkflation. A big reason why the gelato tastes like whipped cream is because it basically is. That thin texture comes from something called overrun, which refers to the amount of air that's in ice cream. Air is basically free, while food is expensive. By pumping more air into the dessert, Trader Joe's can sell the same volume of ice cream while keeping costs low. It's just a theory, mind you. There may be some other reason for it we're not aware of.