Breakups, celebrations, movie nights, Sunday roasts: there's no life event that a big ol' bowl of ice cream isn't suitable for, not to mention any dessert that it doesn't really go with. It's a freezer favourite; and if you don't happen to have some knocking around for emergencies, who even are you?
Of course, we aren't the only ones to love a scoop of creamy dreaminess, so there are plenty of brands offering all sorts of tantalising treats on the supermarket shelves.
We've got the lowdown on the ones to look out for, what their USP is, and which flavours you should try:
13 tubs of ice cream to fill your freezer
Haagen Dazs [pictured]
USP: Boozy winter flavours
If you aren't into indulgence, look away now. Häagen-Dazs's luxurious new winter flavours include this one: a tub of caramel ice cream with a swirl of Irish whiskey and cream, speckled with chunks of chocolate-coated waffle. Good lord. Designed to be eaten in an oversized polo neck jumper and flannel pyjamas by a roaring fire. Doing Stoptober? Fear not – it's less than 0.5% ABV.
ROAR
USP: Vegan and palm-oil free
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Fierce packaging and a dedication to conserve wildlife with a charity donation with every tub bought, ROAR's vegan ice cream describes itself as 'wildly delicious'. We've tried the hazelnut chocolate cookie version and we're inclined to agree: think Kinder Bueno ice cream, with crunchy nuts and chewy cookie to hit up all the texture and flavour high notes.
Booja Booja
USP: Vegan, organic, gluten-free
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Proper posh: at a steep £7 a tub, you're expecting to get your money's worth from this vegan favourite. Thankfully it more than lives up to expectations – made with only five ingredients, there's no funny business, and use of creamy blended cashews keeps things delightfully dense. Honeycomb caramel is caramel ice cream 'bescrunched' chunks of honeycomb caramel. We dare you not to eat it all in one go – it's basically health food, right?
Magnum
USP: We don't need to tell you
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The ice cream sticks need little introduction; the more recent addition of the tubs more than live up to their predecessors. Creamy ice cream in all the Magnum classics is topped with a layer of chocolate – half the fun is smashing it to get through ice cream that lies beneath. Double dark chocolate and raspberry is the one that gets us going.
Ben & Jerry's
USP: Crazy flavours
Ben & Jerry's and breakups are a more iconic pairing than Thelma and Louise; Shaggy and Scooby; socks and sandals. But Ben & Jerry's are brilliant for anything really, including breakfast, should you be so inclined. Cookie Dough is the legendary flavour, but these innovative tastemakers have gone so much further in recent years, with varieties like the Chip Happens, chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and potato chips (yes, really) and the Netflix & Chill'd, with peanut butter dairy ice cream, chunks of sweet and salty pretzel, and brownie pieces. Indulgent, but that's the way we like it. The behemoth brand also chooses to support several key issues with its ice cream creations: LGBTQ+ rights, refugee rights and climate justice, so every scoop does a world of good.
Yeo Valley
USP: Organic, family-run
We bloomin' love Yeo Valley and its organic dairy products. In fact, we love the brand's entire approach to farming and the way it does business, so we buy it whenever we can. And that includes its organic ice creams, made with the milk from its herd of Friesian cows grazing down in Blagdon in Somerset. They even do frozen blueberry kefir ice cream, so you can eat a two superfoods in a single scoop.
Oatly
USP: Made with oats
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If you know, you know: Oatly's barista milk is one of the best vegan options out there, and the Swedish brand has carried its ingenuity and attention to quality through to its ice cream. It comes in a recyclable cardboard tub (big tick from us) and in vanilla, strawberry, chocolate fudge, hazelnut swirl, and salted caramel flavours.
GROM
USP: Family-run Italian gelateria
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GROM started its life in the city of Turin, Italy, before opening more gelaterias around Italy, then one in Piccadilly, London, and finally gettings its superlative scoops into supermarkets. The company may have grown, but the company still has traditional Italian values – not to mention flavours.
Nuii
USP: Carefully sourced ingredients, Australian warmth
Nutty but nice, Nuii's ice creams are perfect for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up when you want a sweet treat that sings of far-flung climes. The Australian brand seeks to recreate the warmth of its home country with every bite of ice cream that you take, which is why every flavour revolves around a carefully sourced hero ingredient, like Texan pecan with caramel white chocolate or white chocolate and Scandinavian cranberries.
Swedish Glace
USP: Offie but not awful
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Swedish Glace is the ice cream you pick up in the offie in an emergency. But before you turn your nose up at it, these tubs are seriously tasty – and they're vegan and gluten-free. Made with soy, they still manage to be silky smooth and soft enough to scoop out straight away.
Jude's
USP: Carbon-negative ice cream
Jude's is Britain's first carbon-negative ice cream brand. Tick. It also makes Ice Cream for Dogs (yes, really). Tick. And then it makes this, its caramel pecan tub with freshly churned dairy ice cream, a caramel swirl and caramelised pecans. Think nutty caramel notes and a hint of slowly browned butter. It's so good it's been awarded two Great Taste stars, and we're really not suprised, because we started drooling five minutes ago.
Hackney Gelato
USP: Local hero
Hackney Gelato makes slow-churned small batch gelato and sorbetto in, you guessed it, Hackney. In fact, the formula is so good that its been awarded 31 (31!) Great Taste stars in the last three years. We were already excited, but throw in Hackney Gelato's new chocolate and roasted hazelnut ice cream, and we've cancelled our evening plans.
Oppo
USP: Low calorie
Oppo made waves when it splash-landed in supermarkets, because it promises to be both delicious and low in calories. Yes, there is a god: there's finally a 'healthy' ice cream. Made with coconuts, Oppo's ice creams are vegan and contain a fraction of the calories and sugar found in usual tubs, and yes we've tried it, and yes it tastes good. Canadian maple walnut crunch gets our vote.
Darlish
USP: Not your usual ice cream flavours
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We've got three little words for you, and they're tahini ice cream. Yuuuuum. Darlish is a luxury ice cream brand with two ice cream parlours in London, and you'll only find their posh tubs in selected stockists. You won't find your usual scoop of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate here: flavours lean towards Levantine and good golly do they sound good, from apricot yoghurt and honey to sweet cream and sour cherry and saffron rose and pistachio. Get in our FACE.
