Label.ology: Ice Cream
The summer is hot. We all want ice cream. It’s a treat synonymous with the season. But is it healthy for us? It can be high in fat, sugar and calories—and stuff you may not want to eat.
Just reading an ice cream nutrition label can require a post-grad degree. Many commercial ice creams can be loaded with undesirable ingredients presented in luscious packaging designed to sell a product that is not fit for human consumption. From hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup to dry milk solids many commercial ice creams look and taste like ice cream, but are anything but natural.
Scary sounding chemicals like caroxymethyl cellulose, butyraldehyde and amyl acetate are often found in commercial ice creams as is diethyl glycol, a chemical egg replacement. Mono and diglicerides, disodium phosphate, benzyl acetate, mono stearate, propylene glycol, sodium benzoate, polysorbate 80, potassium sorbate, modified corn starch and soy lecithin often complete the list of additives.
While the FDA tells us that all of these additives are safe for us to consume, are any of these ingredients desirable or even necessary to create a wholesome treat?
There are natural brands of ice cream available to us; brands that contain ingredients we would actually eat. There are vegan ice creams out there as well, some of great quality.
But what if I could show you how easy and delicious it is to make your own? My friend and vegan chef genius, Eric Russo has mastered the art of gelato and passed his wisdom to me. Now I pass it to you. Granted you will need an ice cream machine, but it’s worth the investment!
