Ice cream for vegans, everything you need to know

Vegan ice creams have many advantages, although vegan is not synonymous with healthy, since many companies have jumped on the veganism bandwagon to do business in exchange for ultra-processed foods loaded with sugars, refined oils, refined flours, additives, etc.

When we go to choose a vegan ice cream, we have to be clear about what we want. For this, it will be necessary to learn to read the labels of the products and know how to identify which ingredients are unnecessary and harmful to health and which are necessary and good (according to the quantities).

How are they made?

Vegan ice creams are usually made with a vegetable milk base, that is, soy, almonds, walnuts, rice, hazelnuts, oats, etc. And then other components are added such as fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, sugar and any extra that the manufacturer sees fit. For example, vegetable butters, soft tofu, spreadable tofu or nut creams for extra thickness and creaminess. To achieve the flavors, fruits, pure cocoa and essences such as vanilla, cinnamon, anise, mint, etc. are used.

Industrial ice creams for vegans are usually loaded with sugars and poor quality oils such as palm oil, apart from colourings, artificial flavors, additives, and a host of unnecessary ingredients for our health and for the ice cream itself. This is why we must flee from these options and opt for homemade vegan ice cream or make it ourselves at home.

Artisanal ice creams are usually made in small machines to create fair quantities, which is what is sold in a day in an ice cream parlor, for example. However, industrial ice cream is made in a kind of huge mixer where the ingredients are mixed for hours and the dough is stirred, while a conveyor belt passes the ice cream molds and fills them. They finally end up in their box with their wrapping and ready to hit the supermarket. At no time is the cold chain broken, and it is something that is not recommended. Not only because they melt but because the natural bacteria in the process could spoil the product.

Advantages

Vegan-friendly ice creams have several advantages for the rest of the population, although we will also see that it can become a double-edged sword. The word vegan has become a section in many supermarkets, just like the diet section.

Because it is there, it seems like a forbidden food for the rest of the population that is not vegan, but it is not true, any of us can eat vegan ice cream, milkshakes, pizza, meat, milk, etc. One of the main advantages of evening meals without animal milk is that they are suitable for people who are lactose intolerant.

Although that is a double-edged sword, as we have already warned, since ice creams for vegans and vegetarians are usually made with soy, and it is usually one of the most common allergens today. This is why, if we are going to eat vegan ice cream, we must ask if it is made with soy milk, although it can also be made with oat milk, coconut, rice, almonds, etc. and other milks on the market.

If we have any other type of intolerance or sugar problems , we also have to ask about it or read the product label, since the amounts of each ingredient must appear there, both per 100 grams (standard measure), and per serving. It is the only way to check if that ice cream is suitable or not for us.

The good thing about all these ingredients with which vegan ice creams are made is that they provide important nutrients such as protein, fiber, iron, B vitamins, vitamin D, calcium, vitamin E, among others. In addition, homemade vegan ice creams (the real ones) are usually very low in calories, fat and sugar.

types of ice cream

Like conventional ice cream, vegan ice cream also comes in different formats, and that is what we are going to discuss next. If we decide to make them ourselves in an artisanal way, let us know that we can also create these different types and the usual molds of traditional ice creams with cow’s milk.

• Tub: they are usually tubs, either plastic or tetrabrik type. It is usually a creamy ice cream and appears in different flavors, and even with sprinkles and toppings on top.
• Cone: the classic among the classics. A crispy wafer cone with one or more balls of one or different colors. Sometimes it is dipped in chocolate or crunchy chocolate and other times it has caramel, among other options.
• Sticks: the same as the previous one, but instead of being a cone, it is a stick that holds the ice cream in place. The vast majority of this type of ice cream usually have either a black or white chocolate coating.
• Polo: it is a very cold ice cream made from chips, ice and sugar. Be careful, because far from looking healthy, it is a calorie bomb, like the vast majority of ice creams on the market.
• Sandwich: it is a more or less crunchy biscuit that may or may not be covered in chocolate or crunchy chocolate and in the middle there is creamy ice cream of one or more flavors.
• Sherbets and granitas: just like polo, but in a liquid state and not as solid. Here the ingredients are usually water, sugar and some specific flavor such as lemon, for example.

how to choose

Buying it, of course not, as the ingredient lists are huge. The best option is to make it ourselves with 3 simple ingredients. If we don’t want, don’t know or aren’t interested in learning how to make ice cream in 5 minutes, then we have to go to a store.

Fortunately, there is plenty of variety to quench our thirst for ice cream, but not all of them are suitable for a vegan diet. Apparently it may seem to us that it looks very good, but in the ingredients we will see that it is just a mask.

To begin with, we should have a list of less than 5 ingredients , and we already anticipated that this is almost impossible. In that list, sugar should be out of the first 3 ingredients, which is practically impossible to find again.

Within these 3 ingredients, the main ones for making the ice cream must appear, that is, soybeans, olive oil or quality butter and the fruit, cocoa or flavoring that it is. These 3 must appear with high percentages, especially the milk or main vegetable ingredient with which it has been made. Before reaching the fifth ingredient, sugar and some stabilizer or preservative should appear.

From the fifth onwards, everything is unnecessary and if we see names like Butylhydroxyanisole BHA and Butylhydroxytoluene BHT, tartrazine, E-110, E-133, E-100 (curcumin), E-101 (Riboflavin and is of animal origin), pectin, Locust bean gum, methyl hydroxide, ethylene oxide, Azorubine, Carmoisine, guar gum, sodium bicarbonate, glucose syrup, malted barley, emulsifiers, sodium alginate, etc. it is best not to choose that product.

If we have no choice but to buy an ultra-processed ice cream, then we have to look for the one with a small list of ingredients, no palm oil, low amount of sugar per 100 grams, low fat, no trans fat, no additives or chemicals.

Is better?

It is not about being better or worse, it is about knowing how to identify its ingredients and knowing our needs. A few sections above we have explained that ice creams suitable for vegans are also suitable for the rest of humanity, and especially for those who are lactose intolerant, for example. But you had to find out about the vegetable milk used in the preparation, since soy is usually a common allergen.

Industrial ice creams (vegan and non-vegan) are usually loaded with fats, sugars, stabilizers, colorants, low-quality chocolate, low percentage of fruit, etc. Artisanal ice creams are rich in essential nutrients such as vitamins, proteins, fiber from fresh fruit, low in sugar, good quality ingredients, low in fat, etc.

Therefore, the key is in the nutritional values , and choosing those that suit our needs, that are healthier, for example, without added sugars and without dangerous sweeteners, that have a high content of cow’s milk or vegetable milk, that the chocolate is as pure as possible and not a sugar paste, that it contains whole nuts and fresh fruit.

vegan ice cream brands

There are a number of brands that belong to the traditional ice cream industry and that have now joined veganism to take advantage of this movement. The vast majority of these vegan ice creams are not healthy at all because of everything that we have already explained before, but they are options that deserve to be known.

• Ibense Bornay.
• Abbot Kinney’s.
• Mercadona.
• GutBio.
• Ben & Jerry’s.
• Valsoia.
• Solero.
• Alpro.
• Vemondo from Lidl.
• Magnum’s Dairy Free Almond.
• RunaKay.
• Acaram.
• Sandro Dessi.
• Pink Albatross.
• Haagen-Dazs.
• Arctic Zero.
• Fridge.