Good Vegan Ice Cream?

EmperorTomatoKetchup · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:50 am

alinaspencil wrote:

Are you inclined to try making your own? Then you can make it however you want, using whatever kind of nondairy milk you want.

Most nondairy milks are pretty watery (with the exception of coconut milk, which is why it's great in ice cream.) But you can improve the consistency by adding more fat or tofu.

My book has mostly ice cream recipes that use tofu in addition to whatever kind of milk you want (rice, soy, hemp, coconut, almond...) Also a few nut butter-based ice creams, and Avocado Ice Cream, which just uses the fat in the avocado. There are also recipes for sherbet, frozen yogurt (and how to make soy or coconut milk yogurt), and sorbets. The sorbets don't use any milks.

We don't have any vegan ice cream stores here at all. I make all my own. But I doubt I'd go back, anyway. They don't sell Strawberry Basil Balsamic or Chocolate Curry Ice Cream, two of my favorites!

i do make my own, but it is nice to have good options available in grocery stores for when that's not a practical option.

jacblades · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2012 10:34 am

Fee wrote:

I'll be the odd ball out and I've always thought certain Purely Decadent flavors taste that way. The only ones I really like are Mocha Almond Fudge and Turtle Trails because they have enough going on in the add-ins that I forget that the ice cream part isn't the best.

i'm not the biggest ice cream fan (even before i was vegan) so maybe my opinion isn't valid, but i've never cared for them either.

my old favorite used to be good karma rice divine carrot cake flavor but i haven't seen it anywhere in a long time. i really do like the almond dream bites and tofutti cuties, but i can't think of any pints that really strike my fancy. i usually just make my own..although i can't ever seem to get it to freeze in a fluffy texture with all the teeny air pockets like commercial ice creams.

lilyyw · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2012 11:37 am

couroupita wrote:

I think TJ's soy ice cream might be Double Rainbow in disguise? Which is great news because whole foods carries several flavors of double rainbow soy cream including mint chip, my favorite! Definitely recommend those brands!

Double Rainbow is the best! I'm on the East coast and have only ever seen the vanilla flavor, and only in discount grocery stores (never seen it at WF or any other grocery chain, with the exception of the repackaged TJ's stuff).

supercarrot · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2012 12:04 pm

i know back in 2005, double rainbow was carried on the east coast at wawa (similar to 7-11s) but i hadn't checked back to see if they were still carrying it. it was good. not fantastic, as evidenced by the fact that i didn't prefer it over SD's cherry nirvana. TJs definitely carries double rainbow cow milk ice cream. or at least they did a few years ago. (i was tricked into buying it two different times. i kept forgetting that double rainbow wasn't solely a vegan company. oops!)

anyway, SD's PB zigzag is my favorite. i hope they hadn't changed their recipe, or i will be sadsadsad.

Beanitarian · **Joined:** Sun Jan 16, 2011 6:40 pm **Posts:** 770

Sometimes vegan ice cream can sit in the store for a while (especially when it is very expensive), which can affect the texture.

I do really like soy ice cream -- soy dream is my go-to brand for quarts of vanilla. I also like almond dream vanilla when I can get it. For fancy flavors, coconut bliss is great -- cherry amaretto is my current favorite. Most vegan ice cream freezes pretty hard, so the scoopability and texture improves if you thaw it for a few minutes on the counter or microwave in 5-10 second increments until slightly softened.

annak · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:29 pm

Tupelohoney, not sure where you are in New England but if you're anywhere near Providence, check out this place:

http://www.like-no-udder.com

I'm not that keen on the coconut milk ice cream unless it's a flavor that ought to have coconut in it. I love homemade ice cream but despite playing around with guar and xanthan gums, haven't been able to keep it free of ice crystals very well.

supercarrot · **Posted:** Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:59 pm

annak, try isa's vanilla ice cream from v'con, using aroy-d's coconut cream (no need to refrigerate and scoop off the top, the whole can is useable. 4 batches from one can woo-hoo!) and also add 1/4 cup of better than milk powder. (the tester recipe called for it, but it didn't get into the book. i think it makes it more creamy and easier to scoop, so i still use it.) it tastes just like what i remember breyer's tasting like. (i don't know if it's an east coast thing, but it's what i grew up with, and was super creamy. so good.)

Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Good Vegan Ice Cream?

Who is online