‘What the heck is vegan ice cream?’ I can hear you say. Well, vegans will not use or consume anything that involves the use of animal products in its preparation. Fur, leather, silk or wool in clothes, seafood, poultry, dairy, honey; they don’t want ANY of that.
Other people want to try vegan ice cream due to dietary intolerance to some animal products such as milk and eggs. Others, still, may simply want a different flavor and feel from their ice cream.
The sub-culture of being vegan has spawned a ton of vegan themed meals, restaurants, cook books. You may think it’s practically impossible to eat healthy without eating milk, fish, eggs, dairy; but I can bet you that a quick glance through any of these vegan cook books will pleasantly surprise you.
Vegan ice cream is ice cream produced without any dairy products in it. Mind boggling, isn’t it? No milk, no eggs…. how then do you make your favorite frozen dessert if you have to avoid these? Well, vegans are quite inventive and have come up with many alternatives to using milk. These include, but are not limited to:-
- Almond milk
- Soy milk
- Oat milk
- Hazelnut milk
- Hemp milk
- Coconut milk (notice that all these are obtained from fruits, legumes and veggies?)
With the special requirements for vegan ice cream preparation, which of the available ice cream makers can be used to produce healthy vegan and yummy ice cream? Making vegan ice cream, i.e. ice cream that is dairy-free (and soy-free and gluten-free), can be fun when you know how. The different tastes you can come up with will amaze you.
The truth is practically any ice cream maker available on the market today can. This is because making vegan ice cream is the same as making regular ice cream. The only difference is in the ingredients used. Here is an example of a typical vanilla ice cream recipe vs. a vegan vanilla ice cream:-
|
Vanilla Ice Cream |
Vegan Low calorie Vanilla Ice Cream |
| 2 cups heavy whipping cream | 2, 14.5 oz. cans light coconut milk (or soy milk) |
| 2 cups half-and-half cream | ½ cup sugar |
| 1 cup sugar | 1 tsp vanilla |
| 2 teaspoons vanilla extract | Pinch of salt |
Looking at the ingredients, you may worry about how it will turn out, but don’t be alarmed. The finished product is as delicious as ay you can buy in a store.
Regardless of the exact frozen dessert you choose to make, whether it is sorbet, frozen popsicles, you can use the Cuisinart ICE-21 Ice Cream Maker, the DeLonghi Gelato Maker, the Nostalgia Electrics 4-Quart Ice Cream Maker or even a KitchenAid Mixer with an ice cream maker attachment.
The best all-rounder was the Cuisinart ICE-21 Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker. It combines durability, ease of use and easy cleaning up, with an extremely low price.
Features that make the Cuisinart ICE-21 Ice Cream Maker perfect for Vegan Ice Cream include:-
- Large Ingredient Spout – The opening at the top of the appliance lets you add your extra ingredients all through without interrupting the freezing cycle.
- Motor & Paddle – A heavy duty motor makes short work of preparing your frozen dessert, taking only about 25 minutes to whip up yummy treats. The paddle in this gizmo is shaped so that it constantly churns and beats air into the mixture to guarantee a light, fluffy serving.
- Dimensions – It is very compact with dimensions of 10.8 x 10.8 x 15.8 inches. It will easily fit on most counter tops.
- Automatic Operation – There is no need to spend time sitting with this gadget. Simply pour in your ingredients and turn it on. It stops when the ice cream s all done. Cool, isn’t it?
Other extra features include:
- Different colors available
- Ingenious cord storage
- Sturdy Freezer Bowl
See more features here on Amazon.
Folks, while non-dairy ice cream is said to be less fattening than standard ice cream, I would make many more batches of vegan ice cream, just for the unique tastes I can rustle up. Whether YOU are a vegan; are simply trying to start a low-glycemic, dairy, meat free diet; are intolerant to animal products, and still want your ice cream, the Cuisinart ICE-21 Ice Cream Maker will work its magic to satisfy you every single time.
Photo Credit: vegan carrot cake ice cream, vegan vanilla ice cream, strawberry ice cream
