SCREAM FOR FRESH CREAM
As the city now brims with places that claim to serve authentic ice creams using fresh ingredients, make sure you get your money’s worth
It is safe to say that it’s awfully hard to say no to a good bowl of ice cream. The texture, the creaminess, the array of flavours and so much more makes the dessert appealing to both kids and elders, alike. However, nowadays not all ice creams that are available in the market have any cream in it, or any milk product for that matter.
According to a recent survey by a UK-based firm, a number of supermarket and branded vanilla ice creams contain no vanilla, no cream and no fresh milk. In a number of the products, cream and milk were substituted with partially re-constituted dried skimmed milk, and in some cases, whey protein. Additional non-dairy ingredients in some of the icecreams included palm oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil and water. Stating his utter disgust for such ice creams, Rakesh Talwar, head chef, Butterfly High, says, “I hate these products, they taste so bad that you’d never want to eat this so called ice cream, technically known and marketed as frozen desserts.”
Talking about the role fresh ingredients play, Nikhil Jain, chef, Coppetto Gelato, says, “Nothing can replace the authenticity of natural food. Artificial flavours can’t give you the nutrients your body needs. They are just a cheap substitute .”
Ganesh Bodake, chef at CinCin feels “ingredients play a very vital role” and have a “huge impact” on the flavour of the final product. Varun Sheth, founder, 1Tablespoon Pizza Kitchen, further elaborates, “When it comes to fresh ingredients you know what you are consuming. Whereas, there are brands which sell delicious ice creams containing saturated fats as well. With brands selling artificially flavoured ice creams, the content of saturated fats in those is much higher, which people turn a blind eye to, mostly due to the taste or lack of better knowledge.”
City chefs also believe that now consumers are gradually becoming aware of quality food over quantity. “Everyone loves to eat ice cream. So they don’tmind
spending the extra bucks to at least eat right if they are eating outside. This awareness will only increase with time,” says Nikhil. Chef Rakesh adds, “It takes one person to get a good product into the market, and then when people get their hands on it, they feel the difference and they know they are getting something far superior to what they were consuming”.
However, artificial flavours are not the absolute devil, advocates chef Varun. He says, “In fact, sometimes, the texture of an ice cream can be
better with added arti believe there is an audience for each one. I feel, people still eat what they deem the most delicious.”
In lieu with the same spirit, HT Café lists some of the most decadent, wholesome and flavourful ice creams that are made using fresh and the finest produce and where you can get a hold of them.