Lactose-free Ice Cream

Who doesn't love ice cream? Well, it used to be people who were lactose intolerant, and those who were allergic to milk and milk products. It was not that they didn't like it, but they simply could not have ice cream owing to the numerous health-related consequences that they may have had to suffer from.

Such people found solace in the invention of lactose-free ice cream. Keeping this dilemma in mind, many ice cream brands also introduced special flavors that did not contain lactose.

Milk and milk products are essential ingredients that you need to make delicious ice creams. Milk is the only natural source of lactose, since around 2% to 8% of milk contains lactose. Lactose is a simple carbohydrate which is made of two simple sugars, i.e., glucose and galactose.

Lactose intolerance is a medical condition which is developed by lactase deficiency. Lactase is an enzyme which is present in our digestive system, and it plays the main role in digesting dairy products. Deficiency of this enzyme results into various lactose intolerance symptoms like diarrhea, bloating, stomach cramps, etc.

Sometimes, milk allergy is considered as lactose intolerance. Milk allergy, on the other hand, is the condition wherein the person is allergic to milk proteins like casein and whey protein. However, in both the cases, patients are advised to avoid food products that are made of milk or any milk products.

Hence, all the milk products from their diet are replaced by a healthy dairy-free diet. One can say that lactose-free ice creams are also a part of a dairy-free diet that can be tried.

You can easily make any fat-free, dairy-free ice cream recipe at home with any of your favorite flavors. Here are a few examples.

Ingredients

• Bananas, 3 to 4
• Almond milk, 2 cups
• Fresh fruit mix, 1 cup
• Honey or agave syrup, ½ to 1 cup

• Dried cranberries, peaches, or any other dry fruits, ½ cup
• Almonds or Macadamia nuts, ½ cup
• Freshly grated orange rind, 1 teaspoon
• Mixed spice, ½ teaspoon

Directions

1. Combine all the above ingredients, and whiz them thoroughly in a food processor. You can either blend them fine or leave them coarse to get a suitable texture.
2. Pour the mixture in a glass bowl, and freeze it for about 2 to 3 hours.

3. Remove the bowl out of the freezer, and blend the mixture well before putting it back in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours more. Repeat the procedure two more times. Your lactose-free fruit and nut ice cream is ready!

If almond milk is not available, then you can also use soy milk with cream or rice milk.

Ingredients

• Lactose-free milk, 1¼ cups
• Dairy-free cream, 1¼ cups
• Caster sugar, ½ cup
• Gelatin, 2 tablespoons
• Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon

Directions

1. First, add 2 tablespoons of gelatin to boiling water, and keep it aside.
2. Now, mix the milk, gelatin, and sugar in a large saucepan. Place it over low heat, and stir well until the sugar dissolves.
3. Once the mixture gets cool, add the vanilla extract to it, and stir again.

4. Pour the mixture in a bowl, and freeze it for about 2 to 3 hours.
5. In the meanwhile, beat the cream for about 10 minutes. Add both the mixtures in the ice cream machine, and mix them well.
6. Freeze it for the final time for about 6 to 8 hours (or overnight). Your lactose-free, homemade vanilla ice cream is ready!

There are also a few ice cream brands that do not contain milk or milk products. Milk-based ingredients in these brands are replaced by lactose-free soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, or coconut milk. Here is a list of some good ice cream brands that are dairy-free.

• Lactaid Ice Creams
• Breyers' Lactose-free Ice Cream
• Laloo's Goat's Milk Ice Cream

• Rice Dream Organic Lactose-free Ice Cream
• Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge
• Organic So Delicious Dairy-free Mocha Fudge
• Good Karma Organic Rice Divine Mint Chocolate Swirl
• Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent Dairy-free Cookie Dough

• Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl
• Chapman's No Sugar Added Ice Cream
• Booja-Booja Stuff in a Tub Hunky Punky

Disclaimer: Check the label of the ice cream to check if it contains lactose or any other milk product in any form.