Some substances provide no nutrients to your body but do not harm as well. Gluten, in most cases, is one such substance. Gluten is a protein in various grains, such as wheat, barley, and rye. It is most commonly found in foods like bread, pasta, pizza, and cereal. Whilst Gluten is present in most popular foods, it provides no essential nutrients to the body when consumed. Yet, there are cases where Gluten has proven to be very unhealthy, particularly for people with celiac disease who have an immune reaction triggered by eating gluten.
Such people cannot usually enjoy desserts, particularly frozen ones, as Gluten is a key ingredient in them. For many years, people who were sensitive or intolerant of Gluten had to live a life devoid of the simple but pure happiness of ice cream. They could not experience the sweet, creamy, rich delicacy that is everyone’s favorite. Thankfully, over the years, manufacturers and food researchers worked to find an alternative, and finally, after much effort, Gluten free ice cream came into being.
Is Ice Cream Gluten-Free?
Not all ice cream is Gluten-free, but depending upon the ingredients used and how the ice cream has been processed, it may be gluten-free. Commonly, ice creams that have a single flavor, such as strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, or coffee, tend to be gluten-free. However, any additional toppings or flavor additives may contain gluten.
Depending upon the flavor of the ice cream, it may or may not have gluten. For instance, flavors such as Rocky Road” or “Moose Tracks” have a higher chance of containing Gluten, though they can be made without it. There are many ice cream flavors that, simply with their name, one can judge contain Gluten, such as Cookies and Cream, Cookie Dough, Cheesecake, etc, yet even those can be made gluten free. Ice cream cones typically contain gluten unless labeled otherwise. Many toppings can also contain gluten, such as cookie crumbles. One should carefully read the label of the ice cream before they buy it.
What is more, there is a high chance that a gluten free ice cream might come in cross-contact with another ice cream that does have gluten. Spoons, scoops, and even soft serve machines can lead to contamination of a flavor containing gluten and then be used on a “gluten-free” order. To be on the safe side, a customer can ask to have their ice cream scoop cleaned or a fresh scoop used before being served their order.
There are always risks with pre-packaged foods, yet, to be on the safe side, it is better for one to thoroughly check the labels and ingredients of the ice cream before buying it.
What Ice creams are Gluten Free?
A lot of popular brands have started manufacturing gluten free ice creams with a large variety of flavors. This includes Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz!, Karamel Sutra Core, Phish Food (dairy free), Pistachio Pistachio, and Vanilla, Breyers’ Mint Chocolate Chip, Dreyer’s chocolate peanut butter, etc.