Ben & Jerry’s is launching its first line of Non-Dairy flavors with chunks and swirls of vegan-certified indulgences made primarily with almond milk.
Until now, non-dairy fans have been forced to watch with envy as their friends enjoyed one-of-a-kind Ben & Jerry’s flavors. The four new non-dairy flavors are:
- Chocolate Fudge Brownie: chocolate with fudge brownies from Greyston Bakery
- Chunky Monkey: banana with fudge chunks and walnuts
- Coffee Caramel Fudge: coffee with fudge chunks and caramel swirl
- P.B. & Cookies: Vanilla with chocolate sandwich cookies
Since dairy is typically the main ingredient in ice cream, Kirsten Schimoler of Ben and Jerry's experimented with a variety of substitutes. Almond milk proved to be the best fit, but figuring that out meant trying some unappetizing flavors and textures. She said that one particular combination "tasted like vomit."
"We tried 10 iterations of it," she said of this unpleasant machination. "I put an end to it. I said, 'Look, taste this,' so they would stop asking for it."
Some experiments resulted in textures that were too slimy. Coconut oil actually seemed to make the ice cream smear like lip balm. "We had everything from: it's too icy; it's too firm; there's too much fat in it and you get that chapstick mouthful."
"It's amazing how changing one little thing about the recipe, you'll think, 'Oh this will make it better,'" she said. "Then you wind up five steps behind where you were."
"When you make 60 versions of something," she explained, "you're really just trying to get one or two." She said vegan Chunky Monkey is the most comparable to the company's longstanding popular pint.
The vegan venture taught Schimoler to caution those who may try the same transition: "Don't try to concentrate almond milk from the store." She initially boiled it down to reduce the water content. "It got really weird. I would not recommend that."
All new flavors will be available in pints and at scoop shops nation-wide this month at around $5.69 per pint.
