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Food & Drink: Not all vegan ice creams are created equal

By Rachel Pinsky

Published: July 13, 2018, 6:01am

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Monika Spykerman, Sue O’Bryan and Columbian food critic Rachel Pinsky sampled eight kinds of vegan ice cream in search of the perfect lick. Sue O’Bryan Photo Gallery

I have vegan envy. I would like to be healthier, lose the 30 pounds that every vegan seems to lose, have less impact on the environment, and stop eating animals that have been raised in unpleasant conditions.

But I can’t seem to change my eating habits, so when a friend told me that the first step to becoming a vegan is trying vegan junk food, I started with ice cream and randomly picked Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Chocolate Peanut Butter.

It was rich, coconut-y, with strips of frozen peanut butter.

It made me think that there must be other good nondairy ice cream. So, I assembled a team of food experts — Monika Spykerman (my partner at Couveeats) and Sue O’Bryan (of Birgerbird) and we sampled eight kinds of vegan ice cream in search of the perfect lick.

We tried: Ben & Jerry’s Coconut Seven Layer Bar, Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Mint Galactica, So Delicious’ Cashew Milk Snickerdoodle, Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie, So Delicious’ Coconut Milk Chocolate, Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Chocolate Peanut Butter, Almond Dream’s Chocolate, and Trader Joe’s Chocolate Made with Coconut Milk.

Oddball favor winner: Coconut Bliss Mint Galactica from Luna & Larry.

Snickerdoodle and Coconut Seven Layer Bar got mixed reviews. Monika really liked the Snickerdoodle (except for the balls of cookie dough in it), which she said had the texture and taste of regular ice cream. Sue found the cinnamon flavor overpowering.

The Ben & Jerry’s Coconut Seven Layer Bar had an artificial sweetness that Sue attributed to pea protein (a quick internet search brought up a lot of criticism of pea protein’s gaggy flavor). Sue concluded (regarding the Ben & Jerry’s), “This does have a vegan aftertaste, and it’s really sweet. But I wouldn’t turn it down. It has a lot of good caramel in it, and I like the fudge chunks.”

Monika wasn’t impressed by the fudge chunks and caramel added to the Ben & Jerry’s. No one seemed to notice the walnuts or graham crackers that were supposed to be in the ice cream. Monika concluded, “This is your classic Ben & Jerry’s party trick of having ice cream and then stuffing it with a bunch of stuff.”

We all loved Luna & Larry’s Mint Galactica. Monika said: “I’m really into it already. This is my favorite so far.” Sue liked the coconut butter in it and said it reminded her of mint chocolate chip ice cream from Baskin Robbins. The mint was refreshing, and the chocolate shavings added a nice contrast of flavor and texture.

Best chocolate: Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge, Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Trader Joe’s Chocolate.

The chocolate flavors were harder to rate. Nobody liked the Almond Dream. Monika commented, “It takes a lot for me not to want to eat an ice cream.” Sue added, “I feel bad for them. What did they do to this?” The So Delicious Chocolate didn’t get anyone’s attention. Monika liked the Trader Joe’s Chocolate and Luna & Larry’s Chocolate Peanut Butter. Sue’s chocolate favorites were the Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Luna & Larry’s Chocolate Peanut Butter. I liked the Luna & Larry’s because it had a creamy texture and a luscious coconut flavor. It was fun to find the ribbons of frozen peanut butter with my spoon and then let them slowly melt on my tongue.

Rachel Pinsky can be emailed at couveeats@gmail.com. You can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @couveeats.

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You can follow Sue O’Bryan at birgerbird.com or on Instagram @birgerbird

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