There are several of these out there. The snag is that most of them are only available from health food shops… and they’re not cheap.
Swedish Glace
This is the only brand generally available in supermarkets. The pots make quite good freezer containers for food when you’ve finished the icecream, though they are hexagonal which has its drawbacks. These days it comes in several flavours, but the main ones you will find are:-
Vanilla
I don’t think it’s quite as good as it used to be. The flavour isn’t as real (if you know what I mean). The vanilla is no longer as good and there is an odd, slightly chemical aftertaste. I tend to avoid this now as it’s no longer a pleasure to eat. Which is a shame, as it used to be so good!
Where to get it: some Waitrose/Ocado, some Sainsbury’s, some larger Tesco, most health food shops.
Update: The flavour has improved markedly since this review went up. There is now no backtaste at all. It’s still not quite up to real icecream, partly because of the difference between soya and dairy cream, but that’s primarily down to texture, not flavour.
Chocolate
This is now our flavour of choice. It has a good chocolatey taste and a smooth texture. It feels good in the mouth which is always key with icecream.
Where to get it: some Waitrose/Ocado, some Sainsbury’s, some larger Tesco, most health food shops.
Raspberry
This is good. Not exciting and a bit pink, but perfectly acceptable for raspberry icecream. Again, has a good texture.
Where to get it: some Waitrose/Ocado, some larger Sainsbury’s, some larger Tesco, most health food shops.
Wild Blueberry
A pleasant ice cream, but not exactly to die for. The flavour is fairly delicate and, in this family, is not felt to go very well with fruit. The flavours seem to clash, particularly with strawberries. Since that’s how we tend to eat ice cream, that limits its usefulness. It’s OK on its own, but I never have enough room in the freezer for a hexagonal box of something which won’t go with other things.
Where to get it: some Waitrose/Ocado, some larger Sainsbury’s, some larger Tesco, some health food shops.
Neapolitan
This is relatively new to the range and has been hard to find. I’ve been busy putting in requests for it in Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury, you name it I’ve asked for it. It is in larger boxes than the usual flavours and is a huge hit with my children. They love the excitement of having three flavours in one box. The peculiar thing is that the vanilla stripe of the box seems to taste much better than the vanilla on its own. This may be an illusion caused by the mixture of flavours, I don’t know for sure.
Where to get it: some Waitrose/Ocado, some Sainsbury’s, some larger Tesco, some health food shops.
Your key to finding this stuff is to keep pestering the supermarkets. Keep asking for it. Keep filling in the product request forms. Ask your friends to request it too. That way there are other names than just yours on the forms. Keep checking the freezers when you shop, as the window for buying it when it does appear before it vanishes again can be quite small.
Lactofree
If you’re lactose intolerant, as opposed to allergic to casein, this is fabulous stuff! It tastes beautifully creamy and has that wonderful and distinctive texture in the mouth that goes with real icecream. This is the icecream of choice for my children. It only comes in vanilla, but frankly, when it tastes this good, that’s not a problem!
Where to get it: There have been problems finding it recently round our way. I’ve just managed to find it (7.1.14) in our local Waitrose, so it could be worth trying yours.
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