Ice cream is one of those things that for me it’s super hard to justify buying. I can whip some up in my ice cream attachment on my kitchenaid mixer pretty quick, and with about 5 real live food ingredients. That is not to say that I haven’t grabbed a pint of Ben and Jerry’s to satisfy a sugar craving–I am a reasonable human being with taste buds.
Commercial ice creams need a couple of additional ingredients, compared to their homemade counterparts, though. If they are going to sit on a shelf for any duration, then manufacturers have to worry about ice crystals, and to prevent it from tasting like ice milk after a while, they have to add thickeners to keep it creamy. When you flip over a commercial carton of ice cream, you may see a whole host of disturbing ingredients, but even in the simple ones, you usually see carrageenan. Carrageenan is a seaweed extract. It helps to prevent the problems I just mentioned.
I wondered if carrageenan is safe? Turns out it really depends who you ask. The FDA has approved it for use as a food additive–so by their standards, it’s safe. Many whole foodies argue otherwise, though. Seaweed extract has been used for centuries to help “gel” food, but the carrageenan we use in processed food is essentially a chemically separated derivative. It has been shown to cause intestinal damage in animal studies {in high quantities, of course}, but the jury is still out on how that translates to humans.
I don’t really know if it concerns me enough to stop eating ice cream, but it’s kind of interesting. So, where do you stand on the whole carrageenan thing?
~Mavis
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Dianna says
A lot of commercial ice creams taste gummy to me. I guess this is why! I still buy it though, although I prefer homemade when I think ahead enough. We just tried your lemon ice cream last week and loved it!
Lisa says
It’s fine with me!
If I didn’t want to eat (or use) anything with carrageenan in it, I would have to stop brushing my teeth with cavity fighting toothpaste!
For me it would be like saying not to eat anything with gelatin in it, since that is derived by separating it from its source bones and hides, using caustic lime.
Think of all the cultures who have eaten seaweed soup of centuries, if not millenniums. My father used to buy dried strips of seaweed to snack on.
Madam Chow says
I’m with you. Now pass the Chubby Hubby.
Holly H says
Who knew they had an ice cream attachment for the Kitchen Aid!?! Thanks Mavis- this is GREAT!!
KAte says
They have attachments for pasta making and met grinding too!
BEST KITCHEN TOOL, HANDS DOWN!
Tammy says
Carrageenan is one of those ingredients that I haven’t done a lot of looking into. I don’ trust the FDA to make decisions for me so I suppose I should look into it. It’s disturbing the amount of non-food ingredients that end up in our food. I haven’t been buying ice cream since about July, since I’ve been working on my weight. I can’t think of anything else in my cupboard that it might be in, so I guess I’m god on this one. 😉
Tammy says
*good
Bad typo….
Lisa says
Carrageenan is a food ingredient. It is commonly eaten in many other countries other than the US. My father used to like to snack on dried seaweed!
It won’t only be in your kitchen cupboard, it will be in your bathroom, in your toothpaste.
The Smallest Acre says
I asked my puppy if she cared if there was carrageenan in store bought ice cream as she was licking some off the floor. She said no.
Mavis Butterfield says
HA!
Brenda says
I don’t buy products with carrageenan. Sweetened condensed milk doesn’t have it, so I make our ice cream with that, milk and cream. There are several sites listing the dairy products (mostly yogurt) without it. Avoid it, when possible.
Brenda says
Forgot to mention, the milk and cream are raw, nothing added. Also, I sometimes make the sweetened concern end milk.
Brenda says
Darn that auto correct! ‘ Concern end’ should have been ‘condensed.’
cristy says
Carrageenan is also found in Almond Milk and Coconut Milk — not all brands, flavors or calorie counts, so you have to check each one to see!
Jesse says
First – Ice Cream is my go to dessert. I love it with all of my heart and get a little panicky when I don’t have any in the house.
Second – I eat mostly whole foods and Ice Cream is probably the worst thing I eat every day.
Third- I left a carton of ice cream in the sink to melt the other day (gross flavor I had to try) and it didn’t melt…it separated into a liquid layer and a weird foamy layer! It was appalling!
I don’t know what to do! I love Ice Cream but I am grossed out by the chemicals and now the stablizers in my favorite food.
Last week you put me off Orange Juice Mavis. This week it is my beloved Ice Cream. I may not have anything left if you keep this up. 🙁
KAte says
Buy higher quality stuff. You don’t have to give it up entirely. Three Twins is a good brand.
If you’re really panicked make your own, ice cream machines can be had for pretty cheap.
Beth Rankin says
Once I was able to purchase excellent quality cream I started making my own ice cream on a regular basis. No reason to eat commercial ice cream typically and so, we avoid any issue with additives of any kind.
Heidi P says
I usually make all of our ice cream. A few years back I was told that many ice creams are made with some added wax. That is when I decided to start making my own. We all prefer fresh homemade anyhooooo so it was a win win:)
Jillbert says
I think the additives are gross and gives ice cream a weird mouth feel. I did find one grocery store brand (in St Louis) that has none of the weird stuff — Blue Bunny — all natural vanilla (their many other vanilla varieties have an ingredient list a mile long). Here’s the good stuff: http://www.bluebunny.com/Products/d/Premium_Ice_Cream_All_Natural_Vanilla
Don’t know if this can be found in your area, though.
Cherilyn P says
Funny coincidence that I’m reading this tonight. My son left a half eaten bowl of ice cream on the kitchen counter today. The melted goo left in the bowl doesn’t look like food- it’s foamy and plastic looking. I realized that it doesn’t even look like the melted ice cream from when I was younger. If you look carefully at the labels, many brands, even Breyers, now call it “Frozen Dairy Dessert”. It can’t even be labeled as ‘ice cream’ now!
Ellen says
I will sometimes eat ice cream at our local ice cream shop. I love that they grow some of their ingredients.
Otherwise, I make it. We as a nation have too many digestive woes to make a possible irritant worth eating. Plus, I can’t process it the way it’s used commercially in my own kitchen.
The hidden ingredient I find more unappetizing is the antifreeze in ice cream. It is an industry standard and as such does not need to be listed as a specific ingredient because “everybody does it.” When I learned that, I was done with processed foods. Who knows what other industry standards lurk behind our “food?”
To the poster who mentioned gelatin: you can buy gelatin that doesn’t use lye, but is just simmered bones. The liquid is then dehydrated. (I can do this in my kitchen.) Heat it with freshly squeezed valencia oranges and put it in the fridge to set. Yum. Azure Standard is one source.
Barbara says
When a megacorporation bought my favorite ice cream company and turned what I thought was the best ice cream into “frozen dairy dessert” I complained to them bitterly. The box used to state that the product contained only milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and sometimes fruit or nuts. I no longer buy that brand or any other. I make my own. I bought a Cuisinart ice cream maker, and only those pure foods appear in mine. I don’t eat carrageenan or other chemical additives, so I never buy the fake ice cream anymore. As an R. N., I am aware of too many digestive complaints from people who do eat fake food, and I’m not OK with that for my family. Hubs and I are retired, and so many people in our retirement community say they can’t eat this or that. They’ve ruined their digestive systems. Hubs and I can eat anything we want, but we choose healthy, and that’s the way I cook. I just wish they allowed us to have a garden in our yard here, but it is forbidden, so I grow some food in pots and go to the local farmer’s markets.