Had an interesting experience last week when someone came into the store and wanted to sell us their ice cream and gelato base. It was enticing because it would have cut our costs by about 1/3. They claimed to be all natural, ALL NATURAL was plastered all over their marketing materials, they were local, and everything seemed perfect. I did, however, ask to look at the ingredient list.
MONO AND DI-GLYCERIDES caught my attention as something that was not currently in our base. As most of you know, we are dead serious about our commitment to serving real, all natural products in our store. We are committed to real food because we believe that real food tastes better; its origins are easily traced, it has been minimally processed and it has NEVER been fiddled with in a lab. With this criterion Mono and Di-glycerides threw up a HUGE red flag.
Opinions on the internet ranged from “they are harmless” to “mono-diglycerides are nothing more than hydrogenated oils”. The internet swims with opinions, fortunately, facts can be found if you dig hard enough. The fact is that mono and diglycerides are manufactured at the molecular level in a lab. They are used largely in highly processed and packaged foods to, among other things, “improve loaf volume, and create a smooth, soft crumb.” Think Twinkies.
The most important fact is that my Grandmother would not have put mono and diglycerides in her ice cream and we’re not going to put it in ours.
Thanks and see you at the Trolley!
For ice cream shop
