By Vicki Yianni

Some of us really relish summer, celebrating her at the beach, marvelling at her sparkly light show on the surface of the oceans and lakes, and relishing the thick blanket of sultry heat that she wraps around us throughout the season.

Others watch the clock and the calendar from a safely air-conditioned tunnel of home/car/office/shopping mall, waiting for her to get the hint and move on.

Whether we are outside or inside, most of us agree on one thing this time of year: ice cream. That promise of sweet, refreshingly cool summer indulgence.

What about those of us that either can’t enjoy ice cream due to lactose and dairy-related allergies, or choose to avoid it because of a vegan lifestyle, or for various health reasons?

You’d be surprised just how many alternatives there are; plenty of fantastic companies who’ve given thought to just this kind of dilemma and come up with some tasty answers. These lactose and dairy-free products are available at your local health food shop. If you can’t find them, be sure to ask and it may be possible for them to be ordered in, or you can contact the companies directly for more information.

The big question for we ice-cream devotees is just what do these dairyless offerings taste like? We gathered on the verandah, under that adoring summer sun, and devoured a few refreshing cool buckets of the stuff to find out.

GIGI’S GOURMET BELOW ZERO DESSERT

Lactose-free – contains eggs
Flavours: Vanilla, Chocolate, Licorice

Fully Australian Certified Organic (BFA). No cream used. No artificial flavourings, colours or preservatives. Available throughout QLD, NSW, VIC and WA (looking for TAS distributors). Call 07 5477 0767 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for stockists. When you’re looking for these ice creams in your health food shop, the lactose-free range has a green label, as opposed to Gigi’s other products.

Chocolate:
Libstar: “Yummy choc ice cream. Light and refreshing . I could eat a tub of this on the beach.”
Matty Mc: “Fudge-like. Great flavour.”

Licorice:
Bretty: “Awesome licorice flavour. Made my inner child rejoice!”
Me: “Divine! So, so, so good.”

MOTOTO FROZEN DESSERT

Dairy, soy and gluten-free
Flavours: Vanilla, Chocolate, Mango & Passionfruit (Summer availability), Mixed Berries (winter availability)

Calcium enriched.
No artificial flavours or colours. No artificial additives or preservatives. GMO free. Low cholesterol. Lactose free. Available in QLD, NSW and VIC (and very soon nationally). Call 07 3254 3782 or check out www.motodairyfree.com for stockists.

Chocolate:
Libstar: “Excellent! Lovely, palatable dark chocolate taste. Rich yet light.”
Me: “Rich and moreish. That luxurious chocolate taste that you experience when you eat mousse.”

Vanilla:
Matty Mc: “Creamy, well-rounded texture.”
Matty Maximus: “Real vanilla bean flavour.”

LICK! LIQUORED ICECREAM SORBET

Dairy, lactose, wheat & gluten free
Flavours:
150ml, 1 litre and 5 litre range: Lemon & Vanilla Bean, Pineapple & Coconut, Mango & Mint, Boysenberry.

Customised 5 litre only range:
over 150 flavours including Couverture Dark Chocolate, Apple Crumble, Passionfruit, Mascarpone, Watermelon & Reisling, Basil, Paw Paw and many more.

Made from fresh ingredients, and preservative and additive free. No artificial colours or flavours. Organic range available upon request. Available in QLD (looking for NSW, VIC, WA and TAS distributors). Contact 07 3216 6307 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for stockist info.

Blood Orange Sorbet:
Bretty: “What a surprise! Creamy fizz!”
Rachel (one of our guest tasters from NZ): “Immediate, awesome, in-your-face sour hit!”

Mango and Mint Sorbet:
Matty Maximus: “Interesting combination. Dissolves in your mouth instantly, enticing you to have more.”
Libstar: “Fabulous natural mint flavour! This has a sweet tang and would be lovely over fruit.”

SPICE CREAM

Custom-made, including dairy-free, lactose-free and/or gluten-free or wheat-free

Flavours available:
Choose from over 40 ranging from fruits, chocolate, nuts and
various spices or make a request. Includes Dark Cacao, Gingerbread, Fresh Raspberry, Peach and White Wine, Fresh Mint, Basil, Spiced Carrot Cake, Vanilla Bean, Chunky Chocolate Hazelnut, Pistachio Lavender and many more.

No artificial flavours, colours or preservatives.
Organic also available.
Tubs and ice-cream cakes available to Sydney region.
Call 0414 659 171, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or check outwww.spice-cream.com for orders/delivery or list of stockists.

Bitter Cacao:
Me: “Can’t talk: eating. Really great.”
Matty Maximus: “This is amazing. Don’t be fooled by the name. It is sweet, creamy and delicious. Heaven in a tub.”

Chocolate Almond Mint:
Bretty: “Oh yeah, I’m not sharing that. Yummy chunks of chocolate and nuts. Mmmm.”
Chani Banani: “Oooh, the chocolate bits taste good.”

TURTLE MOUNTAIN ICE CREAM

Dairy-free, vegan, kosher. Some gluten-free flavours available.

Flavours:
Purely Decadent Soy Delicious 473ml, made with organic ingredients.
Turtle Trails, Mocha Almond Fudge, Cherry Nirvana, Chocolate Brownie Almond, Chocolate Obession, Cookie Avalanche, Peanut Butter Zig Zag, Praline Pecan, Swinging Anna Banana

Purely Decadent Soy Delicious Novelties bars
Chocolate Coated Purely Vanilla Bar
Chocolate Coated Vanilla Almond Bar

Organic So Delicious, certified organic, dairy-free, vegan and kosher, 946ml Butter Pecan, Chocolate Velvet, Cookies N’Cream, Creamy Vanilla, Strawberry

Made from organic ingredients, no artificial flavours or colour. No preservatives or additives.
Profits support the endangered turtles.
Available in QLD, NSW, VIC. Call 03 9890 0800 or check out
www.goodnatured.com.au

Butter Pecan
Francis (one of our Cairns-based visiting tasters): “Gourmet. Generous amount of delicious pecan pieces. Creamy and nutty.”
Matty Mc: “This is great! Perfect mixture of flavours.”

Chocolate Velvet:
Libstar: “The name suggests it all: chocolate and velvet. My favourite choc, I think.”
Annete (our other Cairns visitor): “Delicious and fudgy.”

SANITARIUM SO GOOD BLISS

Soy ice-cream, dairy-free
Flavours: Creamy Vanilla, Heavenly Chocolate, Creamy Boysenberry Swirl, Creamy Caramel, Creamy Strawberry Swirl, Creamy Passionfruit Swirl.

97% fat-free, no cholesterol, low in saturated fats. Available in NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, TAS. Call 1800 673 392 or check out www.sogood.sanitarium.com.au for stockist and product information.

Creamy Passionfruit Swirl:
Matty Maximus: “Yes, yes, yes! Brilliantly rich and creamy.”
Matty Mc: “A bit too heavy and creamy for me.”

Heavenly Chocolate:
Libstar: “Smooth, rich choc. Great, creamy flavour and texture. Slight nutty flavour which adds another layer.”
Annette: “Velvety, rich, creamy and tasty.”

GELATIVO SORBET

Dairy, lactose, wheat and gluten-free. Halal
Flavours: Passionfruit Sorbet, Lemon-Lime, Mango and Strawberry

No artificial flavours or colour. No preservatives or additives. Available QLD, NSW, VIC, TAS, WA. For stockists call 1300 721 105 or check out www.gelativo.com

Passionfruit:
Bretty: “Tastes like real passionfruit!”
Me: “Very fresh with realistic flavours. Great for a sweet tooth.”

Mango:
Chani Banani: “I’m impressed with the taste and it even looks like mango.”
Matty Maximus: “A mango without the mess. Delicious.”

SOYGANIC FOODS AUSTRALIA SOYLATI

Dairy-free, organic ingredients
Flavours: Baci, Vanilla Mango, Crème Caramel, Mocha

Cholesterol free. Lactose free. 95% fat free. 100% organic non-GMO whole soy beans grown in Australia. No artificial flavours, colours, preservatives or additives. Available in QLD, NSW, VIC, WA, TAS. Call 08 8365 1777 or check out www.soyganics.com.au

Vanilla Mango:
Me: “Nice but a bit of a sweet artificial flavour. Has the consistency of a dairy icecream - quite creamy.”
Matty: “It looks great and smells divine, but tastes a little funny.. Strong scent of almonds.”

Baci:
Chani Banani: “Texture is quite icy, which is fine for gelati, and the flavour is pleasant and expected.”
Bretty: “This grew on me as I ate it and I quite liked it by the time I finished it. The texture was very similar to a dairy ice cream but there was a strong almond after-taste.”

WEIS SORBET

Dairy-free
Flavours: Lemon Sorbet, Berry Sorbet

Non GMO. No artificial colours, flavours, preservatives.
Available QLD, NSW, VIC, WA, TAS.
Check out www.weis.com.au for product, nutrition and stockist information.

Berry Sorbet:
Juan-Julio (our other NZ guest): “Bursting with berry goodness.”
Matty Mc: “Summery and light. I could eat it all day.”

Thanks to the dairy-free ice cream supreme beings for concoting these amazing ice creams. Who knew dairy-free could be such a tasty choice? I’m sure the various recipes for these ice creams were honed over countless hours, weeks, months, or even years. Thanks also to the taste test crew and again to Chani Banani for her verandah, her smile, and of course her creative photography.

Vicki Yianni is a published writer (yes, in places other than the Taste Test) from S.E Queensland.