With all-natural ingredients and one-of-a-kind recipes, this pair of ice cream shops are adding a twist to the typical dairy cone offerings with alternative vegan flavors.
And technically, while vegan ice cream is a misnomer and classified as a nondairy frozen dessert (per The Food and Drug Administration, the definition of ice cream is a frozen, pasteurized product made from dairy that contains at least 10 percent milkfat), who really cares about categories, when something tastes this good?
The Blue Pig
121 Maple St, Croton-on-Hudson; 914.271.3850
The Blue Pig is not your ordinary ice cream shop, but that’s nothing we haven’t heard before. Using all-natural ingredients from local farms and their garden, you never have to worry about such baddies as steroids, high fructose corn syrup, and gums. Vegan flavors rotate but on any given day there may be mint chip, made from with coconut milk and cashews, or other non-dairy choices such as peanut butter Oreo, berry swirl, espresso chip, and salted caramel cookie.
Along with the rising demand for vegan ice cream, owner Lisa Moir has gone above and beyond to provide her customers with vegan toppings and vegan baked goods (e.g., chocolate banana bread).
Penny Lick Ice Cream Company
580 Warburton Ave, Hastings-on-Hudson; 914.525.1580
Penny Lick Ice Cream Co. is 100% peanut- and tree-nut free, so when it comes to using non-dairy alternatives, their job is already hard enough. Founder and CEO Ellen Sledge shares that they wanted to keep their menu as broad as possible for those with certain allergies, “[eliminating] as many of the big eight allergens as possible [to] try to keep kids a little safer.”
From seasonal sorbets made with locally grown fruits to creamy, coconut-based cones, there are always vegan selections on the menu, including the popular dark chocolate coconut, raspberry lime, or strawberry lemonade sorbet. Sledge plans on having four new vegan flavors on the menu in the next month.
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