The Ice Creamery is
on a mission to produce
top quality healthy,
low-carb, sugar-free,
Banting and diabetic
friendly, handmade
ice cream. It is always
freshly made, with as
few ingredients possible.
The current range
comprises six flavours:
Vanilla Bean, Chocolate,
Espresso, Cinnamon
Chai, Strawberry Rose
and Choc Mint.
‘It’s quite difficult
to produce sugar-free
versions of popular
flavours, as some
simply don’t work
well with xylitol,’ says
Karin. ‘I constantly experiment – every idea I find
in a magazine, on a restaurant menu or at the
greengrocer can trigger inspiration. I’ve tried batch
after batch, using erythritol and stevia, and I always
go back to xylitol. I don’t like the taste of stevia, and
erythritol has almost zero anti-freezing properties.
Sugar has very high anti-freezing properties, which
means the more you add, the softer your ice cream
will be. Xylitol has the same effect. When you use
erythritol the ice cream freezes as hard as a rock!’
‘My aim is to use ingredients as fresh and clean
as possible. The base mix never has more than
five ingredients,’ she explains. ‘If the ingredients
amount to more than five, it will be the vanilla
or spices that are added. My base consists of
fresh cream, raw full-cream milk, free-range egg
yolks and xylitol. I never use stabilisers, artificial
flavourings or colourants. The Vanilla Bean
contains real vanilla bean seed. I use Belgian
cocoa butter. For the Strawberry Rose flavour we
use fresh strawberries and handmade rose water,
the Espresso flavour comes from roasted organic
coffee beans, and organic spirulina powder gives
our Mint Choc its soft, green colour.’ She also
learnt to make proper handmade chai tea in Israel
and applies the same method to her Cinnamon
Chai ice cream. She grinds seven different spices
and then infuses it during the pasteurising stage.Karin is big on supporting local farmers for most
of her ingredients. ‘I buy my eggs and milk locally,’
she says. ‘I have a supplier who sources good
quality xylitol. I buy rose water from a local rose farm
and the roasted organic coffee beans are from this
continent. This is significant, as it doesn’t travel long
distances over oceans, where it might be exposed
to moisture and mould.’ She does, however, source
cocoa powder and butter from Belgium.
What sets The Ice Creamery apart? ‘Almost
all commercial brands that claim to be sugar-free
or low carb use ingredients that I, as a Banter,
will not put in my body,’ Karin says. ‘I use as few
ingredients as possible and there are only 2g carbs
per 125ml tub. It’s a healthy alternative for the sweet
tooth and can almost be called a meal-in-a-tub.’
While her customers vary, her biggest
supporters are Banters and diabetics. ‘Lots of
customers just want to cut out sugar from their
diets or try to live a healthy lifestyle. Many want to
buy sweet treats for their kids.’
With the business going strong, this ice
cream aficionado has her sights set on opening
factories countrywide. ‘I plan to supply hospitals- for patients who can’t eat sugar. This will also
allow me to create more employment. I would
love to see our ice cream in all the shops and
supermarkets in the rest of South Africa! Q
The Ice Creamery’s
products are
available at Spar
supermarkets
in Pretoria; all the
Wellness Warehouse
stores in Pretoria and two in
Johannesburg (Thrupps Illovo Centre
and Clearwater Mall, Roodepoort);
Jackson’s Real Food Market in
Bryanston; and Nuts About You in
the Pick n Pay Centre in Douglasdale,
Johannesburg. It has also signed
up with Mr D Food (previously Mr
Delivery) to bring a delivery service
to the east of Pretoria. The Banting
Market Pretoria takes place every
first Saturday of the month at the
Pretoria National Botanical Garden.WHERE
TO
FIND IT‘My aim is to use
ingredients as fresh
and clean as possible.
The base mix never
LEWQSVIXLER¿ZI
ingredients...’PHOTOGRAPHS: THEANA BREUGEM