If you started with Part 1, you learned a little about me and my passion for making healthier ice cream. I’ve added protein and reduced sugar in my recipes, while providing options for dairy-free, lactose-free, and vegan flavors. After creating more than 70 recipes this way, I took a break to get certified as a nutrition coach. (Need nutrition coaching? Find me here.)
Then I learned about allulose. It’s a complete game-changer for ice cream. If you read part 1, you know that sugar doesn’t just make ice cream sweet. It makes ice cream smooth and scoopable, rather than icy and hard. Sugar substitutes just can’t compete. Until now!
Read on to learn about why allulose is amazing, or just skip to my (growing) collection of low-carb ice cream recipes using this wonderful stuff.
What is allulose?
Allulose is a “rare sugar” – it exists in nature in small amounts in fruits like figs, raisins, and dates. Because the body does not fully metabolize this form of sugar, is has almost no calories or carbohydrates.
Allulose is attractive because it:
- tastes basically identical to sugar, without the “off” flavors of many other sugar substitutes
- can be used in baking
- does not raise blood sugar
Is allulose safe?
It has been “generally recognized as safe” by the U.S. FDA, but is not approved for sale in the European Union and Canada.
More research is needed, but so far tests have shown that most people have no ill effects from allulose in small-to-moderate doses. Those that do experience side effects tend to have digestive upset. Consuming more than 10 teaspoons at a time seems to increase the odds of digestive issues.
Check out this video for more:
Does the Sweetener Allulose Have Side Effects? Is It a Healthy Sweetener?
How does allulose compare to other sugar replacements for health?
While other sugar substitutes, such as sucralose (Splenda) and sugar alcohols are popular, they carry various health concerns. More research is needed, but sucralose may have negative effects on the gut microbiome and may raise blood sugar slightly. Sugar alcohols have a fairly high rate of digestive upset (they definitely do not agree with me) and also might raise blood sugar slightly. I’m not aware of any health concerns with monk fruit or stevia. But monk fruit is usually mixed with a sugar alcohol, and in my opinion stevia tastes terrible.
However, allulose may actually have positive health effects. In the study, Impact of allulose on blood glucose in type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis of clinical trials, allulose not only didn’t raise blood sugar, it actually lowered it (in research subjects with type 2 diabetes).
In the study, The Metabolic and Endocrine Effects of a 12-Week Allulose-Rich Diet, allulose supplements improved insulin sensitivity and blood glucose levels, reduced appetite, and reduced weight gain compared to stevia.
Again, more research is required, but results have been promising so far.
Is allulose Keto-friendly or suitable for other low-carb diets?
Yes! Allulose has less than 10% of the calories of sugar and functionally no carbohydrates. (See the research findings above and this Cleveland Clinic article.)
How does allulose compare to other sugar replacements for cooking?
Allulose tastes about 70% as sweet as sugar. It can be used as a 1-to-1 replacement in recipes or combined with other sweeteners to achieve the desired sweetness.
In baking, it will produce more browning than sugar, so a combination of sweeteners may be needed, or reduced baking time, etc.
In recipes where sugar produces crispness or crunch (like certain cookies or candies), allulose will create a softer, chewier texture. A combination of sweeteners may work better.
How does allulose work in ice cream?
Allulose is a low-carb ice cream lover’s dream come true. Not only does it taste like sugar, but it lowers the freezing point of the ice cream even more than sugar, so you can avoid the rock-hard, icy results of sugar-free ice creams made with other sweeteners.
For more about the chemistry of allulose in ice cream, see this article: For Scoopable Ice Cream and Sorbet, Use Allulose.
Sourcing allulose
My local grocery store (HEB) carries allulose in powdered and liquid form.
I’ve also purchased allulose in bulk from Amazon to reduce cost.
iHerb sells allulose in small packets like sugar, in case you want to carry it around to sweeten your coffee or tea (which I do!).
The brand Wholesome Yum makes many allulose-based products, some of which have started appearing in grocery stores.
Nutrition info on the recipes
In the past I’ve only posted the nutritional info for a few recipes. For the low-carb recipes with allulose, I’ll always post nutrition info using the standard formats that you see on packaged foods – with 1 exception. Allulose will not be listed as part of the carb content because it doesn’t count there, but will be listed separately so you can count it if you like, based on your type of diet. This seems to be the practice for most companies making packaged foods with allulose.
Serving sizes: My recipes all make about 1 quart, but it can vary based on ingredients, churn time (overrun), and other factors. In researching standard individual serving sizes, I found that 1 serving of ice cream equals approximately:
- 2/3 cup per FDA nutrition label standards (~5.3 fluid oz), or about 1 large scoop
- 1/3 of a pint purchased in the grocery store
- 5-6 oz by weight in ice cream shops
- 3 oz by weight in gelato shops (due to a richer, denser product)
For purposes of nutrition information, I’m going to say that all my recipes contain 6-8 servings. The actual serving weight will vary from ~4.5 to ~6 oz. Seems like a good average.
Let’s go make some low-carb ice cream!
Contact
Questions? Comments? Flavor requests?
Find me at: GourmetProteinIceCream@gmail.com
Instagram: @gourmetproteinicecream
I may use affiliate links and earn a very small commission on purchases. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.