Alright, gather round the campfire for tales of corn free ice cream. Ice cream is one of the most popular desserts, and for a great reason: it’s so dang delicious.
Today, we’re going to look at corn free ice cream you might be able to purchase, but also how to make corn free ice cream at home. In fact, making corn free ice cream, along with corn free ice cream recipes is going to be the focal point today.
Ice Cream is Science, Not Art
You know how they say cooking is an art and baking is a science? Well, ice cream making is a since. Corn free ice cream making is a science that requires a PhD. I don’t say this lightly.
As someone who has been a free-from recipe developer for two decades and has used all the tools and tried all the things, consider this your warning. Unless you have money to burn and want to experiment, just follow a truly corn free ice cream recipe.
Let someone else do the heavy lifting for you, because it’s heavy.
If you’re egg free + dairy free + corn free, there are recipes for you. If you can have milk, there are recipes out there for you as well. In most instances, sourcing the safe raw materials and having the proper machine are going to be the top two items to tackle.
Different Types of Ice Cream
Before you try to make corn free ice cream at home, it’s important that you know the different types of ice cream and frozen treats that are out there. This will allow you to select a recipe that’s close to what you’re aiming for.
I’ve included a brief description of each one so you can get an idea of if it’s something you’d like to try in the near future.
- Traditional Sorbet: Made from fruit puree and sugar (should contain no other ingredients).
- Traditional Italian Ice: Made from puree and sugar, icier than sorbet, and contains less sugar than sorbet.
- Traditional Dairy Free Vegan Ice Cream: Made without milk or egg, but can have a high-fat content, so read labels carefully.
- Custard Ice Cream AKA Frozen Custard: Made milk and eggs.
- Traditional Dippin’ Dots: Made from frozen droplets of liquid ice cream
- Traditional Dondurma: A thick Turkish ice cream.
- Traditional Frozen Yogurt & Soft Serve
- Traditional Gelato: Made with whole milk, but no eggs.
- Ice Milk: A type of low fat ice cream.
- Traditional Kulfi: A type of Indian Ice Cream
- Traditional Mochi: A Japanese style frozen treat containing rice, milk, and eggs.
- New England Ice Cream: A type of chewy ice cream native to New England, contains milk.
- Philadelphia Ice Cream: Made with milk, but no eggs.
- Rolled Ice Cream: A trendy novel ice cream that’s rolled up cream, milk, and sugar.
- Semifreddo: A thick type of ice cream that can be sliced, made from a combination of ice cream, mousse, and custard.
- Traditional Sherbet: Made with fruit puree (sometimes fruit juice), and contains a small amount of dairy.
- Snow Cream: Shaved milk-based ice cream.
- Spumoni: Not as thick as a custard based ice cream, but also contains nuts or candied fruit.
How Corn is Used in Store Bought Ice Cream
Commercially, corn can be found in ice cream via several ingredients. I will say this: the more you pay, the less likely you are to find corn. It’s not a guarantee, just better chances.
Common corn based ingredients in commercial ice cream:
- Glucose
- Corn Syrup
- Citric Acid
- Natural Flavor
- Vanilla Extract
- Stabilizers
- Vegetable Oil
- Citrus (juice, zest, peel [these fruits are usually coated in corn derived wax])
- Salt (always assume this means iodized corn contaminated unless you learn otherwise)
This covers the obvious sources of corn in ice cream. The bigger issue will be the milk. Unless a brand advertises “made with milk from grass fed and grass finished cows” or something of that nature, there’s probably corn derivatives in the milk supply.
Now, if you’re the type of corn allergy person that can tolerate trace amounts of corn and corn derivatives, you may actually be able to purchase quite a few of the higher quality organic ice cream options available. Many only contain milk, cream, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla.
Typical Ice Cream Ingredients, and How to Replace Them with Corn Free Ingredients
OK, now that we’ve covered all of that ground, let’s take a look at how you would convert a regular dairy based ice cream into corn free ice cream at home. Then, we’ll look at dairy free corn free ice cream as well.
Milk
If you can have milk, the simple solution is to find a farmer that sells corn free milk. This means that the cows aren’t given corn, and there’s no special feed in the wintertime (you have to specifically ask about this).
Also ask if the milk is treated in any way shape or form. For the best results, look for Amish farmers that ship nationwide. I’ve been able to purchase corn free sheep milk this way off and on for a few years.
Corn free milk is a 1:1 substitute for conventional milk in ice cream recipes.
Egg Yolk
Corn free eggs exist. EatWild.org is a great starting point, as is LocalHarvest.com. Both of these websites can help you find local farms that are omitting corn from their heard’s diet.
Once you have corn free egg yolks, you can make the most AMAZING custard based for ice cream. I’ve done it with egg yolk + maple + water + salt + vanilla and oh my goodness. Like, died and gone to Heaven levels of amazing. However, it only works because of my ice cream machine.
Corn free egg yolks are a 1:1 substitute for conventional egg yolks in ice cream recipes.
Sugar
Sourcing truly corn free sugar isn’t the easiest task. Personally, I’ve found it easier to source truly corn free maple sugar. Costco’s Kirkland brand is a great starting point for corn free sugar. Call customer service and ask all of your questions.
Some people in the corn free community have suggested other brands, but I can’t personally vouch for any.
The biggest issue that I’ve found in sugar sourcing is the shared equipment with corn. If you can’t have food made on shared equipment, it’s critical that you ask sugar companies about each step in their process (there are several different pieces of machinery involved).
Truly corn free sugar is a 1:1 substitute for conventional sugar in ice cream recipes.
Cream
If your corn free milk farmer isn’t able to sell you cream, you can make cream at home with milk + fat. Read all about making cream in this section of my Ultimate Guide to Dairy Free Substitutes. In your case, use your milk in place of the dairy free milk in the equation.
Corn free cream is a 1:1 substitute for conventional cream in ice cream recipes. The same is true of homemade cream if you have to make it yourself.
Vanilla
If you’ve seen any of my other corn free articles, I’m sure you know by now that vanilla is contaminated with corn at the harvesting level. So long as you use truly corn free vanilla, it’s a 1:1 replacement in ice cream recipes.
Dairy Free Milk
Did you know that all plant based milks are a 1:1 exchange in recipes, with the exception of full fat coconut milk?
What that means for you: use any milk that’s safe for you. I personally use a NutraMilk to make homemade milk. However, they’ve stopped selling the product here in the US. You can purchase a Nama M1. It looks similar, but smaller. I’ve never used one, so if you try it, make sure there’s a good return policy, just in case.
Xanthan Gum
Did you know that you can purchase corn free xanthan gum? Yup, it’s a thing and you can purchase it here. It’s cabbage derived, and will work as a 1:1 substitute in corn free ice cream recipes.
Oil
If a recipe calls for some kind of oil, use organic tiger nut oil (tuber, not a tree nut) in its place. Other oils are going to have a taste, and you may not love it.
Also, measure precisely. Let me tell you… When I first stumbled upon the magic of oil (more on that later), I made the mistake of using too much. It was like eating the world’s most expensive batch of frozen shortening. Disgusting doesn’t even begin describe my experience.
Glucose & Milk Powder
A lot of modern ice cream recipes will call for glucose and milk powder. Skip these recipes. I’ve been making corn free ice cream for over a decade and have never needed to come up with alternatives for glucose and milk powder.
Simply put, you don’t need these ingredients to make successfully make corn free ice cream at home.
Critical Tool for Corn Free Ice Cream Success
An ice cream machine is an absolute must if you plan on making corn free ice cream at home regularly. The tool you use to churn your corn free ice cream base can absolutely make you or break you.
Sure, you need great ratios, however, the tool… it’s just so critical. As an ice cream lover (seriously, it’s my JAM), I’ve tested many machines and ice cream making methods. When it comes to making the BEST dairy free + egg free + corn free ice cream at home, you need a proper countertop ice cream machine with a built in compressor. I don’t care what trendy video you saw online. Get. The. Machine.
With the right ice cream machine, you don’t have to do a lot of work to have outstanding results. Without the machine, you either have to remember to freeze a bowl (and it’s not always successful in the long run), or you have to shake like mad with the salt method, or you have to stir ice cream as it freezes every 5 minutes.
All of those methods won’t get you what you’re after. Trust me. The reason why: They’re missing AIR. Air is the secret to super duper delicious homemade ice cream, and you’re going to want a proper machine to introduce said air to your corn free ice cream mixture.
Now, I’m not going to lie. These machines are an investment. I have this popular Cuisinart ice cream maker, and it’s served me well. I started with a different one that was finicky, so know that brand names matter. I’ll also be picking up this ice cream machine sooner than later because I want to do some side by side tests of corn free ice cream.
Each ice cream machine will create ice crystals a little differently, has a different RPM, and so on. If you want to nerd out over ice cream machines, read this article by Ice Cream Science where he does a deep dive on the top three ice cream machines for home use. If you don’t want to nerd out, get one of the these specific top three machines: Cuisinart, Breville, and Whynter.
If you plan to make corn free ice cream at home often, take the time and learn the science. It will make your experiments much more successful in the long run.
Homemade Corn Free Ice Cream Recipes
OK, we covered a lot of ground, and now we can look at ice cream recipes. Each of these corn free ice cream options is also dairy free, egg free, vegan, and very allergy friendly. You can also find all of these recipes (and more) in my Ultimate GF + Truly Corn Free Cookbook.
- Dairy Free, Egg Free Vanilla Corn Free Ice Cream Recipe (oat based)
- Egg Free, Dairy Free Chocolate Corn Free Ice Cream Recipe (cashew based)
- Easy Blackberry + Peach Corn Free Ice Cream Recipe (fruit based)
- Blackberry Corn Free Ice Cream Recipe (fruit based)
- Peach & Nectarine Corn Free Ice Cream Recipe (fruit based)
- Corn Free Avocado Ice Cream (fat based, doubles as a pudding)
- Strawberry Corn Free Freeze Recipe (fruit based)
- Corn Free Orange Creamsicle Style Ice Cream Recipe (fruit based)
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Corn Free Ice Cream Tips
OK, you already know how important an ice cream machine is. Plus, you now know all about how to get corn free ingredients.
Now, let’s look at your secret weapon: oil.
Ice CREAM. Know why they call it that? Because of the cream. Actual cow’s milk cream. In fact, there’s a legal definition as to what ice cream is, and that’s why you see dairy free brands name their products things like “frozen dessert”. Here in the States, it’s illegal to call it ice cream. Wild right??
Back to cream. What is cream? FAT. What is oil?? Also FAT. See where we’re going with this? Fat = creamy mouthfeel/creamy texture, and the feeling of richness.
I’ve found that 6% is a good spot for making dairy free ice cream. If your recipe uses 500mL of milk, you’d add 30mL oil to your base (30 is 6% of 500).
You can tweak this a little, but if you go too high, it’s like eating cold shortening and the tears of your wallet.
When you get the ratio spot on…. my goodness. Beam me up Scotty with a gallon of this stuff.
What Works and What Doesn’t Work
Now, I’ve gone ahead and done you a solid. Har har. Solid. Fat… yeah, I won’t quit my day job. I’ve tested a range of fats to see if they’ll work in corn free ice cream. Let me spare you the regret:
- Bison Tallow Won’t Work
- Camel Hump Fat Won’t Work
- Olive Oil is Disgusting
- Arrowroot as a Thickener in Place of Fat will Make you Cry
Ready for the winner?? Organic Tiger Nut Oil (tuber, not a tree nut). It will have you walking on cloud nine.
Second place goes to nut and seed butters (almond butter, cashew butter, tiger nut butter, peanut butter, and so on). These all work because they’re a form of fat, however, they bring a LOT of flavour to the table. So, if that’s not your goal, don’t use this as part of your ice cream. Also, when using these ingredients, you use much more than 6%.
Getting the Texture Right
The more balanced your ratios, the better the texture will be. However, also know that texture is subjective. If the scoop you grew up on was closer to ice milk, you may not want or need to add oil to your corn free ice cream recipe to achieve the texture you’re after.
I want to encourage you to study ice cream recipes from professional ice cream makers. Some have produced cookbooks. Get one or two and read everything that you can. That information is power, and will help you get the texture right each time.
If for some reason oil isn’t an option for you, lean into the corn free xanthan gum I talked about earlier. Your ice cream will still be a bit on the icy side, but will have a bit of creaminess to it.
How to Add Flavor to Your Homemade Corn Free Ice Cream
Adding different flavors to corn free ice cream is going to be different for everyone, and that’s because no two people are the same. Not everyone can tolerate trace amounts of corn and/or corn derivatives, and that makes purchasing raw materials harder for some than others.
For example, let’s say you want to make a fall flavoured apple cinnamon corn free ice cream. You need to source truly corn free apples, juice them at home, and use that as part of your base. You also need truly corn free cinnamon, and any other spice you’d like (such as nutmeg).
Corn free apples aren’t available in all areas, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a truly corn free version of apple juice sold in grocery stores nationwide.
See the problem? This is why I’m always going on and on about purchasing large amounts of safe produce and prepping it for your freezer, so you can tap into it year round.
On the slip side, if you can have a lot of store bought ingredients, you’ll be fine to make this hypothetical cinnamon apple corn free ice cream. You should also make some graham crackers to go with the ice cream.
Possible Corn Free Ice Cream Brands to Purchase
Alright, it’s the final section of this article. Let’s look at some potential dairy free + corn free ice cream options. Please focus on the word POSSIBLE. I’m sharing options that might work, depending on your individual needs.
However, these brands are worth looking into, and calling/emailing to see if their products are truly corn free. When in doubt, always start by asking about their vanilla source.
Remember, I AM NOT vouching for any of these. Just sharing leads.
- Cado – Nationwide Shipping (AMAZING reviews, avocado based, range of flavors, get in touch for most recent allergen info since it’s no longer on their website)
- Coconut Bliss (ice cream pints, ice cream sandwiches, coconut based, but they also have a milk line now, so double check allergen info)
- Deebee’s Organics (wide range of popsicles, coconut based gelato pops)
- Green Girl – Nationwide Shipping (ice cream pints and ice cream sandwiches, range of flavors, coconut based)
Also look in your local area, especially if you live in the Pacific North West, near New York, Pennsylvania (near Amish), and Los Angeles. These seem to be hubs for more free-from small businesses that may have corn free options for you.
