Hypoallergenic Cranberry Ice

   

  This recipe has very few ingredients and no common allergens. Nevertheless, it produces surprisingly smooth "ice cream" with just the right amount of sweetness, and the cinnamon perfectly complements the tartness of the cranberries.

     Unlike some other thin-skinned fruit, such as grapes and blueberries, cranberries contain very little sugar and are thus unlikely to attract yeast and become covered with a yeasty white film. Whether you have a yeast allergy or not, though, you should wash your cranberries and throw away any that are not perfectly fresh and firm.

     2 c. sugar

     2-1/2 c. water

     1/4 c. freshly squeezed orange juice

     12 oz. cranberries

     1 cinnamon stick

     Wash the cranberries and remove any that are soft or damaged. Put all ingredients into a pot, bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes. REMOVE CINNAMON STICK. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. 

     Place a large spoon and a container for the ice cream in the freezer. Puree cranberry mixture in a food-processor. Freeze, following the instructions for your ice cream maker. Use the prechilled spoon to scoop the ice cream into its prechilled container. Put directly into freezer to harden.

Teff Porridge

      Allergic to wheat, dairy, soy and eggs? So, what's for breakfast? Gluten-free oatmeal is one possibility; teff porridge is another. Teff takes longer to cook but has a pleasant, mild flavor and an interesting, non-mushy texture. 

     1 c. whole grain teff
     water

     Bring two cups of water to a boil. Stir in the teff, and bring the water back to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in a little extra boiling water if you prefer your porridge to be more liquid. Garnish with fruit, hemp milk, brown sugar, cinnamon--whatever you like and aren't allergic to. Alternatively, butter and salt make a great garnish if you can tolerate the amount of dairy proteins in a bit of butter.

Hypoallergenic Lemon Ice

     Commercial sherbet generally contains dairy as well as ingredients made from allergens such as corn and soy. This lemon ice has only 3 ingredients including sugar and water. If you're o.k. with citrus, this lemon ice is safe. 

     It is also intensely lemony and not overly sweet.

     4 cups sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary) 
     2 cups water
     4 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice (See Juice in the Glossary)

     Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook on medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and all the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the lemon juice. Refrigerate until chilled. Put the container for the ice cream into the freezer (so it won't melt any of the ice cream when you scoop it into the container).Freeze according to the directions for your ice cream maker.  Immediately transfer the ice cream to its prechilled container and either serve it immediately or get it directly into the freezer to harden.

     Garnish with fresh mint leaves if you like. 

Rhubarb Ice Cream With No Common Allergens

      Rhubarb quickly cooks down to a soft, slightly gooey texture, one that thickens as it cools. This allows us to use it to make a surprisingly smooth, luscious ice cream without cream, added starches, or other common allergens. 

   

     4 c. of rhubarb  stalks--trimmed, washed and sliced reasonably thin (to 

          prevent long rhubarb strings in the ice cream) Throw away the 

          leaves; they're poisonous!
     2-1/2 c. water
     3 c. sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)
     1/4 tsp. salt  (See Salt in the Glossary)
     (optional but really good) 1 stick of cinnamon

     Put all ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and simmer until the rhubarb is thoroughly soft and melting into the water. (This should only take a few minutes.) Remove the cinnamon stick and blend thoroughly. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Put the container for the ice cream into the freezer (so it won't melt any of the ice cream when you scoop it into the container). Freeze according to the instructions for your ice cream maker. Immediately transfer the ice cream to its prechilled container and either serve it immediately or get it directly into the freezer to harden.

Corn-Free Marshmallow Fluff

     Commercially made marshmallow fluff, or marsh-mallow creme, consists largely of corn syrup. It is, however, entirely possible to make perfectly smooth, creamy marsh-mallow fluff without corn.

     The recipe below is corn-free. It does contain egg, so it doesn't meet my usual specs. However,  it's difficult to make decent sweets without  wheat, dairy, corn or soy, which makes this recipe noteworthy for some of us. 

     What's more, an unwary cook trying to make corn-free marshmallow fluff by just leaving out the corn syrup is likely to produce a recrystallized, grainy mess. Here's how we're going to prevent that. First, we're going to use cane sugar. Cane sugar and beet sugar are both nearly pure sucrose. It's possible, though, that the slight difference in impurities is important for such a delicate procedure as candy making: many candy makers report getting better results with cane sugar. Since we're already pushing the envelope by leaving out the corn syrup, it may be wise to at least optimize our choice of sugar. 
     
    Second, the combination of adding a little lemon juice and cooking the mixture slowly on low heat allows some of the sucrose to break down into glucose and fructose, which makes it less likely that the syrup will recrystallize while you're cooking it.

     3 c. cane sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)
     5/6 (i.e. 1/2+1/3) c. water 
     3/4 tsp. lemon juice (See Juice in the Glossary)
     1/4 tsp. salt (See Salt in the Glossary)
     2 egg whites
     (optional) 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 

     Stir the first 4 ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Continue boiling, but do not stir. Wipe down the ring of sugar crystals just above the syrup with a wet pastry brush. 

     Meanwhile, beat the egg whites in a large bowl until they form stiff peaks. 

     Remove the syrup from the heat when it reaches 255 degrees Fahrenheit; use a candy thermometer.* 

     Gradually pour the syrup into the egg whites, while continuing to beat on high. Beat for a few minutes, until thoroughly mixed.

     Store (in glass jars if you have some) and refrigerate. The fluff will stiffen somewhat in the fridge; allowing it to warm at room temperature will soften it back up.

     Enjoy Life Choco Boom makes a variety of soy-free, dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free  chocolate bars. Now if I could just come up with some wheat-free and otherwise nonallergenic graham crackers, we could make smores...

     *This is the correct temperature around sea level. You need to adjust for altitude by subtracting 2 degrees for every 1000 feet above that. 

Caramel-Apple Ice Cream

     Like bananas, apples contain a lot of both pectin and starch; like frozen bananas, frozen apples can be whirled in a food-processor to create an easy, hypoallergenic ice cream base.

     This caramel-apple ice cream, which is reminiscent of an old-fashioned caramel apple, is particularly good.

     1 lb. of peeled, cored, sliced apples (See Produce in the Glossary)

     1 c. corn-free, dairy-free caramel sauce 


     Put the apple slices in a container in the freezer. Wait until they are thoroughly frozen. 

     Put the apples in a food-processor. (If you need to, adjust the amount of apples as needed so that your food-processor can handle them easily.) Put the container back in the freezer. Run the food-processor until the apples are finely ground. Add the caramel sauce and process until the mixture is very smooth. Scoop the soft ice cream into the chilled container and either serve immediately or put into the freezer immediately.

Dairy-Free Fruit-Salad Dressing

Fruit-salad dressing

     Fruit salad is a dessert, so use the rich coconut milk that comes in a can, not the coconut-based milk substitute that comes in a carton. This will provide all the rich creaminess you want in your fruit salad. 

     Sugar draws juice out of fruit, watering down any dressing. The solutions to this are to 1) use only fruit that is fairly sweet to start with and skip the sugar and/or 2) only stir the dressing into the prepared fruit just before serving it.

     This mixture is particularly good on tropical fruit (pineapple, bananas, etc.) It works well with a garnish of toasted shredded coconut.

Banana and pineapple

     1 cup canned coconut 

          milk (See Coconut and 

          Milk in the Glossary)

     ½ tsp. cinnamon (See 

          Spices in the Glossary)

     ¼ c. sugar (See Sugar in 

          the Glossary)

     Mix all ingredients together..

   

Fruit salad

   

Hypoallergenic Chocolate-Banana Ice Cream

     Bananas contain a lot of both pectin and starch, which means frozen bananas can be turned into surprisingly smooth, luscious single-ingredient banana ice cream by simply whirling them around in a food-processor. They can also be used as an ice cream base to which syrups and other flavorings can be added. In this recipe they are paired with corn-free chocolate syrup to produce an ice cream with none of the usual allergens (milk, eggs, corn, etc.) that is reminiscent of a classic chocolate-dipped frozen banana.

     3 thoroughly ripe bananas: Ideally the skins should be turning brown. 

          Thoroughly ripe bananas are sweeter and their flavor is better developed. 

          (See Bananas in the Glossary)

     1/2 cup corn-free chocolate syrup 

     (optional) 1/2 tsp. corn-free vanilla extract 

     Peel the bananas and freeze them thoroughly in a sealable container. (It is vital to peel them first. It's really hard to peel a banana after it's frozen.) Use the coldest part of your freezer to ensure the ice cream will come out as solid as possible.

     Take out the container with the frozen bananas. Break the bananas into a few pieces each and put them into your food-processor. Put the container back into the freezer; you will need a chilled container in a few minutes, because a warm container can cause ice cream to melt a bit at first.

     Start processing. Add the chocolate syrup and the vanilla extract. Process thoroughly, until smooth and creamy. This can take a few minutes: the bananas go through a few phases before arriving at an ice cream texture.  Scoop the ice cream into the chilled container. Put the container back into the freezer. . 

     Serve immediately as soft ice cream or put into freezer immediately.

Hypoallergenic, Single-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream

     Because bananas contain serious amounts of both starch and pectin, they need no other ingredients to develop a creamy, custard-like texture. This ice cream is fine for everyone who is not allergic to bananas. 

     What's more, you don't need to dig out your ice cream maker for this recipe, since the single ingredient is frozen when you start.

Banana ice cream with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Chocolate syrup is also good on this ice cream.

Ingredient:

    enough thoroughly ripe bananas to process conveniently in your food-

          processor: Ideally the skins should be turning brown. Thoroughly ripe 

          bananas are sweeter and their flavor is better developed. (See Bananas 

          in the Glossary)

     Peel the bananas and freeze them thoroughly in a sealable container. (It is vital to peel them first. It's really hard to peel a banana after it's frozen.) Use the coldest part of your freezer to ensure the ice cream will come out as solid as possible.

     Break the bananas into a few pieces each and put them into your food-processor. Put the container back into the freezer. A warm container can cause ice cream to melt a bit at first.

     Process thoroughly, until smooth and creamy. This can take a few minutes: the bananas go through a few phases before arriving at an ice cream texture.  Scoop into chilled container. Serve immediately as soft ice cream or put into freezer immediately.

Hypoallergenic Tropical Ice Cream

     

     Pineapples, bananas, and coconuts are delicious  together. In this simple recipe they are combined in a delicious, light ice cream that has none of the usual allergens (eggs, dairy, corn, etc.) 

     1 ripe pineapple

     6 ripe bananas, peeled (See Bananas in the Glossary)

     1 14-oz. can coconut milk (see (See Coconut and Milk in the Glossary)

     2 cups sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)

     1 Tb. vanilla extract (optional)



    First place the container for the tropical ice in your freezer. (A warm container could melt some of the ice when you first scoop it into the container.)   

     Remove the top and all of the peel of the pineapple. Cut the pineapple into slices and remove the tough inner core of each slice.  In batches, mix all ingredients thoroughly with a blender. 

     Follow the instructions for your ice cream maker. 

Peach Ice

  



     Most ice cream contains multiple allergens (dairy, eggs, soy, corn...) The peach ice I describe here consists entirely of fresh peaches, lemon juice and sugar, yet is smooth and luscious. Just be sure to start with totally ripe peaches. 

     The acidity of the lemon juice wakes up the flavor of the peaches; if you're allergic to citrus, experiment with other sour fruit juices.

     4 large, fresh, thoroughly ripe peaches (See Produce in the Glossary)

     fresh squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon (See Juice in the Glossary)

     1/2 c. sugar (or to taste) See Sugar in the Glossary

     First place the container for the peach ice in your freezer. (A warm container could melt some of the ice when you first scoop it into the container.)   

     Peel and seed the peaches. Puree the peaches and lemon juice in a blender. Add the sugar and blend it in too.

     Follow the instructions for your ice cream maker. 

Quince Sweet

     This simple but festive dessert has very few ingredients, and none of them are common allergens.

Quince sweet served with a bit of its syrup on the plate
and whipped coconut cream on top

     4-6 medium quinces
     1 lemon wedge
     sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)
     1 cinnamon stick
     4-6 cloves

     Cut each quince in half vertically (i.e. starting from the stem) and peel it. Cut the seedy center out, but do not throw it away. Rub the quince with the lemon wedge; this will keep it from browning while you peel the rest of the quinces. Arrange the quince halves flat side up 1 layer deep in a pan. Add the seeds (they well help give the quince a nice pinkish color as it cooks), the cinnamon stick and the cloves.  Spoon 2 Tb. of sugar onto each quince half. Add just enough water to keep the quinces covered. Bring to a boil and simmer until the quinces are soft. How long this takes depends on the variety, size and ripeness of the quinces, but is sure to be at least 30 minutes.

     Remove the quinces to a serving dish. Strain the syrup left in the pan, put it on high heat, and reduce it to equal the amount of sugar you added (1/4 c. per quince). Pour the syrup over the quinces. Serve warm or cold. Garnish with any of the following that you are not allergic to:

     whipped cream
     whipped coconut cream (See Coconut and Whipped Cream in the 

          Glossary.)
     chopped nuts
     pomegranate seeds
     mint leaves

Chocolate Egg Cream and Chocolate Soda: no eggs, no dairy, no corn

     Here are two classic fountain drinks that are easily made with no major allergens. These recipes should be fine for most people who are not allergic to chocolate or coconut. Coconut milk is an excellent substitute for cream. Coconut milk based ice cream is available in many grocery stores, or you can make some yourself. In spite of the name, "chocolate egg cream" doesn't contain egg in the first place.

Chocolate Egg Cream

     1/4 c. chocolate syrup, chilled
     1/4 c. canned coconut milk, chilled (See Coconut and Milk in the 

          Glossary)
     1/2 c. soda water, chilled

Stir the chocolate syrup and coconut milk together at the bottom of a tall glass. (As you can see in the picture, you will need room for the egg cream to foam up.)  Tilt the glass and gently pour the soda water down the side of the glass. Stir gently and serve with a straw.

Chocolate Soda

 

      3 T. chocolate syrup, chilled
     whipped coconut cream (See Whipped Cream in the Glossary)
     coconut milk based ice cream
     soda water, chilled


     In the bottom of a 16-oz. glass, stir together the chocolate syrup and a couple tablespoons of the whipped coconut cream. Add two scoops of vanilla or chocolate ice cream and fill the glass with soda water. Garnish with whipped coconut cream if you like.

Raspberry Sorbet

     Raspberry sorbet is a frozen dessert with a very short ingredient list and no major allergens.  If you are all right with raspberries, you should be able to eat this sorbet with impunity.

     about 5 cups of fresh raspberries
     1 cup water
     1½ cups sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)
     (optional) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
     (optional) 1-2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice (See Juice in 

          the Glossary)

     Place the container for the sorbet in your freezer. (A warm container could melt some of the sorbet when you first scoop it into the container.)    

     Juice the raspberries and remove the seeds. You should get about 2-1/4 c. of raspberry juice. One method is to put the raspberries through a juicer. If the "pulp" is still very wet you can wrap it in cheesecloth and wring out the remaining juice. 

     Another approach is to first liquefy the berries by either heating them briefly with the water in a small saucepan or pureeing them with the water in a food-processor. You can then strain the berries using either a food mill with a fine enough mesh or a strainer with a fine enough mesh.  

     Combine the raspberry juice and water with the sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Freeze according to the instructions for your ice cream maker. Scoop into the prechilled container and store in your freezer.

Corn-Free Chocolate Syrup

     Commercially made chocolate syrup generally consists largely of corn syrup.  Fortunately, it is easy to make corn-free chocolate syrup at home using plain cocoa (not a drink mix) and cane or any other sugar you are not allergic to. Note that store-bought vanilla extract generally contains corn alcohol. You can make your own extract, but if you just leave the vanilla out your chocolate syrup will still be fine.

Corn-free chocolate syrup on caramel ice cream

     1-1/2 c. sugar (See Sugar 
          in the Glossary)    
     3/4 c. cocoa (See Cocoa 
          in the Glossary)        
     dash of salt  (See Salt 
          in the Glossary)   
     1 c. boiling hot water     

     optional but highly 

          recommended: 2 tsp. 

          corn-free vanilla 

          extract


     Stir the sugar, cocoa and salt together in a small pot.  Add about a third of the hot water, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the rest of the hot water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and simmer for another three minutes, stirring constantly. Add the vanilla. Refrigerate.

Add this syrup to milk or "milk" to make
chocolate milk.

Single Serving of Hypoallergenic Soft-Serve Ice Cream

Chocolate ice cream, pineapple/coconut ice cream
and the containers  used to freeze them

     You want to serve cake and ice cream at a children's party, and one child who's coming is allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, etc. What kind of cake is that, and where do you find that ice cream?

     The cake is tricky but, as long as the kid is not allergic to coconut, the ice cream doesn't have to be. If you can find Coconut Bliss Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert in your grocery store, check out the label: it doesn't have any of the ingredients I listed. If you can't find it, the kid is allergic to it after all, you think it's a bit pricy, or you really only want, like, one scoop, keep reading. Making one scoop of coconut-milk-based "ice cream" is surprisingly simple.


    Basic Recipe: Coconut Ice Cream
     1/4 c. canned coconut milk (See Coconut and Milk in the Glossary)
     1 Tb. sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)
     (optional) 1/4 tsp. corn-free vanilla extract
    
     Chocolate
     Basic Recipe + 1 Tb. cocoa (pure cocoa, not drink powder)

     Pineapple/Coconut
     2 Tb. canned coconut milk (See Coconut and Milk in the Glossary)
     2 Tb. pureed pineapple (Puree a slice of fresh pineapple in a food-

           processor.)
     1 Tb. sugar (See Sugar in the Glossary)
     (optional) 1/4 tsp. corn-free vanilla extract

You will also need
     table salt
     crushed ice (or small ice cubes)
     cold water

     Stir your ingredients together. You are now ready to freeze your mixture. There are commercial gadgets, such as Ice Cream Magic, that do a fine job in 3 or 4 minutes. Follow the instructions.

Ice Cream Magic set

     Alternatively, put your ice cream mixture into a tiny container with a good seal and shut it tightly. Put 3-4 parts ice, 1 part salt, 1 part cold water and the tiny container into a somewhat bigger container with a good seal and shut it tightly. Have the kids take turns shaking for a few minutes, until the mixture turns solid. The point of using crushed ice, cold water and table salt instead of ice cubes and rock salt is to get the process off to a faster start. 

Mostly Nonallergenic Banana-Date Dessert

     This is one of those rare good desserts that contain no common allergens (no wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, nuts or peanuts). If you are allergic to yeast, do note that dates, like other dried fruit, generally have some yeast on their outer surface. I have seen a recommendation of carefully wiping each date with a damp cloth. That sounds pretty tedious and is not likely to be 100% effective.

     In this classic Middle Eastern treat, the dates soak up most of the moisture from the cream (or, in this adaptation, coconut milk), becoming tender, luscious and decadently rich, and the remaining cream becomes a thick, sweet sauce.

     7-8 bananas, sliced (See Bananas in the Glossary)

     ~12 oz. pitted dates, cut in two lengthwise 

     14-oz. can coconut milk (See Coconut and Milk in the Glossary) 

     1/4 tsp. cardamom (See Spices in the Glossary)

     1/4 tsp. nutmeg (See Spices in the Glossary)

     Layer the bananas and dates into a dish. The bottom and top layers should be bananas.

     Mix the cardamom and nutmeg into the coconut milk. (Use a food-processor or egg beater if you need to, to get rid of any lumps.)

     Pour the coconut milk over the fruit, leaving no dry spots.  Refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving.

Dessert under construction. This recipe fit perfectly into 5 layers
(bananas-dates-bananas-dates-bananas) in this 7" by 11" pan.