Great news for people who no longer eat dairy, but who periodically crave a pint of Chunky Monkey! Ben & Jerry’s has introduced a line of dairy-free frozen desserts based on almond milk. Having a full vegan line from a popular brand owned by consumer-goods conglomerate Unilever might put dairy-free ice cream in more stores and accessible to more people.

As far as the federal Food and Drug Administration is concerned, of course, there is no such thing as vegan ice cream. That’s because “ice cream” has a specific legal meaning. To call something “ice cream,” manufacturers have to ensure that it has enough milkfat and nonfat milk solids. Otherwise, it’s called a “frozen dairy dessert.”

That means that it’s still (probably) delicious, but can’t be called ice cream. Sometimes, as our readers have learned, what used to be ice cream becomes “frozen dairy dessert” after a recipe tweak.

All of this regulation means that the vegan Ben & Jerry’s products, and any vegan ice creams products, can’t legally be called “ice cream.” It’s still available in classic flavors for that brand, though, which as of right now include chocolate fudge brownie, Chunky Monkey, and P.B. & Cookies. There’s also a vegan-exclusive flavor called coffee caramel fudge.

Non-Dairy [Ben & Jerry’s]

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