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Eclipse Foods launched its "Mexican Hot Chocolate" plant-based ice cream flavor at Humphry Slocombe on Friday, Nov. 8. I tried it.
Eclipse Foods launched its "Mexican Hot Chocolate" plant-based ice cream flavor at Humphry Slocombe on Friday, Nov. 8. I tried it.
Photo: Madeline Wells/SFGATE
Eclipse Foods launched its "Mexican Hot Chocolate" plant-based ice cream flavor at Humphry Slocombe on Friday, Nov. 8. I tried it.
Eclipse Foods launched its "Mexican Hot Chocolate" plant-based ice cream flavor at Humphry Slocombe on Friday, Nov. 8. I tried it.
Photo: Madeline Wells/SFGATEIf you're a longtime vegetarian, like me, you may recognize the way I feel about plant-based meat products such as Impossible Burger: pleased to see the good word of vegetarianism spread, but personally disinterested. (I actually enjoy veggie burgers and have literally never eaten beef in my life, so no thanks, I would not like my burger to bleed.) But as a non-vegan and enthusiastic lover of cheese and ice cream, a Berkeley startup that aims to disrupt the dairy industry piqued my interest.
On Friday, Eclipse Foods released its first plant-based dairy product: ice cream that is supposedly indistinguishable from its real counterpart. To introduce it to the public, the company partnered with SF's Humphry Slocombe (as well as New York's OddFellows). Humphry Slocombe's collaborative Eclipse Foods flavor "Mexican Hot Chocolate" is currently available at all Bay Area locations.
How it all started
Founders Aylon Steinhart and Thomas Bowman are no strangers to the alternative protein world. Steinhart previously worked at plant-based nonprofit the Good Food Institute, and Bowman was a chef at Michelin-starred restaurants before working at JUST, a plant-based food brand. After deciding to launch their own business, they settled on a dairy product, as other companies seemed to have plant-based meat covered. First, they set about developing their magic recipe for a plant-based milk.
"We wanted to replace [dairy] very intentionally," said Steinhart. "Of course there is almond milk, soy milk, and cashew milk ice cream. What we've done is we've created a blend of plants that comes together perfectly to create a milk. The milk functions like real dairy milk, and you can use it to make ice cream or cream cheese."
Eclipse Foods ice cream is free of common allergens — it's made without soy, nuts, coconut, gluten, GMO’s, gums or stabilizers. Instead, they formulated the recipe by analyzing the molecular composition of milk, and then recreating it using potato, corn, cassava and oil. One perk of these ingredients is that the resulting ice cream doesn't taste overwhelming like its substitute of almond or coconut.
Another perk? These ingredients are inexpensive, resulting in ice cream that is affordable (as far as "artisanal" ice cream goes): a single scoop at Humphrey Slocombe costs $4.95.
"I think if we're truly going to compete against dairy and actual cows, we have to have a cost parity with those products," explained Steinhart. "Biotech and rare biomes or seeds, and products like nuts, almonds, cashews and coconuts are expensive."
Steinhard and Bowman want to follow the path of Impossible Foods — build a following at high-end ice cream shops and restaurants, then expand into fast-casual restaurants and universities, and finally, hit fast food restaurants and grocery stores. After that, they plan to start launching other plant-based dairy products like cheese. Their future looks bright, thanks to backing from the likes of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Gmail creator Paul Buchheit.
Taste test
But okay, how does the ice cream taste?
I stopped by Humphry Slocombe in Oakland for a scoop of the Eclipse Foods Mexican Hot Chocolate. A group of excited 20-somethings lined up in front of me to try the same flavor. And reader, I really wanted to share that excitement and celebrate the coronation of a new dairy-free ice cream that tastes exactly as good as the real thing. Other prominent publications have raved about its striking similarity to our beloved original.
But I couldn't. With the very first bite, the consistency felt off. Sure, it looked just like the real thing, but the texture was gummy. Sticky. Almost more like cookie dough than ice cream. Real ice cream starts to melt after a few minutes and slides off your spoon into a pool of creamy deliciousness, but Eclipse Foods ice cream? Even after letting it melt for a few minutes, it stuck steadfastly to my spoon despite rigorous shaking (see video below for evidence).
But even before my spoon-shaking experiment, the ice cream proved so thick that my plastic spoon got stuck in its gummy grasp and snapped in half. Demoralized, I didn't want to keep eating, and that says a lot — I leave no bowl of ice cream unturned. But since this ice cream cost $5, I used that half spoon to finish the job.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the flavor, although that responsibility lies more with Humphry Slocombe than Eclipse Foods. While claiming to be Mexican Hot Chocolate, it tasted overwhelming sweet without a particularly rich chocolate flavor or more than a tiny whisper of the delightful spice I associate with the beverage.
Overall, I was sad that I'd ordered this and not the new Third Culture Bakery Mochi Muffin Banana ice cream that Humphry Slocombe just launched. However, compared to some chalky, uncreamy non-dairy ice creams I've tried, this was definitely an improvement. But it's not mind-blowing enough to turn me vegan anytime soon.
Madeline Wells is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com | Twitter: @madwells22
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November 09, 2019 at 04:42AM
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I tried the Impossible Burger of ice cream. It was weird and broke my spoon in half. - SF Gate
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