Terrific or Terrible? This Ice Cream Is Made Entirely Out of Cauliflower

New Zealand-based EatKinda has debuted its vegan ice cream made from cauliflower at the popular pizza chain Hell Pizza.

Cauliflower has earned significant street cred in recent years serving double duty as chickenless wings, low-carb rice, and even dairy-free cheese. But ice cream? Yes, even ice cream.

Cauliflower ice cream

The new cauliflower ice cream was developed by the Kiwi startup, EatKinda. Jenni Matheson, co-founder of EatKinda, says she developed the recipe for cauliflower ice cream while looking for ways to use up vegetables from her garden. Matheson says cauliflower was the perfect base with a creamy texture without an overpowering taste.

“After initially trying pumpkin, and other vegetables I had grown, it quickly became clear that cauliflower was the perfect base. It has a beautiful texture without an overpowering taste, meaning you can create flavours easily,” Matheson said in a statement.

The company is using “ugly” cauliflower for the ice cream, taking discards that are otherwise deemed unsuitable for retail but retain flavor, texture, and nutrients.

“Apart from cosmetic imperfections, such as being the wrong size, an odd colour, or not pretty enough for the supermarkets, the cauli we use is completely fine to eat,” says Mrinali Kumar, EatKinda co-founder. “We source it from suppliers including Perfectly Imperfect, a social enterprise that saves cosmetically imperfect food from rotting in the ground. It’s a win-win for everyone,” she says.

The ice cream is currently available in two flavors, Strawberry Swirl and Mint Choc Bikkie, and is going nationwide at all of Hell Pizza’s more than 70 locations.

‘Pushing the envelope’

“It sounds like it will be good for you but not tasty — yet we were blown away and knew we had to offer it to our customers,” Ben Cumming, CEO of Hell Pizza said. “We’re always pushing the envelope in offering plant-based alternatives and think people will be just in love with it as we are. It’s a pretty sweet aftertaste knowing that it’s dairy-free and uses rescued cauliflower,” he says.

According to Cumming, sustainability is one of the brand’s core values. “We’ve always been big on plant power — from our Burger Pizza using Impossible Beef to the recent Steak & Cheese Pie Pizza using Fable Steak (a mushroom alternative). For us, it’s about showcasing amazing plant-based alternatives and showing people that being kinder to the planet doesn’t mean compromising on taste,” he says.

Cumming also says that while the chain is already effective at reducing its own food waste, it is a “significant issue” for the wider food industry.