100% vegan, 100% taste: oat-based gelato

Superfood, miracle grain, energy boost: oats have experienced a real rediscovery in the most diverse variations. But no one really dared to try them in ice cream. Until now! Because this summer, Dieci is bringing chocolate and stracciatella varieties based on oats to the chiller shelves. The CEO of RDC Gelato, Adrian Wietlisbach, explains how the impossible was made possible and why an oat-based gelato should also taste of oats.

You spent two years developing your vegan oat-based gelato. Did you ever think of giving up?

On the contrary! The more food technologists advised us against our project, the more motivated we became.

What was the main difficulty?

Oats presented us with three challenges at the same time: shelf life, colour, and consistency. We experimented with different natural proteins and stabilisers in more than 15 test series. The greatest difficulty was to produce a consistent white, creamy texture. It was a bit like trying to mix oil and water together.

When did you achieve the breakthrough?

When we realised that the raw mass no longer separated in the rest tub. The perfect creaminess was achieved. After that we could start with the flavours.

Why did it have to be oats and not soy or nuts?

Many people who suffer from allergies react to nuts. Soy has an intense flavour of its own. We wanted a dessert that would make everyone happy. Besides, the oats - which, by the way, are sustainably grown at the Jucker farm - have very good properties.

Such as?

Oats are low in calories and contain important minerals such as iron, magnesium and calcium. They also boost our metabolism. The prebiotics they contain are a type of dietary fibre that promotes the growth of positive intestinal bacteria. We have also reduced the sugar content in the gelato to a minimum without compromising on taste.

Many people claim that vegan ice cream should taste the same as its dairy counterpart. What can we expect from your new chocolate and stracciatella flavours?

With synthetic additives, you can create any taste artificially. But we didn't want to compromise on the ingredients and create a 100% natural ice cream. You can taste that, too. Especially our oat-based stracciatella gelato has its own special flavour. Just try it. We are curious to see how it will be received by our customers.

I'll have a taste of it right now. Many thanks for the interview.