Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - 1.5 qt

Alden's Organic has been scooping ice cream out of Eugene, Oregon since 2004, using organic milk and cream and real vanilla beans instead of the shortcuts most freezer-aisle tubs take. Simple has always been the point - what you leave out matters as much as what you put in.

This Vanilla Bean Sqround starts with an organic cream and milk base, sweetened with organic cane sugar and tapioca syrup, and finished with organic vanilla extract and ground vanilla beans - the source of the dark flecks running through every scoop. Each 1.5-quart tub is Certified Organic, with no artificial flavors, colors, or high fructose corn syrup anywhere on the ingredient list.

Serve it straight from the tub, alongside a warm slice of pie, or blended into a milkshake - a straightforward vanilla bean flavor that pairs with almost anything already in your kitchen.

Certified gluten-free and kosher, Alden's Organic Vanilla Bean Sqround should stay frozen until you're ready to scoop. Note that with organic cane sugar and tapioca syrup among its ingredients, this treat is a traditional indulgence rather than a fit for keto, paleo, or carnivore diets.

Ingredients: Milk*, Cream*, Cane Sugar*, Tapioca Syrup*, Tapioca Starch*, Vanilla Extract*, Guar Gum*, Soy Lecithin*, Ground Vanilla Beans*, Locust Bean Gum*, and Xanthan Gum. *Organic ingredient.

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Common Questions

How does this compare nutritionally and ingredient-wise to a standard grocery store vanilla ice cream?
A typical conventional vanilla tub often lists high fructose corn syrup, mono- and diglycerides, carrageenan, and vanillin flavoring derived in a lab rather than from a vanilla bean. Alden's Organic replaces those with organic cane sugar and tapioca syrup for sweetness, and guar gum, locust bean gum, and xanthan gum for texture, all of which are plant-derived thickeners that do the same water-binding job carrageenan does without the seaweed-derived compound some people choose to avoid. The vanilla flavor itself comes from organic vanilla extract plus ground vanilla beans, which is also why you see the dark specks in every scoop instead of a uniform white base. Both products land in a similar calorie and fat range for a premium ice cream, but the ingredient list here is roughly a third the length of a conventional tub.

What's the actual difference between real vanilla bean flecks and vanilla flavoring with added specks?
The dark flecks in this ice cream are the tiny black seeds scraped from ground vanilla bean pods, which contain the compound vanillin along with hundreds of other trace aromatic compounds that give whole vanilla its layered, slightly floral flavor. Lab-created vanilla flavoring is usually built around a single isolated vanillin molecule, which tastes similar but flatter and more one-dimensional on the palate. Some lower-cost ice creams add ground vanilla bean specks purely for visual effect while using a separate flavor extract, so the specks and the flavor aren't necessarily linked. Here the ground vanilla beans are doing double duty — they're both the visible marker and a real contributor to the flavor profile, working alongside the separate vanilla extract in the base.

Does this fit into a keto, paleo, or gluten-free eating plan?
It's certified gluten-free, so it works for anyone avoiding gluten specifically, and there's no wheat, barley, or rye anywhere in the ingredient list. It does not fit a strict ketogenic plan — a 2/3-cup serving carries roughly 24 to 28 grams of carbohydrate, mostly from cane sugar and tapioca syrup, which can eat up most or all of a daily keto carb allowance in one sitting. It also doesn't fit strict paleo protocols since paleo generally excludes dairy and added cane sugar, even organic versions. If you're following a lower-carb approach loosely rather than strict keto, portioning to a smaller serving and treating it as an occasional dessert rather than a daily staple is the more realistic way to work it in.

What do the organic and kosher certifications actually verify?
The Certified Organic seal comes from Organic Certifiers, a USDA-accredited certifying agent under the National Organic Program, and it means the milk, cream, sugar, and other ag-derived ingredients were grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and the dairy cows weren't given antibiotics or growth hormones — you can look up the certifying body's accreditation directly on the USDA's own database. The kosher certification confirms a rabbinical authority inspected the ingredients and production process to ensure they meet kosher dietary law, which for a dairy product mainly concerns how the milk and any equipment are handled. Neither certification is a marketing claim you have to take on faith — both are backed by third-party audits with public verification records, which is different from a company simply printing 'natural' on a label with no oversight behind it.

What dishes work well with this beyond eating it straight from the tub?
Because the flavor is straightforward vanilla bean rather than something heavily doctored, it holds up well in classic pairings — a scoop next to warm apple or pecan pie, blended with milk for a milkshake base, or melted slightly and drizzled over a brownie. It also works as the neutral component in an affogato, poured over with a shot of hot espresso, since the vanilla bean flecks and real extract flavor come through even against strong coffee. If you're baking it into something like an ice cream cake or icebox pie, no adaptation is needed since it holds its structure at standard freezer temperatures the same way a conventional tub would. It's soft enough to scoop straight from the freezer without the long counter-thaw some stabilizer-heavy tubs need.

Why does the ingredient list include four different gums and starches instead of just cream and sugar?
Guar gum, locust bean gum, xanthan gum, and tapioca starch are all there to control ice crystal formation, which is the main enemy of smooth ice cream texture during freezing and any partial thaw-refreeze cycles that happen in a home freezer. Each works slightly differently — guar and locust bean gum bind water to slow crystal growth, xanthan gum adds body and slows melting on the tongue, and tapioca starch contributes a bit of chewiness to the mouthfeel. Using several plant-based stabilizers in smaller amounts, rather than one dose of something like carrageenan, is a common approach in organic formulations aiming to avoid that specific additive while still hitting the same smooth, scoopable texture. None of these ingredients are added for flavor — they're purely functional and make up a small fraction of the total formula by weight.