Pure Dairy-Free Delights

Pure Dairy Free is a major UK brand of dairy free products. Free of many things, in fact:

The Pure brand was developed for people with food sensitivities in mind, particularly those who have an allergy or intolerance to dairy. In the early 1990s, Pure Sunflower was developed and launched into health food stores throughout the UK. It's free from:

•Dairy
•Artificial colourings & preservatives
•Added flavourings
•Soya
•Gluten
•Hydrogenated oils
•GM ingredients

Pure also does two other dairy-free spreads, Pure Soya and Pure Organic, both of which do contain soy.

And now a press release I found on the TalkingRetail.com site announced that Pure is branching out to other dairy-free alternatives.

Pure Dairy Free Soya Soft & Creamy Spread (RRP £1.69) and Pure Dairy Free Soya Slices (RRP £1.69), have launched nationwide to provide dairy free alternatives to mainstream cream cheese and cheese slices. ...

The Pure brand, part of the Kerry Foods stable, is currently worth £7m and has experienced a 20% YOY value growth. Extending the range to encompass healthy cheese alternatives will reinforce Pure's position as the choice brand for consumers, with commercial promise for yet another profitable year for the brand and its retailers.

Launch of Pure Dairy Free Soya Soft & Creamy Spread and Pure Dairy Free Soya Slices will be supported by a multi-faceted marketing campaign.

This will include in-store promotions, online and press advertising, PR and a 50p money off coupon placed onto packs of Pure spreads to drive trial.

The Pure website will also be revamped providing consumers with recipes for cooking and baking with the new soya alternative to cheese products. ...

Pure Dairy Free Soya Soft & Creamy Spread and Pure Dairy Free Soya Slices are free from all dairy products, also making them suitable for vegans. They are also gluten and cholesterol free, as well as free from all GM ingredients.

Non-Dairy Pie Recipes

I wrote about Silken Creations from Nasoya in First Non-Dairy Starter for Smoothies and Desserts.

The first ever non-dairy "dessert starter", new Silken Creations from Nasoya is naturally flavored, dairy free, low in fat and calories, has no cholesterol and is gluten free. It comes in the three most popular flavors for smoothies and desserts: Dark Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry.

They sent out another press release which I thought at first was announcing a new product. Nope. Same Silken Creations. But this time their touting its wonderfulness for pies.

They didn't mention pies in the last press release. I don't know if they're just cleverly claiming yet another use or whether people weren't buying it to make mousse and cake with so they're trying to shift course.

In any case, what leads me to mention them again is that they give several recipes in the press release. And that means I can legitimately reprint them here and pass them along to you. Of course, you need Silken Creations to make the pies.

Nasoya Chocolate Silken Pie

1 pkg Nasoya(R) Silken Creations Dark Chocolate
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 prepared 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
1 bar of dark chocolate, shaved (optional)
2 tbsp water

Preparation Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix the cornstarch and 2 tbsp of water into a medium bowl. Blend the Nasoya(R) Silken Creations Dark Chocolate into the bowl. Pour the mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust and bake for 45 minutes. Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, refrigerator uncovered for 2 hours or until cooled completely. Sprinkle chocolate shaving on top.

Key Lime Pie

1 pkg Nasoya(R) Silken Creations Vanilla
1 prepared graham cracker pie crust
2 tbsp cornstarch
6 tbsp freshly squeezed key lime juice (approximately 1/2 lb key limes)
2 tbsp water

Preparation Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix the cornstarch and 2 tbsp of water into a medium bowl. Blend the Nasoya(R) Silken Creations Vanilla and key lime juice into the bowl. Pour into the prepared pie crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Strawberry Silken Pie

1 pkg Nasoya(R) Silken Creations Strawberry
2 tbsp corn starch
1 prepared 9-inch graham cracker pie crust
1-1/2 c strawberries, halved
1/4 c strawberry jelly
2 tbsp water

Preparation Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix the cornstarch and 2 tbsp of water into a medium bowl. Blend the Nasoya(R) Silken Creations Strawberry into the bowl. Pour into the prepared graham cracker crust and bake for 45 minutes. Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes and refrigerate uncovered until cooled completely. Top with sliced strawberries. Heat jelly in the microwave until it reaches a thin consistency and brush onto the strawberries. Cool in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

More information about the product at their website or at parent company Vitasoy.

ZenSoy Soy Pudding

Joyce Clark Hicks is a writer at the Raleigh News & Observer as well as a mother of a dairy allergic daughter.

No, surprisingly, this is not another story about a mother writing a dairy-free cookbook. In fact she doesn't seem to be aware of how many their are. But she does pass along a review you might be interested in.

As the mother of a severely milk-allergic child, I'm often at a loss for finding truly dairy-free treats to serve my daughter. Enter the ZenSoy soy pudding line. Made with certified organic whole soy beans, the line is devoid of lactose and milk protein, making it a safe treat for vegans and those allergic to milk. The pudding comes in four flavors: vanilla, chocolate, banana and chocolate/vanilla swirl. The smooth texture makes it appear almost identical to dairy pudding, and the chocolate and chocolate/vanilla swirl flavors taste surprisingly like their dairy counterparts. I have no food allergies and I found these two puddings to be more than a mildly suitable substitute. Most important, ZenSoy passed the food safety test with my 2-year-old. She quickly licked the container and spoon clean and declared the pudding "dewicious" before asking for more. My son found the banana pudding equally pleasing. The vanilla pudding was more of a stretch. It had an odd aftertaste that I'm not quite sure how to describe. Still, three out of four isn't bad, especially when your options are limited because of allergies or other concerns.

ZenSoy makes puddings in Chocolate, Vanilla, Banana and our Chocolate/Vanilla Swirl flavors.

They also have four flavors of soymilks: Vanilla, Chocolate, Plain and Cappuccino.

They are all "free of any lactose, dairy, cholesterol, gluten, eggs, casein, peanuts or MSG" as well as kosher and parve. They are also "suitable for vegans." That's an odd phrasing and it only appears in the answer to a letter rather than as a claim on the main pages, which uses vegetarian several times but doesn't specify vegan. Probably just a quirk since I can't figure out any reason why they wouldn't be vegan.

f you'e looking for dairy-free desserts to make for your kids, take a look at the Parenting, Kids, and Special Diets page, the Milk- and Lactose-Free Books page, or the Allergy Books and Cookbooks page in my Milk-Free Bookstore.